Fox Hyon Smith
Korean American Storyteller Designer Illustrator Podcaster Streamer Creator
Email | rockettefox@gmail.com
Phone | (314) 308-5149
Who I Am
Biracial Korean-American illustrator, designer, and storyteller, I relentlessly seek out that sweet spot at the intersection of my arenas of expertise to create experiences that connect people to ideas, community, and so much more.
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I graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 2010. With a focus on graphic communications, I specialized in design and illustration and discovered a love for finding new ways to tell stories whether the story of a brand or the illustrations for a children's book. After graduating I became an art director for boutique publishing company, Hired Ink, for ten years where I designed and illustrated over 25 award-winning topical and educational books for organizations such as Centene, Build-A-Bear Workshop®, the St. Louis Cardinals, and Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital.
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During that time, I learned the ins and outs of branding systems, collateral creation, and user experiences both on a team and as a freelance designer and illustrator. I also launched my independent company, Rockette Fox, in which I directly connect to an audience with my own personal work encouraging empowerment, mental health awareness, diversity, and the importance of self-acceptance.
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When not furiously drawing or playing with typography, I spent my time as a storyteller, performer, and speaker. For several years I served as the president of the board for Super Heroines, Etc. (SHE), a 501c3 nonprofit with the mission to empower women and those who identify as women to embrace their inner nerd. I developed and ran events that ranged from a monthly thematic storytelling open mic to annual fundraisers. Additionally I've had the incredible privilege and honor to speak nationally on topics such as the importance of representation in media, creating inclusive spaces, and geek feminism.
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Once the pandemic hit, I found myself--like so many others--out of stable work. Focusing on my own company, I began to live stream storytelling, games, and performances such as a full-cast read of Shakespeare's The Tempest. As difficult as this shift in communal dynamic was it offered unexpected benefits such as holding events and workshops virtually, which allowed accessibility to increase and community borders to expand. Through live-streaming sites like Twitch, partnerships, podcasts, and slices of community spaces like Discord and Reddit, I've been able to continue reaching out, creating space, and encouraging those who may need it.
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Currently, I live in my home studio in St. Louis, Missouri with a dog, three cats, and menagerie of pets. When not working I'm building terrariums, hand-crafting jewelry from bone and other natural or vintage elements, attending a distance graduate program for Art Therapy and Counseling, and pushing myself as an artist, storyteller, creator, and performer. When I am on the clock I'm working one-on-one with clients on everything from books to branding, producing online live-streams, creating content that connects businesses to their audiences, and teaching.
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Education
Southwestern College Santa Fe | 2023-current
Currently in a Masters program for Art Therapy/Counseling
Washington University in St. Louis | 2008-2010
Bachelors of Fine Arts
St. Louis Community College | 2003-2004
Graduated from the Graphic Communications program with a focus on graphic design & illustration
Preliminary art, design, and undergraduate requirement classes
Work Experience
August 2010 - present
June 2021 - present
August 2010 - September 2020
August 2010 - September 2020
May 2010 - August 2010
Rockette Fox | Owner/Designer/Illustrator
Created and launched personal brand that focuses on empowerment, celebration of diversity, and uplifting others to fully embrace themselves and their unique story through original content, blogs, products, live streaming, and performance. I continue to relentlessly seek out that sweet spot at the intersection of my areas of expertise to create ways to continually push the boundaries of art, performance, and education.
Center of Creative Arts (COCA) | Educator
Develop lesson plans and teach children ages 6 through 18 in semester-long classes, summer camps, and gallery workshops in topics including illustration, comic books and cartooning, animation, skate deck/shoe design, theatre, photography, and more.
Hired Ink | Senior Art Director
Develop layouts, illustrations, designs, and print-ready files for both children and adult books and based on educating readers about subjects such as asthma, foster care, medical adherence, and nutritional education. Additionally created character designs, branding packages, marketing collateral, and more for clients such as Centene, St. Louis Cardinals, and Build-A-Bear Workshop®.
Washington University in St. Louis | Adjunct Professor
Educated sophomore university students in the areas of illustration/design principles and the Adobe Creative Suite in the Graphic Communications program at Sam Fox School of Art and Design. Returned in following years as a visiting professional to assess their final work.
Spoke Marketing | Sprockets Intern
Worked along the other two design interns in the Sprockets summer program pitching, designing, and producing branding and collateral materials for five selected non-profits in St. Louis.
Client History |
BALSA Foundation
Build-A-Bear Workshop®
Bully Pulpit Games
Cardinal Glennon Hospital
Centene
CryptTV
Dr. Brown Bottles
Easterseals NJ
Evntiv
Hulu
Joyride Harness
LumiVid
Mustard Seed Theatre
Solid Lines Productions
St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
Washington University in St. Louis
Expertise
Book Illustration & Design | developing concept/thumbnails, design, illustration, layout, providing print-ready files
Branding Identity | logos, branding guidelines, collateral creation, marketing
Character Design & Creation | concept creation, final design, story, branding sheet
Collateral | event materials, flyers, posters, catalogs, digital materials
Content Creation | copywriting, research, video & podcast production
Marketing | collateral, event management, event training, ads
Product Design & Production | product development, design, implementation, photography, marketing
Social Media Management | visual and copy content creation, developing calendar, posting, interaction with comments and messages
Web Design & Maintenance | design & creation via Wix or Wordpress, content building, management
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