About Hannah Jennings Design

Go to the history of Hannah Jennings Design

Hannah Jennings
Principal

Hannah is a designer and illustrator with many years of experience, primarily with non-profit organizations including over 20 years as Manager of Design at Brookfield Zoo. She launched her own design studio in 2005 (see below), branching out into new media and working with a wide range of clients. She also teaches at Dominican University. Hannah has an MFA in Design from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She works from Oak Park, near Chicago.

Michael Jennings
Copy Editor

Starting out as a Public Relations Writer at Armstrong Cork, Michael spent most of his first career in Human Resources, especially Employee Communications, ending up as a Senior Vice President at U.S. Bank. He left the corporate world to teach troubled students in a challenged city school. Since 2008 he has worked in association with Hannah Jennings Design as a copy editor, striving to collaborate with writers and advocate for readers in pursuit of the clearest communication possible. Michael has an MA in English Literature and a BA in Economics, both from Ohio Wesleyan University. He works from St. Petersburg, Florida.

Barbara Becker
Exhibit Development Associate

Barbara has been an exhibit planner and writer for over 25 years, both as an independent consultant and on staff at Chicago’s Field Museum and John G. Shedd Aquarium. She is a versatile researcher, writer, evaluator and instructor working with a variety of clients and partners. Barbara has an MA in Anthropology from University of Illinois. She loves strategizing and producing content for the three-dimensional environments of exhibition and has also written marketing copy, grant proposals, articles and research reports. Barbara is located in Berwyn, Illinois.

Click for more about Barbara.

An Illustrated History
Click on these images for more details.

Hannah got a BA in Fine Arts at Ohio Wesleyan, then went to work in the big world, notably at Sunbums newspaper in Honolulu and the Joint Commission in Chicago.

Publication of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care

She decided to go back to school: she studied design history, printmaking, book binding, and photography, and put them all together by making a lot of books.

She also taught classes and designed for the school.

Next came Brookfield Zoo. She continued to design some print, but gradually concentrated on...

...managing the zoo's ambitious, award-winning exhibit interpretation program.

Hannah became interested in wayfinding, visitor evaluation, and identity.

She got involved in local and national professional organizations, even becoming President of SEGD.

Alligator illustration for Brevard Zoo in Florida

Finally, Hannah left the zoo and entered the world of entrepreneurs. Her first projects reflected her past experiences.

Her work on the Brookfield Oak Savanna brought her first post-zoo award.

She gradually expanded into new realms of web and book design, and more...

		...and her brother Michael joined her to add wordsmithing to Hannah Jennings Design's capability.
		In the 200 titles we have published over the past five years, we've experimented with many different design and production groups. And, after all this time, we've settled on only a few who we use regularly and without reservation, including the team of Jennings and Jennings. Hannah and Michael are hard working, deadline focused, reasonable, flexible, moderately priced, and creative in their designs and editing. The books turn out interesting, solid, and attractive. Authors are happy, we're happy, book buyers are happy. It doesn't get better than that. Mitch Allen Publisher, Left Coast Press

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Oh, and yes, Hannah also paints watercolors and exhibits her art.