Meet Meghan Kreger | Designer & Illustrator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Meghan Kreger and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Meghan, why did you pursue a creative career?
Sometimes I refer to my ideas as “assignments from the muse”. As I think many creatives feel, it’s a calling. For as long as I can remember, I have been a creative. I have always romanticized a vision of me in a studio, surrounded by paints, with paint on my clothes and under my nails, charcoal on my face. I tried to ignore it in college and choose a “practical” major and career, but the assignment from the muse was to pursue art. I never knew exactly where I was going, or how I would end up. I never could have imagined I would be a designer and illustrator living in NYC. Even saying it out loud sometimes feels surreal. I have always followed that intuition and the muse has often led me to be lost in the right direction. I trust her more than my brain.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
5 years into a creative career, I feel like I have only just now found my “thing”. I have finally captured all of the infinity stones to create the work I have always wanted to make. I studied fine art in college and I hated graphic design. It felt so cold and sterile compared to the messy painting and printmaking studios. It wasn’t until after school that I started teaching myself graphic design on youtube (shout out the Futur). I freelanced as a graphic designer for a bit, taking any project that came my way. I experienced a lot of imposter syndrome having not studied graphic design in school.

I decided to apply for an in-house graphic design position to see how I measured up. I ended up in product design at a well-known stationery company founded by an illustrator. There, I learned TONS. Aside from many new technical skills, I learned to appreciate illustration and artwork that was just plain fun and pretty. In college, I felt a pressure to have each piece “mean something”. Things got pretty deep and dark! Shifting my mindset from “Artist” to “Designer & Illustrator” freed me up a bit.

Now, I focus on making work that brings me joy to create and to look at. My art process reflects my journey. It relies equally on my graphic design skills and my fine art skills. When I paint typography, I especially feel my graphic design self and my painterly past merging together. My work now feels so true to me to focus on all the things I love and the things I want to attract more of: moments of leisure and little luxuries. For me that means contemplating a fancy cocktail, beautiful produce at the farmers’ market, or a quiet cup of coffee. It’s all about the little things that make me feel giddy.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
There are so many things to do! Here a few must-dos for me. Day 1
-Head to Esme’s for French toast
-Shop around thrift stores in Williamsburg
-Dinner at Montesacro
-Get ice cream from Van Leeuwen and head to Domino Park for night time views of the city

Day 2
-Grab coffee from Trash Island before we head out
-Spend some time at the MOMA then check out smaller galleries in Chelsea
-Grab some lunch at Spicy Moon for vegan chinese food
-Catch a movie at the Alamo Drafthouse

Day 3
-Dinner Party for Brunch
-Browse stationery stores in SOHO
-Do some people watching in Washington square park
-Truffle pasta at FIASCHETTERIA “Pistoia”
-Watch a show at the Comedy Cellar or the Stand

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many mentors, teachers, creatives that have inspired me throughout my journey. I think if I have to pick just one person who deserves a lot of credit is my life partner, Emerson. He has always supported my creative pursuits. He is a creative too and our life and work is very intertwined. Our whole apartment is a studio and a great deal of our conversations surround business, constructive critiques, and work related goals. He has supported me in all of the ways in the 7 years we have been together. He is the very reason I became interested in graphic design when he first showed me the image trace tool in Illustrator. Life changing! Emerson and I have always been in agreement that we would lead non-traditional lives and that we weren’t afraid take some risks. There have been times when Emerson has worked to support me while I explore a project, and vise-versa. I think my life and career would look very different if not for him!

Website: phthaloruth.com

Instagram: @phthaloruth