Meg Lewis is a designer, speaker, and educator creating a brighter future through joyful design, inspiring talks, and playful workshops. Through curiosity, humanity, and connection, Meg helps people and brands shine brighter and build a better world!

How does being queer inform your work?

To me, being queer means rejecting the status quo and crafting your own unique definition of identity, perspective, and how you show up in the world. It’s about peeling back the layers of who the world told you to be and rediscovering the joy, love, humanity, and play you were born with. When you do this, it’s almost impossible not to be queer! By centering play, joy, curiosity, and connection in everything I do, queerness naturally becomes a core part of my work. Being queer is about embracing complexity, celebrating individuality, and creating space for others to do the same. It’s about seeing the cracks in the system and filling them with light—imagining a brighter future where everyone’s unique brilliance can shine. Whether I’m designing, teaching, or performing, my work is a living expression of this queer ethos. I shout this message loudly and proudly through my bold, playful designs and through every workshop, talk, and project I create!

What are your favorite pieces of queer visual culture?

Pee-wee’s Playhouse! Pee-wee Herman himself was the rejection of the normative archetype of a "man". He was boldly weird, joyful, and completely uninterested in fitting into any box. What really makes Pee-wee’s Playhouse feel so queer, though, is its mission to challenge adults to reconnect with their most loudly playful selves. Pee-wee invited everyone, no matter their age, into a world full of joy, love, curiosity, and play. It was a direct rejection of the status quo at the time and a reminder that we don’t have to be serious or “normal” to be valuable, lovable, or human. For me, Pee-wee’s Playhouse embodies the best of queer culture: it’s unique, it’s colorful, it's loudly itself, it’s deeply human, and it creates a space where everyone can rediscover what makes them alive!

Which other queer people inspire you?

The list grows longer every day, but I'm most inspired by my fellow queers who have found a way to be themselves in a way that only they can. Creatives like Kyle Letendre who gives onstage talks as their drag persona TOMBOY. Who else can talk about gorgeous, detail-oriented type design in full drag wearing a custom-made outfit that fully communicates their style? No one!