Hi!

Red flower-shaped object with a black star-shaped center.

Blue wavy line on white background

Child dressed as a wizard with a tall, pointed hat decorated with a large flower, holding a magic wand and a book.

Child dressed as a wizard with a tall, pointed hat decorated with a large flower, holding a magic wand and a book.

I’m Dustin Owen,

a designer and writer based in North Carolina, working at the intersection of editorial, books, and visual storytelling.

Pair of scissors with blue handle, red blades, and yellow handle against a plain background.

A yellow wavy line on a white background.

My work explores how stories are shaped—and how they shape us in return.

Yellow and white pen with black text and handwriting style text on the barrel.

A computer keyboard with colorful keys. The Escape key is turquoise, the Enter key is red, the space bar is yellow, and the Backspace key is gray. The other keys are mostly white or gray.

A computer keyboard with colorful keys. The Escape key is turquoise, the Enter key is red, the space bar is yellow, and the Backspace key is gray. The other keys are mostly white or gray.

Stories move through image, type, and structure.

A magazine spread featuring a woman with long, wavy blonde hair and dark makeup on the left page, and a behind-the-scenes photo of a makeup and hair team working backstage at a fashion event on the right page.

A colorful abstract digital artwork featuring a woman's partially visible face with green lips, wearing round glasses reflecting starry sky. The background contains various celestial, geometric, and starburst designs in pastel and vibrant shades.

Cover of Carbondale magazine with a mountain landscape and sunset sky, featuring headlines about local flavor, nature activities, and community events in Colorado.

A robot standing in a field of yellow flowers, reaching out towards a bright orange butterfly. The background features trees and a colorful sky with a quote at the top, and the words "beach" and "chambers" at the bottom.

Child wearing a magician's hat with a flower, a long cape, and holding a wand, standing in a cozy wood-paneled room with plants, shelves, and furniture.

Much of my work is rooted in the belief that design is a form of translation—taking something felt, remembered, or imagined, and giving it shape. Whether I’m building a magazine spread, designing a book cover, or writing a piece of my own, I’m often circling the same ideas: memory, identity, and the quiet ways a story can change us.

As both a designer and a writer, I think closely about tone—what something feels like before it’s fully understood, and how that feeling is carried through image and language.

Yellow wavy line on a black background

Alongside my professional work, I maintain an ongoing studio practice—watercolor, collage, and digital experiments. These pieces act as a kind of fieldwork: a space to explore texture, symbolism, and composition without constraint.

They often find their way back into my design work in unexpected ways.

A woman with long black hair has a large moth resting on her face, covering her eyes and forehead, with a painted or graphic background featuring leaves and insects.

A watercolor illustration of a house with a beige exterior, black window shutters, a red front door with a wreath, a red brick chimney, and a front yard with greenery.

Cover of a magazine titled 'Ford Family Living' with a woman planting flowers in a garden, with headlines about whimsical reality, defy gravity, and rose society.

Cover of Carbon Dale Magazine 2025 featuring a close-up of a fox lying in snow with mountain in the background. Headlines include exploring on foot, history, arts and culture, eats and drinks, lodging, community, recreation, business, maps, and more.

Cover of Carbonate Colorado Magazine with a sunset view of trees and mountains, promoting winter/spring 2024 features on Redstone, Carbondale, and local flavors, with categories on history, arts, culture, eats, drinks, lodging, community, recreation, business, services, and maps, along with a QR code.

Cover of Glenwood Springs Magazine 2026 featuring a scenic view of a roller coaster against green mountains, with text about outdoor activities, history, and local attractions in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

Magazine cover featuring a smiling couple in winter clothing and hats, with text about community and local art, celebrating 40 years, and promoting the Slovan's Formals boutique.

A red flower-shaped object with a black center and wavy edges.

I’ve spent over a decade working across print and digital, including leading editorial design for publications like Family Living Magazine. My work has involved shaping full publications—from concept through production—while collaborating closely with editorial, marketing, and production teams.

Today, I focus on thoughtful, narrative-driven work, especially in publishing, education, and spaces that value human-centered storytelling.

Clients I’ve worked with:

The word 'NOVA' written in large, stylized black font with a star above the 'O' and a constellation pattern inside the letters.

Text reading '2019 PaperSkyScraper' with yellow circles around some letters on a white background.

Get in Touch

If you’re interested in working together, feel free to reach out. I’m happy to talk through your project, timeline, and scope.