Hello!

I’m a visual designer with a passion for storytelling through art and writing. With formal training and a great deal of experience in traditional print design, I've also found my niche in design and development for web materials. My creative endeavors have included explorations in animation and video production, large-scale art projects and even a comic book. I enjoy a well-rounded approach to design and feel as comfortable in back-end production as I am with art direction. I am a typography geek, proponent of usability, marketing strategist, illustrator, and love collaborating with people to create intelligent, effective work.

In my downtime I can be found hiking, cooking, hanging out with a book and a cat, dancing, snowboarding, or just looking at pretty things on the web (not necessarily in that order!)

Jennifer Kolanek

  • Design background

    As a senior-level designer I conceptualize new artwork and revise existing materials while advising on marketing strategy and visual solutions. I offer innovation and problem-solving in adjusting content for different platforms as well as experience developing branding and style guides. My background in illustration allows me to create unique designs for a wide range of projects.

    • Freelance Projects
      • Various Clients Ongoing
        • Produce broad range of work, including logo design/branding, website design/redesign and optimization, and custom illustration as well as personalized invitation cards and announcements.
    • Senior Graphic Designer
      • Clontech Laboratories, Inc. June 2003–present
        • Design effective media for web, email, smart devices, and print. Collaborate with technical writers, product managers, sales team, and scientists to create compelling graphic content. Advise and inform team on design trends and best practices. Illustrate and develop graphic solutions for scientific concepts. Incorporate and maintain corporate style across diverse materials.
    • Print Designer
      • Stanford Design Group 1997–2000
        • Designed and produced print materials, such as flyers, posters, stationery, and physicians directory for UCSF Stanford Health Care.
    • Additional experience
      • Autodesk, Aquent, In-Color Graphics, Graphic Center
        • Several years in contract positions and employed at service bureaus; worked in packaging design, prepress, ad production, etc.
    • Education
      • Bachelor of Arts with Emphasis in Graphic Design
        • San Diego State University
      • Academy of Arts
        • Graphic Design Major

  • Technical abilities

    • Web
      • UI design
      • html, css, javascript/jQuery
      • Pixel-perfect iconography
      • Custom images
      • Responsive layouts
    • Print
      • Layout for variety of materials
      • Prepress artwork
      • Press-checks
    • Multimedia
      • Video production and editing
      • Flash animation
      • ActionScript 3.0

  • Tools

    • Software
      • Photoshop
      • Illustrator
      • In-Design
      • DPS
      • Dreamweaver
      • Premiere Pro
      • Flash
      • PowerPoint
    • CMS
      • istore
      • Marketo
      • Blogger
    • Platforms
      • Mac OS
      • Windows