About
Kate Bingaman-Burt mostly draws, letters, documents, and collects, but she also does a lot of other things that involve energy, conversation, and exchange. Kate is a full-time educator and makes illustrations for all sorts of clients all around the world. Since 2008, she has worked at Portland State University and now holds the rank of Professor of Graphic Design. She opened Outlet in 2017, which hosts workshops, pop-up events and a fully operational risograph print studio. She also sits on the board of Design Portland and has been scheming with them since 2012.
HELLO: I make work about the things we buy and the feelings we feel. The building blocks of my practice include: bright colors, hand lettering, inventories of illustrated objects, and input and interaction from the communities of awesome people who contribute to my projects.
Rule based projects RULE my work. Almost all of my non-client work operates some sort of rule structure. The project I might be best know for is my daily purchase drawing project that started in 2006. 14 years and over 4,000 drawings later, it’s still going strong. You may follow along over on my instagram for the latest drawings.
My roles as commercial illustrator, full-time educator, and project-based artist overlap to inform an intricate creative work flow.
My studio is located in Outlet which is my project space located in Portland, Oregon. I am also a Professor of Graphic Design at Portland State. My position as both leader and collaborator with my students is an integral part of my creative practice.
Have questions? Check out a few interviews. Want to work together? Let me know!
PAST CLIENTS: Pinterest, Dolby, Uniqlo, Airbnb, Chipotle, Car2Go, Bedsider, Portland Monthly, Hillary for America, Google, IDEO, ASA Salt, Hallmark, Poketo, Etsy, New York Times, Creative Mornings, Museum of Modern Art, Tattly, Travel & Leisure, SF Magazine, Gray Magazine, Oprah, Vh1, Girl Scouts of America, Knock Knock, Gap, Madewell, Municipal Winemakers, Real Simple, Target, Expedia, Microsoft, Photojojo, Readymade Magazine, Princeton Architectural Press, Sasquatch Books, Webby Awards, Fred Flare, Nature's Path, Newsweek, Pinball Publishing, Willamette Week, Hour Detroit, The Morning News, Ginza Magazine and more.
WORK & PLAY: In April of 2017 I moved my studio operations to my new project and workshop space Outlet. The main floor is for workshops, pop-up events, and provides additional space for my larger projects. Barbara the Risograph lives here as well as my ever-growing zine library (I can't stop, won't stop collecting zines). There’s also a collection of art and publishing supplies and other materials for making (happy to share, always).
Upstairs is my private office where I draw for myself and for my clients (and write lots of email and get distracted by social media).
Outlet has open hours almost every day of the week. If you are in Portland, come and check us out at 2500 NE Sandy Boulevard, STE E, Portland, Oregon, 97232 (also, I love mail if you happen to have any zines you would like to share. SUBTLE HINT
Have zines will travel: I love visiting universities to speak and work with students. (Here I am on a trip to the University of Akron completely nerding out with the DEVO mural downtown.
I have presented my work in an expansive set of contexts including contemporary art galleries, alternative artist spaces, colleges and universities, the lectern at creative conferences worldwide, book stores and stuff shops, and the walls of the offices of select creative companies.
HOW DO I WORK? Illustration is at the core of what I do, but my projects take on many forms including publications, prints, textiles, patterns, installations, murals, and ongoing photo documentation and collaborative illustration projects.
BOOKS: I am the author of three publications from Princeton Architectural Press, Obsessive Consumption: What Did You Buy Today?, What Did I Eat Today?: A Food Lover’s Journal, and What Did I Buy Today?: An Obsessive Consumption Journal. I also make a ton of zines. Long story short: I love print and making publications.
ONLINE & OFF: Not my student IRL? Take some online classes with me! Currently I have classes on both Skillshare and CreativeLive. CUSOON. Also, check out the workshop schedule at Outlet! I’m am also happy to conduct private group workshops (online and off) outside of the scheduled ones. These workshops range from zine making, to drawing, to printing on the risograph to something custom that we come up with together.