Ana Jaks is an award-winning freelance illustrator based in Bristol whose love of shape, colour, pattern and inclusivity is reflected throughout her work.
Originally from the Isle of Man, she went to Falmouth University to study Illustration and then did a Masters in Visual Communications at Bath Spa before graduating in 2015. She's always worked for herself and has so far picked up clients such as Facebook, John Lewis, Vice, and Nike. In 2019, she signed with the illustration agency, Closer&Closer in the United States and believes it was one of the best moves of her career. More recently, she's joined JSR here in the UK, too.
If you're a fan of her work, you can purchase one of her vibrant prints from her online shop. Or enjoy seeing her latest updates on Instagram, a platform that she says helps promote her work but it can be a double-edged sword at times.
Forever fascinated by creative people who choose the path of freelancing, we headed down to Bristol to meet Ana in person and chat about this and more. It was before the days of lockdown and social distancing when it felt completely normal to visit someone's flat and enjoy a cup of tea. Seems like such a long time ago now but we enjoyed revisiting our conversation about running a business, the challenge of maintaining a healthy work/life balance and why she's decided to spend more time on hobbies these days.
