Danielle Ridolfi

Danielle Ridolfi is a graphic designer, illustrator, and visual culture scholar. She holds an MFA in illustration and visual culture from the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis where she was a Sam Fox Ambassador, and a PhD in clinical psychology from Kent State University. Her visual work includes children’s picture books, editorial illustration, and publication design. She investigates image making processes, particularly collage, that are contingent upon contact with the natural and material world. Given her background as a clinical psychologist specializing in the impact of visual culture on children and young adults, Ridolfi is particularly drawn to using theories of learning and development to guide her studio practice and her scholarly inquiries in visual culture. Her research exists at the intersection between illustration, early childhood pedagogy, and material culture.

Ridolfi’s debut picture book, “When the Dark Clouds Come,” has recently been acquired for publication by a major publisher. She is represented by Ammi-Joan Paquette at Erin Murphy Literary Agency. Her writing and curatorial work has been featured in Uppercase Magazine and in WashU Libraries, and her design and illustration work has been featured by Honest History Magazine and AIGA St. Louis. Before her academic career, Ridolfi spent several years in the design industry working at agencies in St. Louis. She teaches courses across WashU in communication design and children’s studies.