Photo: Domestika
Laura Wächter
Spain, 1987
Freelance Illustrator & Editorial Designer
info@laurawaechter.com
Represented in Spain and Latin America by:
Laura Wächter is an Andalusian illustrator based in the United States since 2021. She currently lives in a small town with her two cats and partner, where she has fulfilled her dream of having a steady studio and teaches art at a local University. In 2020, she was awarded the World Illustration Awards in the book covers category for the Annie Ernaux book series published by Tusquets.
In her work as an illustrator, Laura focuses primarily on editorial and press projects, occasionally participating in advertising projects. She has collaborated with clients such as El País Semanal, Penguin Random House, Lexus, Tusquets Editores, Blackie Books, Noema Magazine, Revista Telos, Anagrama, among others. Her visual style is characterized by a very distinctive color palette centered around a basic triad of turquoise, pale red, and yellow, allowing her to create a variety of combinations with their different luminosities employing quasi-complementary color contrasts.
Her work is recognizable for its intimate and sometimes raw visual universes, where human vulnerability, authenticity, and a keen eye for everyday life are always present. Her focus on themes navigating between psychology, art, culture, and social issues always from a progressive perspective has resonated particularly well with some of the newspapers and magazines she regularly collaborates with.
EDUCATION
Graduated in Fine Arts (University of Granada)
Master degree in Teaching, Drawing and Arts speciality (University of Granada)
Higher Education on Illustration, School of Arts (Granada)
Scholarship at Hochschule für Gestaltung, Offenbach am Main (Germany)
CLIENTS
Penguin Random House, El País, Ayuntamiento de Madrid, Alfaguara, Anagrama, Telos Magazine (Fundación Telefónica), Blackie Books, McCann Worldgroup, Correos, UNED, Shackleton Group, Tusquets Editores, Junta de Castilla y León, Oxford University Press, Ministerio de Igualdad, Fundación Biodiversidad, Principia Magazine…
AWARDS
2020 Book Covers Category Winner in the World Illustration Awards 2020
2016 Shortlisted in the World Illustration Awards 2016
2015 Shortlisted in the VI Iberoamerican Illustration Catalog
2014 Selected for the Alonso Cano Awards (sculpture), granted by the University of Granada, for the piece named “Tan alto como pueda”
2012 First prize in the Alonso Cano Awards (new technologies), granted by the University of Granada, for the animation video named “Traumantransmission”
2009 First Prize in Illustration in the national Awards for Young Creation, granted by INJUVE
(National Institute for Youth of the Spanish Ministry)
2008 First Prize in the Illustration & Comic Contest from Leganés (Madrid)
Laura Wächter es una ilustradora andaluza afincada en Estados Unidos desde 2021. Actualmente reside en un pequeño pueblo junto a sus dos gatos y su pareja, donde ha cumplido su sueño de tener un estudio estable y da clases de arte en la Universidad de Virginia. En 2020 fue galardonada con el World Illustration Awards en la categoría de cubiertas de libros por la serie de libros de Annie Ernaux publicada por Tusquets.
En su trabajo como ilustradora, Laura se enfoca principalmente en proyectos editoriales y de prensa, participando ocasionalmente en proyectos publicitarios. Ha colaborado con clientes como El País Semanal, Tusquets Editores, Blackie Books, Anagrama y Penguin Random House, entre otros. Su estilo visual se caracteriza por una paleta de colores muy característica centrada en una tríada de colores básica de turquesa, rojo pálido y amarillo, lo que le permite crear una variedad de combinaciones con sus diferentes luminosidades empleando contrastes de color quasi complementarios.
Su trabajo es reconocible por los universos visuales íntimos y a veces crudos, donde la vulnerabilidad humana, la autenticidad y una mirada aguda a la vida cotidiana están siempre presentes. Su enfoque en temas que navegan entre la psicología, el arte, la cultura y los problemas sociales desde una perspectiva progresista ha resonado especialmente con algunos medios de prensa con los que colabora habitualmente.
World Illustration Awards 2016
Catálogo Iberoamericano de la Ilustración
Seleccionada en el VI Catálogo
Creación Injuve 2009
Ilustración – Primer premio