about
Hi, I'm Mary Beckert.
I'm a San Diego-based graphic designer and the founder of Mousetrap Design. For more than 31 years I've helped golf companies, apparel brands, schools, nonprofits and small businesses turn ideas into memorable visual communications.
Here's how I got here...
I'm a San Diego-based graphic designer and the founder of Mousetrap Design. For more than 31 years I've helped golf companies, apparel brands, schools, nonprofits and small businesses turn ideas into memorable visual communications.
Here's how I got here...
1977
When I was 8 years old, I won a spelling bee. My prize was a paint-by-numbers kit—a fittingly strange combination of words and pictures. Looking back, I like to think it was an early sign that my future career belonged in the “logical arts”: an occupation that combines creativity with problem-solving, where a good idea also has to make sense.
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1990
In college, I was an intern at California Magazine, where I learned the glamorous, hands-on side of graphic design—doing paste-ups for printing (yes, this was before computers, when layouts involved wax, solvent, and a very steady hand), keeping the Xerox book up to date, and FedEx-ing artwork back to contributors. The magazine is long gone, but the friendships I made there are still going strong.
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1995
As a wide-eyed youngster, I embarked on my first year in business with Mousetrap Design in Carlsbad, California. My plan was simple: offer my design services to apparel and golf companies, drawing on my specialty at the time—print design. Catalogs, hangtags, ads and other printed materials were my bread and butter. Little did I know that this first step would eventually lead to more than three decades of designing for the golf industry.
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2005
Ten years into my business, I was still loving what I did. I moved my office to Cardiff-by-the-Sea, where I enjoyed a lovely ocean view and the invigorating aroma of VG Donuts wafting through the air every morning. Golf and apparel companies were still my main clients, but I also discovered plenty of cool neighborhood businesses that could use a little Mousetrap Design magic.
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2017
More than twenty years in, and after starting a family, I moved my office into my home so I could continue working while being a mom. By then, I had worked with so many golf companies that it seemed a little ridiculous that I still didn’t know how to play the game! I feel incredibly lucky to have built a career doing something I love—one that continues to be creative, ever-changing, and challenging.
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2026
Thirty years in, and I still genuinely enjoy what I do. I value the many relationships I’ve built along the way—some of which have lasted nearly as long as my business. The design industry has changed dramatically over the years, becoming more collaborative and giving us access to increasingly powerful and affordable technology, including tools like AI. Through all of that change, the best part has remained the same: I’m fortunate to apply my creativity and problem-solving skills to a wonderfully diverse range of projects.
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fun with pugs
27 years of very unprofessional holiday cards
Every holiday season, I’ve given myself the personal challenge of creating humorous and memorable cards featuring our dog—and later, our son. You know the old saying about never working with animals or children? It’s true! But I’ve always found them to be the most entertaining subjects when placed in completely improbable situations. These cards were created long before the AI revolution, so in some cases, the shading or proportions may not be entirely convincing. But that’s part of the charm—and, of course, it’s all in the spirit of the holiday season.
