This month’s AIGA Maine Member Spotlight features Julie Mattei-Benn. We talked to her about work, her life in Maine, and her experience with AIGA.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your work.
I’m a Creative Director at L.L.Bean where I oversee the brand advertising, social channels, branded content and visual improvement of the digital platforms. I joined L.L.Bean almost 6 years ago and that’s what brought me and my family to Maine.

Why did you join AIGA Maine?
I joined AIGA Maine hoping to help extend and support a sense of community for the design community in Maine. Working in-house can be isolating and I’m excited to meet designers from different backgrounds and practices.

What are some of your favorite spots in Maine?
We try to go out to the beach weekly—no matter the season!—and my absolute favorite beaches are Kettle Cove in Cape Elizabeth and Sand Beach in Stonnington. I absolutely fell in love with Deer Isle/Stonnington and we try to go there every Summer. I hope to attend Haystack once my girls are older and that I can leave them behind for a week or two without any guilt!

My favorite restaurants are Palace Diner in Biddeford and The Honey Paw in Portland.

Tell us a little about your images?
If you had asked me a year ago, I would have said that it would be impossible to do my job remotely. 2020 proved me wrong and I couldn’t be more proud of the work that the creative team at L.L.Bean has produced—all of that completely remote since March. We had to change the way we work every day but also how we produce and shoot video and photography. All these challenges and new problems to solve have made us a stronger and more united team than ever. We put our some of our best work out since I joined L.L.Bean, and, last but not least our customers absolutely loved it.

Follow Julie on Instagram at @juliemattbenn

AIGA Maine Member Spotlight is a regular series where we highlight one of our members. If you would like to make a suggestion for an upcoming spotlight, please email us at communications@maine.aiga.org.