Charles Apple

Here’s wishing the happiest of VizEds birthdays to Lindi Daywalt Feazel, the lead features designer of the Fort Myers News-Press and my former graphics intern at The Virginian-Pilot. Lindi turns 26 today.

Lindi and her poor old ex-boss last fall at SND/Boston.
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Two years ago, Lindi built these wonderful pages for her paper’s high school all-area special section:

She worked closely with a photographer to create photoillustrations that were custom-tailored for each kid the News-Press was honoring. The results were very unusual for these kinds of sections. And the results were gorgeous.

So last fall, when I made my first Art of Being Brilliant presentation in Atlanta, I used Lindi’s project as a great example of collaboration and an unusual approach at a small paper. I had carefully rehearsed the climax to my talk. And boy, was I on a roll.

So I got up to that last sequence of slides, I hit the button on my clicker and up popped the cover to that Fort Myers special section. And before I could get the next sentence out of my mouth, a young lady sitting on the fourth or fifth row gasped and said: “Oooooh! Lindi Daywalt!”

And that was it. I totally lost my train of thought. Because my young former intern, it seems, now has her own internet groupie.

A 2005 graduate of Ohio University, Lindi interned with both the Cleveland Plain Dealer and The Virginian-Pilot that summer.

I remember how nervous she was. Lindi was so afraid she wouldn’t find a job. She was so afraid she wouldn’t be able to design pages.

Wrong on both counts. Not only did Javier Torres bring her to Fort Myers but she’s also kicked major ass there for three years since then.

A few examples of her work:

See more in her NewsPageDesigner gallery.

Lindi recently had a baby — her first. Tanner James Feazel, born April 29. She’ll be back at work soon, I’m told.

Lindi shares a birthday with fellow Ohio University graduate Lauren Kuntz of the San Jose Mercury News, singers George Michael and Carly Simon, actor Jimmie Walker and writer George Orwell.

Plus, today is Log Cabin Day. Seriously.

I’m so incredibly proud of you and all you’ve done, Lindi. Best wishes for a perfect birthday!

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