Hello.

Joe Willey is from the rural Eastern Shore of Maryland, where he developed his affection for fields, rivers, and wildlife. He spent his early childhood and teen years eagerly listening to multiple generations of relatives share memories and oral histories. His work reflects his unflagging curiosity about people, places, animals—even everyday objects—and the stories behind them.

He is an award-winning graphic designer and writer who began his creative career in a large tool company as a packaging designer. He left the corporate environment to work with nonprofits as a publications designer and art director. After years of writing advertising copy and newspaper articles, he blended visuals and content to become a creative director. During these years, he honed his storytelling skills by collaborating with photographers and writers and illustrating for newspapers and magazines.

After working in publications, Willey began to tell the stories of nonprofit organizations and Christian ministries as a Vice President of Marketing and Communications. His work for those organizations raised awareness of their mission and shared how lives are changed each day. The stories he told helped financial support grow year after year. 

While gaining his creative and communications experience, Willey painted, illustrated, and told stories for children and adults. He continues to share his interests by writing and illustrating for magazines, blogs, and book publishers. He recently finished writing and is now illustrating a book about one woman’s story of hope as bombs were falling in London during the Blitz of World War II.

Willey holds a BFA in Visual Communications from the Maryland Institute, College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland. He and his wife and four boys reside in Dorchester County, Maryland.

You can contact him to talk about your project by emailing joe@joewilley.net or by clicking on the email icon below.

CLIENTS INCLUDE

  • 88.7 The Bridge—Milford, Delaware

  • Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum—Saint Michaels, Maryland

  • Cambridge Architectural Mesh—Cambridge, Maryland

  • Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival—Cincinnati, Ohio

  • Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra—Cincinnati, Ohio

  • Coastal Style Magazine—Ocean City, Maryland

  • Edible Delmarva Magazine—Ocean View, Delaware

  • Earth Data Incorporated—Centreville, Maryland

  • Ewing, Dietz, Fountain & Kaludis P.A.—Easton, Maryland

  • Global Vision 2020—Easton, Maryland

  • Hoopers Island Oyster Company—Cambridge, Maryland

  • Johnson & Johnson—Cincinnati, Ohio

  • Log College Press—Madison, Mississippi

  • Mac Tools—Columbus, Ohio

  • Rockfish Media—Easton, Maryland

  • US Oyster Festival—Leonardtown, Maryland