Sharon Werner grew up in a large family in a small town in Minnesota. She used creativity as a means of escape. A love of print and the tactile experience was developed early on in life, summers were spent sending away for any piece of free literature anyone would mail her. Since then, her love of paper and print has only intensified, although more curated.

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Sharon started her career at Duffy Design Group (now Duffy Partners). “It was an amazing experience. I learned the essentials of creating and developing authentic brands with stories that people care about.” Sharon founded Werner Design Werks in 1991, and her passion for creating brands, has continued to guide work for clients that include Moët Hennessey, DuNord, Cabot Creamery and Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day to name but a few. Sharon is the co-author and co-creator of a series of children’s books, Alphabeasties and other Amazing Types, Bugs by the Numbers, and Alphasaurs and other Prehistoric Types, published by Blue Apple Books.

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Werner Design Werks is a practical, sturdy, hardworking studio in an unpretentious neighborhood in the heart of the midwest. The environment is not only the backdrop of the studio but also the everyday inspiration and guiding philosophy of the studio. Create work that works hard, both for the client and the studio. Use graphic design to not only impact commerce but also transform culture. This philosophy has proven true, as the studio’s work has been recognized by major communication design publications and award shows, and is part of the permanent collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, Musée De La Poste, Musée des Arts Decoratifs, and the Cooper Hewitt Museum. Werner Design Werks was named Concordia University, St. Paul’s 2023 Leaders of Design with a restrospective gallery exhibition and events.

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Sharon is an AIGA MN Fellow. She has taught as an adjunct professor, has guest lectured and juried with national and international design organizations and has served on the AIGA MN Board, the CVA Advisory Board, the MNSU Moorhead Design Advisory Board, and the TDC Board of Directors.

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