Ann Willoughby

Anne Willoughby (born 1946) is an American graphic designer based in Kansas City.

Willoughby was born in 1946 in Jackson, Mississippi. She attended the University of Southern Mississippi and received her BFA in fine art and design in 1968.

In 1972, she met Milton Glaser at the Aspen Design Conference. At the time, she was thinking of quitting and Glaser advised her to stick with it and in 1974, she started her a small design business. This allowed her time for her family and to do the work she wanted to do. She attracted many talented women looking for the flexibility to accommodate life with children, which was unheard of at the time.

In 1978, she founded Ann Willoughby & Associates (now Willoughby Design Group) in Kansas City where she has worked with Lee Jeans, Einstein Bros. Bagels, and Hallmark. Her firm still supports young female designers and has worked on a variety of design initiatives.

Willoughby received an AIGA medal in 2014. She was the first in the association’s Kansas City chapter to receive the medal.