Maria Squeri's design portfolio includes projects that showcase her family's business history, package designs, informational graphics, and identity designs. Her work uses expressive typography, symbolic imagery, and tactile materials to emotionally engage viewers and convey specific themes. She aims to communicate complex ideas and stories through simplified yet impactful visual metaphors and layouts.

1. maria squeri
maria squeri
DESIGN PORTFOLIO

2. maria squeri
family business SPRING 2009
This installation chronicles the history of my family’s business through interviews with family
members and photographs. I challenged myself to share this story in a way in which all the
emotion and nostalgia remained intact. The hanging books include the interview text typeset
expressively to reflect the tone in the voice of the speaker. The space, enclosed by an outer
layer of family photos, created an intimate space for the viewers to read the books.

3. maria squeri
pencil case SPRING 2008
This package design is based on my experience at the Chicago Auto Show. I took the
principles of test-driving a new car and the way in which a luxury car is displayed prominently
in a show room, and translated them to fit a package for pencils. When opened, the pencil
hinged to the lid draws a line on a strip of paper, simulating a test-drive. The hinged pencil
then stands upright, as if on display, holding the lid up to reveal the other pencils inside as
well as a small notebook.

4. maria squeri
fernand léger timeline puzzle FALL 2007
Fernand Léger is a painter known for his creation of the style Tubism, as well as themes of
industrialism and construction that were a constant theme in his work. After reading about
the events of his life on the puzzle pieces as they sit sequentially in the box, the viewer is
invited to use the pieces to construct a simulation of a Léger painting. The pieces reflect the
color palette and shapes Léger often used in his paintings.

5. maria squeri
eckley miners village book FALL 2008
I wanted to convey the impoverished, unornamented, and crude nature of a coal-mining town
in the 1800s. I did this through my selection of materials and binding method: simple
cardboard for the cover, stab bound with hemp twinecombined with a roughly textured paper.
This theme can also be seen in the hand-drawn illustrations and maps stylized to create a
gritty and rudimentary feeling.

6. maria squeri
om on the range YOGA STUDIO
om on the range yoga studio brand identity FALL 2008
I wanted this identity to reflect the sacred, simple and organic qualities of yoga and the
genuine, home-town qualities that are unique to Om on the Range Yoga Studio. I did this by
pairing interchangable handmade collage elements with a constant graphic and typographic
treatment. It is versatile enough that the logo can stand alone, alternate colors, or be used
illustratively, and still be recognized as Om on the Range.

7. maria squeri
dreams hopes & desires book FALL 2007
This book juxtaposes Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech with an essay on
the economics of retail shopping. I employed an assymetrical use of color and layout to show
the equal and opposite importance of each text. To emphasize similarities in the language
each uses, I created a tab that allows the reader to exchange a phrase between each opposing
section. This exchange creates an entirely different and compelling message for each text.

8. maria squeri
atypl 08 typography conference mailer FALL 2008
Because the ATypl Conference was held in St. Petersburg, Russia, I used Fabrege Eggs,
created in St. Petersburg, as an underlying theme in the design of this mailer package. I
showcased the precise craft and detail of Fabrege Eggs, paired with the typeface Bodoni, to
highlight the intracacies found in typographic design.

9. maria squeri
art on track 2008 brand identity SUMMER 2008
Because of a modest budget for advertising, a simple design strategy that was cost-efficient
and adaptable to different forms proved to be the most successful option. The logotype, a bold,
straight forward visual play on words, and the and eye-catching color choice helped to get
people’s attention quickly.

10. maria squeri
Meriwether Lewis and WilliamClark , under the orders of
President Thomas Jefferson, lead the Corps of Discovery across the continent
of North America to the Pacific Ocean and back. They were the first Americans
to explore the unknown land of the West. They returned home with invaluable
information about the terrain, peoples, plants and animals, as well as the first
accurate geographical mapping of the land. Because of their journey, America
was able to take the first steps in its transcontinental expansion.
lewis and clark poster FALL 2007
The visual metaphor used in this poster serves as a striking image to represent Lewis
and Clark’s dangerous and epic task of documenting the unexplored West for the first time
and the perserverence and precision with which they did it.

11. maria squeri
“feeling local” article illustraton SPRING 2008
My goal in this illustration was to bring feelings of friendliness and warmth to Chicago, which
can seem huge and daunting to a new-comer. I did this by giving the Sears Tower, a local icon,
an element of humanity by showing it holding hands with a new friend.

12. maria squeri
print magazine content spread FALL 2008
I experimented in this layout by using a traditional humanist typeface, Caslon, paired with
a very modern design scheme. I made use of Caslon’s large type family to create a distinct
heirarchy in order to simply run the body text continuously with no breaks to create each
solid geometrical form.

13. maria squeri
“Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day.
Teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.”
Dan West was inspired to create Heifer International after working as a relief worker in the Spanish Or cows, in this case.
Civil War and having to unfairly ration food to refugees there. Heifer International’s goal is to battle
world hunger through the permanent solution of self-sufficience by providing actual livestock as
well as animal-training to underpriveledged communities in over 125 countries worldwide. Through
donating a variety of livestock including chickens, honey bees, goats, llamas, pigs, and of course,
cows, Heifer International benefits entire communities through just one family’s promise to share
its livestock’s offspring with other families.
heifer foundation poster FALL 2007
I created a simple yet powerful graphic metaphor by turning a world map image into the
classic black and white markings on a cow. In this way, I am able to communicate the mission
of Heifer International in clear and concise way.

14. maria squeri
the field museum elevator lobby SUMMER 2008
Since the fourth floor elevator lobby was the main entrance to The Field Museum’s Exhibits
Department, it was appropriate to showcase the department’s impressive array of
past exhibits as a means of introduction to visitors. The images used are actually magnified
versions of collectors buttons produced for each exhibit, a tradition of The Field Museum’s for
the past few decades.