Charmaine Martinez is an assistant professor of graphic design at California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo. She worked as a graphic designer in Chicago after earning her BFA from the University of Notre Dame in 1993. She went on to study studio art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, receiving her MFA in 2003. Charmaine views her design work as inextricably linked with her art interests which include: mixed media installations, book arts, and printmaking. Her current work examines consumer culture and the role that material objects play in fashioning identity.

Charmaine spends much of her free time chasing her son Iain, preparing elaborate meals, and indulging in restorative beverages.