Hi, I'm Emma. I love serif fonts, parallel sentence structure, live music, marathon running, and finding horses on the side of the highway.
I currently work as a motion designer at The Washington Post, focusing on Instagram stories, social media posts, and custom illustrations and animations across mobile and desktop storytelling.
Previously, I have worked as an editorial designer at Reader's Digest, a tutorial writer at Adobe, and a freelance music video animator.
I graduated from Northwestern University in 2020 with a double major in journalism and creative writing. I grew up in Brookfield, WI and London, England. You can contact me at emmabiancak@gmail.com with any questions, business inquiries, font suggestions, or favorite episodes of 99% Invisible.
Awards
"From Rites of Spring to Olivia Rodrigo: How emo conquered pop"
Society of News Design Bronze Award • 2024
Society of News Design Award of Excellence • 2024"Looking to improve your mental health? Pay attention to birds."
Emma Kumer (social media portfolio; digital storytelling portfolio)
Newsprint (product; redesign)
Creator Economy (line of content)
"Listening to Birds is Good for Your Mental Health" (Instagram design)
"What's Your Type?" (Infographic)
"Life Under Bombardment" (audio design)
"How Much Money Do Influencers Make? We asked ten." (web design)
Newsprint (product; redesign)
Creator Economy (line of content)
"Listening to Birds is Good for Your Mental Health" (Instagram design)
"What's Your Type?" (Infographic)
"Life Under Bombardment" (audio design)
"How Much Money Do Influencers Make? We asked ten." (web design)
Society of News Design Award of Excellence • 2023
Emma Kumer (social media portfolio)
"Tour Amazon’s dream home, where every appliance is also a spy" (art direction)
U.S. Midterm Elections (Instagram coverage)
Newsprint (product design)
"Tour Amazon’s dream home, where every appliance is also a spy" (art direction)
U.S. Midterm Elections (Instagram coverage)
Newsprint (product design)
Society of News Design Award of Excellence • 2022
"New Sports Add Thrills to the Summer Olympics" (social media design)
"What Happens to Democracy When We Lose Local News" (social media design)
"What Do Teens Talk About When They Talk About Race?" (social media design)
"New Sports Add Thrills to the Summer Olympics" (social media design)
"What Happens to Democracy When We Lose Local News" (social media design)
"What Do Teens Talk About When They Talk About Race?" (social media design)
The Washington Post, Best Illustrations of 2022
"The Impermanence of Art in the Digital Age"
"Love in the Time of Covid"
"The Impermanence of Art in the Digital Age"
"Love in the Time of Covid"
Journalism Education Association
Wisconsin High School Journalist of the Year, 2016
Wisconsin High School Journalist of the Year, 2016
My Process
To learn more about how I create my animations, from Post-it note sketches to mood boards to Photoshop overlays to rigging, check out this walkthrough I made as part of my work with The Chicago Reader.
Skills
From June to November 2020, I worked as a content writer for Adobe. I wrote 62 tutorials aimed at high school and college students explaining how I use the Creative Cloud programs to create my illustrations, animations, and other media. Click here to see some of my favorite tutorials for After Effects, Illustrator, Photoshop, and more.
Thank you!