As a child emigrating from Romania, in the 1980s, Simona Bortis-Schultz found the West with its striving, colorful, visual communication full of potential. She grew up in the U.S. by way of the Southwest and then Northwest before being drawn to New York City and then Upstate NY. 

 For many years Simona Bortis-Schultz’s client experience included advertising, branding and marketing work for national and international clients such as Adidas, Alvin Ailey, Beekman 1802, Blue Q, Pitney Bowes, Nike, and Scholastic Education among others. Bortis-Schultz has received numerous awards for art direction, design and illustration both nationally and internationally including: The 2023 United States International Poster Biennial, Communication Arts Illustration Annual 2022 + 2023 (short list), AIGA Upstate NY State of Design, Print Magazine’s Design Annual, FABRICA/Benetton Workshop in Treviso, Italy, The Portland Creative Conference's Rosey Awards, and AIGA Best of Oregon Traveling Design Exhibition. Her current work focuses on capturing the magic of visual narrative per community and commercial projects involving supergraphics, surface design, motion design, and any other available mediums. Bortis-Schultz’s book, To Take Your Heart in Your Teeth, Women’s Work: The Semiotics of the Romanian Blouse revolves around an artifact of material culture as it relates to symbols, storytelling and design, and is currently in the process of being published. It is her wish that more sensitive, mindful, aesthetic experiences could be delivered through visual communication – that communication design can reach out more often and create brighter, more engaged worlds, experiences and communities.

Ms. Bortis-Schultz earned a double Bachelor of Arts in Advertising and in Visual Design, from the University of Oregon. She has recently garnered a Masters of Fine Art, October 2022, from The Vermont College of Fine Art in graphic design.

Before joining the faculty at Skidmore, she taught communication design at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.