About

Joy Chu has been associated with book publishing most of her adult life.

Straight out of college, she went from design trainee at Alfred A. Knopf; to designer at T.Y. Crowell (which was later absorbed into HarperCollins); to senior designer at Holt, all in New York City.

She re-located to San Diego, only to discover that the trade division of Harcourt was also moving there. After several years as art director for Harcourt’s trade division, she left to start her own studio, Joy Chu Designs.

She has art directed and designed hundreds of books for more than 20 book publishers all over the country. She also designs digital and print graphics for corporations and small businesses.

In addition to teaching both online and in the classroom on children’s book illustration at UCSD Extension, she is at work, with a team of illustrators, plus editors of Gallaudet University Press, on a definitive children’s American Sign Language dictionary.

ASL sign for “draw.” Diagram by Peggy Lott, color illustration by Debbie Tilley

She has worked with many award-winning artists, including Ed Young, Gerald McDermott, Chris Demarest, Barry Moser, Trina Schart Hyman, Frané Lessac, Jeanette Winter, Debra Fraser, Margot Zemach, David McPhail, Richard Jesse Watson, Don and  Audrey Wood, plus many others.

Her work has been cited by the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA); the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI); the American Library Association (ALA); Bookbuilders West; the National Book Awards; Print, Step-by-Step Graphic, and Publisher’s Weekly magazines.

You can read more at the public Facebook page, “Got Story?“.

View Joy Chu‘s CV here:  joychu_cv