London Inc Magazine, Top 20 Under 40 Award Feature, March 2022
Before founding my current practice, I spent several years specializing in corporate communications, specifically in local economic development.
Today, I work with organizations in various industries to improve their design and communications. My clients trust me to find and deliver their message strategically and on-brand.
To demonstrate my commitment to the profession, I am a Certified Registered Graphic Designer by the Association of Registered Graphic Designers (RGD). I am also a Certified Indigenous Business through the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB).
As an entrepreneur, artist, and mom, my focus is on community building through creative collaboration.
As a community leader, I have played an integral role in shaping local arts organizations and designing support programs for Indigenous Peoples.
This commitment to serving the community and my unique perspective bring value throughout the creative process.
I currently serve as a People and Culture Committee Member with the London Chamber of Commerce, a Board Member with the London Heritage Council, and a Committee Member with the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO).
I am a professional artist. I practice artistically in various disciplines and mediums, which can often be the inspiration behind design projects and creative consultations.
As a professional artist, I have experience creating corporate commissions, operating gallery spaces, curating, adjudicating, and appraising. I have also produced several permanent large-scale art installations.
My clients benefit from the innovative creativity of an artist with the trained occupation of a corporate communications professional.
Join us on November 28 for Community Outlook with Susan Aglukark, co-presented with London Environmental Network.
Join us for a lively evening of spirited, focused presentations by experts who will share their disruptive ideas on how to move our collective thinking forward when it comes to talent.
Join us for “Connections, Collaboration and Kinship in Art,” a warm and participatory conversation between Katie Wilhelm and Summer Bressette, facilitated by Sara Mai Chitty and Cassandra Getty.
Katie Wilhelm and Summer Bressette's Baapaagimaak video explores Indigenous knowledge and environmental care, focusing on the endangered Black Ash tree.
Katie Wilhelm will be sharing the story of the logo design, in celebration of the 20-year anniversary of Antler River Poetry.
We're excited to introduce you to the candidates for our 2024/25 Board of Directors. Candidates will be elected at our Annual General Meeting on September 19, 2024.
The speakers will offer clear, actionable steps towards meaningful economic reconciliation.
I am looking forward to the conversations that will help to shape the future of the London Heritage Council.
I am looking forward to providing an Indigenous-perspective to the activities of the Education Quality and Accountability Office.
I am happy to announce that I have been appointed as a People and Culture Committee member with the London Chamber of Commerce.
Museum London and the Words Festival are pleased to host a visit with the artists and curators of GardenShip & State for a launch of their exhibition catalogue.
Recognizing student excellence in design since 1998 🏆. I’m thrilled to be a Judge for this year’s RGD Student Awards.
I am Honoured to be Participating in the 13th Annual UPwithART Fundraiser in 2023
This public gathering and symposium celebrate the wide-ranging outcomes that followed the fall 2021 Museum London exhibition GardenShip and State.
Congratulations to recipients of all levels of the Hydro One Indigenous Entrepreneurship Grant.
The publication, “How Inclusive are Canada's Chambers of Commerce? A Report Card,” is now released.
Everyone is welcome to join this talk and hear the story of my career journey in London’s creative industry
Thanks to the WordsFest London Canada team for inviting me to create the artwork for Wordsfest 2022! I am happy to have designed both the poster artwork and the zine cover the the 9th annual event.
The Student Trailblazer Awards celebrate and recognize the unique journeys and barriers many students face as they develop their design skills.
I am honoured to have been nominated for a Business Achievement Award in the Business of the Year category.
Forest City Gallery is delighted to present Baagaakige by London-based artist Summer Bresette with graphic design and projections by Katie Wilhelm.
London Arts Council is excited to officially launch the Indigenous London Arts website. This curated space was developed by Summer Bressette, LAC’s former Curator, Indigenous Programming, and Web Designer Katie Wilhelm.
I am Quoted in this Business Perspectives article by RGD, published June 9, 2022
“A waving flag…it celebrates our diverse community. Having it in the logo puts Petro‑Canada alongside the community, standing together in solidarity and celebrating our diversity.”
The London Arts Council with the Thames Valley District School Board and other partners needed an eye-catching poster design. This poster promotes a virtual event celebrating the Arts, mental health and wellbeing for parents and teachers in London.
I am looking forward to being a panellist at the annual Summit 2022 hosted by the London Chamber of Commerce.
Meet the Londoners making waves in our city and beyond - Katie Wilhelm is named a Top 20 Under 40 class of 2022.
The City of London, London Music Office, and I are excited to share a new logo design that celebrates London’s City of Music designation with The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
I had the pleasure of serving on the Program Advisory Committee of this no-cost micro-certification and incubation program. I worked as a representative of Nokee Kwe alongside community partners.
Discovered from the Gallup CliftonStrengths Assessment
Clean
Creative
Communicator
Dedicated
Direct
Driven
Efficient
Elegant
Enthusiastic
Fun
Helpful
Hard-Working
Multi-tasker
Organized
Professional
Thorough
Timely
Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator)
Asana
Basecamp
Canva
Constant Contact
Eventbrite
FASO CMS
G Suite
MailChimp
Procreate
Microsoft Suite
Slack
Squarespace
Wix
WordPress
ZoHo Sites
Art
Community
Culture
Design
Drag Queens
Fashion
Fine Dining
First Nations
Interior Design
Jewellery
Museums
Nature
Painting
Swimming
Vinyl Records
Writing
Lead to Succeed Coaching Website Design
“I had the pleasure of working with Katie Wilhelm to help bring my website vision to life. Through thoughtful and supportive conversations and meetings, Katie truly grasped the essence of what I wanted. Her ability to translate my ideas into a website authentically representing who I am and what my business stands for was truly impressive.
Katie was dedicated to ensuring that every detail aligned with my vision. Her professionalism, personal touch, and collaborative approach made the experience both productive and enjoyable. I am thrilled with the final result and grateful for Katie's expertise and support.
I wholeheartedly recommend Katie's services to anyone looking for someone who listens, understands, and delivers exceptional results.”
— Sarah Meharg, Founder, Lead to Succeed Coaching
Humber College, Early Childhood Education Landbook Design
“Many thanks for your professionalism, organization, humour and passion for this work. We are delighted to see how the content has come together in a beautiful story of and for the Land-Based Play and Co-Learning through Etuamptmumk/Two-Eyed Seeing course.”
— Louise Zimyani, Professor, Early Childhood Education, Faculty of Health Sciences & Wellness, Humber College
Grand Theatre, Visual Land Acknowledgement
“You were a dream to work with – we were hoping for an artistic collaborator to help bring our word-based land acknowledgement to a visual concept, and Katie brought the concept from idea to reality, and we got there with ease and are so pleased with the result.”
— Evan Klassen, Executive Director, Grand Theatre
The Apache Software Foundation
"Katie advised us as we navigated a globally significant brand update for our widely used and well-known tech nonprofit. She was thorough in her research and gave us informed and valuable insights to steer us in the right direction - going above and beyond. We are grateful for her time and expertise."
— Brian Proffitt, VP, Marketing & Publicity, The Apache Software Foundation
Radar Media, Branding and Report Design
“I've known Katie Wilhelm for many years and have had the pleasure of working with her for my company's branding and on a few research projects Radar Media has done. Katie has always been a brilliantly intuitive and creative branding expert with many gifts within her ever-expanding toolkit. She's worked in economic development (among many other industries) and has been an inspiring and award-winning independent solopreneur for many years. You are in good hands!”
— Shauna Rae, Radar Media
Small Economy Works
“On behalf of myself and all of our participants - thank you so much for your workshop!
I had one participant tell me it was the best guest speaker so far and I know several people were taking notes during the session and are eager to put their learnings into practice. In a virtual room full of young, eager, Indigenous and non-Indigenous women entrepreneurs, you crafted such an engaging and thoughtful workshop that was also extremely fun!”
- Niroja Thiru, Graduate Program Manager, Small Economy Works
Freedom School Co. Web Design and Marketing
“Hiring Katie was one of the best decisions I made in 2023! I was looking for a marketing specialist to assist me with a website revamp and I knew that I wanted to work with someone who offered an Indigenous lens. We spent 4 months refining my core messaging and my positioning in the Indigenous communities. Katie took my vision, saw things I wasn't able to on my own and wove my mission into a literal piece of art. I was blown away with the final product. Her guidance, expertise, creative flair and organization are unmatched. She really has a gift and her passion is palpable through everything she touches!”
– Rachael Hunt., CEO, Freedom School Co.
Turtle Island Water Equity Scholarship: A Daley Water Equity Community Award
“Working with Katie was truly enjoyable. She delivered a quality product with exceptional turnarounds.
Katie understood the vision for our project and provided a variety of quality options that reflected the direction we provided. The designs she provided also fit neatly into our larger branding.
We would absolutely work again with Katie and recommend her to other potential candidates.”
— Phillipe Murphy-Rheaume, The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative
BFL Canada Grouse Grind Emblem Design
“The t-shirts were a huge success and everyone wanted extras to bring home to their family. We were even able to use the design for some medals and they turned out great.
Together with a number of industry partners we were able to raise $30,000 for FNESS, which will go towards their youth training bootcamps and 72hr emergency kits.”
— BFL Canada, Grouse Grind Team
Stoic Beauty Skincare Packaging Design
“Working with Katie has been an absolute pleasure.
She listens very closely to the vision we had in mind, and presented multiple options to choose from all in keeping with our vision.
Her communication is very clear and we’re so happy with the final product!”
– Maria W., Owner, Stoic Beauty Skincare
Astoria Pictures Logo Design
“Working with Katie Wilhelm was a dream: she is an extremely careful and present listener, a consummate professional (timely, clear, agile), and brings incredibly rich visual and symbolic intuition to her practice as a designer and marketing consultant.
Katie's work is simply best-in-class and I would highly recommend her services to any business or professional in any sector without a moment's hesitation.”
— Kevin Heslop, Astoria Pictures
Antler River Poetry Logo Design
“Katie was a dream to work with: consistently on time or ahead of schedule, she provided a thorough array of logo options which engaged with our former logo and involved the colour schemes of all the advertising we'd done as an organization to date.
For her efficiency, professionalism, and expertise as a digital designer across all social-media platforms and several merchandising options, we couldn't more highly recommend Katie to anyone who asked.”
— Antler River Poetry
Explore the Core Campaign
“We loved your work and valued your creativity and responsiveness to our deadlines.
You put a lot of thought and effort into crafting an exciting campaign for us that is not only engaging, but will help us achieve the goals of our programs.
That's a winning combination!”
— Kathy McLaughlin, MainStreet London Business Development Manager
Rebranding an Indigenous Health and Wellness Company
“It’s been a wonderful experience working with Katie so far! We were beyond excited to find an Indigenous designer and marketing consultant to work with our company Spirit Earth Holistics.
Katie was able to pull in our reason, our mission and what stand for as an Indigenous company.
We are extremely happy with the rebranding of Spirit Earth Holistics.”
— Dayna Elijah, Owner, Spirit Earth Holistics
Report Design for Doctoral Research
“I had the wonderful opportunity of working with Katie to create a summary report of my doctoral research. Katie was a joy to work with. She’s organized, talented, and passionate about her work.
She met with me regularly to update me on the status of the project, and she reviewed the final version of the project with me to make sure I was happy with it. I highly recommend Katie to anyone looking for a skilled graphic designer and marketing consultant!”
— Kory Smith, J.D., B.A.
Indsights at Humber College
“I am so glad that we found you - working together has been a dream!!!
We are absolutely thrilled with the outcomes! Your understanding of our needs, purpose and goals are reflected beautifully in the completed project.
Looking forward to a continued partnership!”
— Lisa Post, Humber College
GardenShip and State
“We had the pleasure to work with Katie along with a large team from our GardenShip and State exhibition at Museum London.
Katie Wilhelm was wonderful to work with on this complex initiative: she is organized, highly skilled, and extremely professional. And her capacity as a communicator and someone who can quickly and beautifully synthesize ideas and aspirations within a group — in our case, a group that is committed to decolonization and social justice – is inspiring.”
— Jeff Thomas and Patrick Mahon, Co-curators, GardenShip and State
The Grand Theatre
“Working with Katie on the ‘Mush Whole’ commission for the Grand Re:Opening Festival was a true pleasure.
She approached the work with passion, clarity, and vision. She is a true collaborator – she received feedback generously and remained clear with her vision. Katie has a strong voice as an artist.
Her work is political and evocative.”
– Megan Watson, Artistic Associate, The Grand Theatre
Osprey Law
“We were very impressed reviewing Katie’s portfolio, but the true value became apparent when we began working with her.
Katie was warm and friendly, very responsive to our needs, and completed the project in record time!
As a small startup business, we were so grateful to benefit from her skills.”
— Laurena Nash and Katherine Brack, Osprey Law
Mansour's Furniture
“Katie Wilhelm was an absolute pleasure to work with. Katie is talented, professional, hard-working, and very organized. She was able to assist us in creating on-brand social media marketing content that really represented our business.
Not only was she able to help us in establishing a social media presence, she provided valuable resources we could use to continue growing. Katie Willhelm is a true professional and we look forward to continuing to work with her on future projects.”
– Malak Mansour, Mansour’s Furniture
National Aboriginal Trust Officers Association (NATOA)
“Katie is amazing!! Her versatile expertise shines through her work.
She is a unique creative with a vision to bring your ideas to life, while actively streamlining your event essentials… leaving you with a blueprint for success!”
— Sarah Pineda, NATOA
Nokee Kwe
“Kudos to you for the amazing job on our website! The information is superbly presented. The pictures are so fitting… so lovely, very impactful. Overall the site is very attractive and easy to navigate! A true reflection of who we are as an agency!”
— Paula M., Nokee kwe Staff
“Wow! The webpage looks amazing. The design is elegant, pleasing and attractive. The information flows naturally, it shows transparency and it covers all the basics a visitor needs to know! I feel proud to refer folks to our webpage. ”
— Blanca A., Nokee Kwe Staff
CityMatch
“Katie was full of insight and practical advice that improved our project immeasurably.
She skillfully guided us to see new perspectives and helped us to articulate them with clarity and sensitivity.”
— Shawn Adamsson, CityMatch
Five B Family Foundation
“Working with Katie was an absolute pleasure.
Not only did she deliver a first draft that NINE separate stakeholders agreed on unanimously, the final deliverables were completed ahead of schedule!
I look forward to working with Katie on future projects!!”
— Emma Brown, Five B Family Foundation
London Heritage Council
“The London Heritage Council commissioned Katie to create a design for a virtual event celebrating community and diversity. Katie was a pleasure to work with on this project. She provided updates throughout the process, communicating regularly and delivering the project well before the deadline. The creativity and thoughtfulness that went into her choices in the design were apparent. She brought forward perspectives to the event that we wouldn’t have considered on our own. I would highly recommend working with Katie on any design or branding needs.”
— Laura T., London Heritage Council
Last Draft Inc.
“Katie was exceptionally timely with all communication and deadlines.
She was a pleasure to work with throughout the design and editing process.
She returned minor revisions quickly and ensured our client received an end-product they were happy with.”
— Jacob Sandler, Founder, Last Draft Inc.
Baseline Press
“Katie Wilhelm was recommended to me for a logo and website design when I was first starting up as a small-press publisher.
She was the perfect fit for me - professional, creative, and readily available throughout.
And the classy, timeless logo she designed feels like such an integral part of my business now, I can’t imagine Baseline without it.”
Rooted Plant World
“We contacted Katie to assist us with our logo and SEO for our new e-Commerce business. She was amazing at guiding us in the right direction for ultimate web site ranking.
By asking me all the right questions in our consultations, she helped me realize the direction I wanted to go with my business, when I thought I knew already. And then she flew!
I have optimal search engine results. She is friendly, intelligent, professional and has outstanding communication skills.
For anyone looking to build or grow their business, I strongly urge you to give Katie a call.”
— Tracy & Leif, Owners, rootedplantworld.com
The Elite K9 Club
“Katie Wilhelm created two logos for me and I am so fortunate I went to her to get them done! The logos turned out perfectly, she has such a creative eye and took my rough ideas and turned them into works of art.
She is very professional and timely in her work, she helped walk me through anything I didn’t understand and came up with her own great suggestions based on my business plans.
If you’re looking for quality, reliability and professionalism go to Katie for your logos!”
– Marissa H, The Elite K9 Club
Sum-01, Makin Moves
“Katie Wilhelm’s professionalism is second to none, she is punctual and informative.
Katie is well versed in multiple disciplines and offers diverse design services.
I would highly recommend Katie for all of your business design and social media consulting needs.”
– Trish Kiwanuka, Artist, 'Sum-01'
A selection of companies I have worked with – past and present.
Small Business of the Year Award Nominee, 2022, London Business Achievement Awards hosted by the London Chamber of Commerce
20 Under 40 Award Recipient, Dec. 2021, Twenty Under Forty Foundation
In-House Design Award, Nov. 2017, Association of Registered Graphic Designers (RGD)
Excellence in Economic Development Award, Sep. 2017, International Economic Development Council (IEDC)
Best Strategic Plan and Initiative, Feb. 2014, Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO)
Marketing Campaign of the Year, Feb. 2013, Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO)
Most Popular Scene Builder Award, July 2011, London Music Awards, Scene Magazine
Ontario Scholar Award, 2004, Ontario Ministry of Education
My business operates in London, Canada, on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabeg, Lenaapewuk, Haudenosaunee, and Chonnonton Nations, land that is also shared by Metis, Inuit, and urban Indigenous community members. The City of London is party to the London Township Treaty of 1796 and the Longwoods Treaty of 1819.