Meet Jeri Evan | Designer + Illustrator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jeri Evan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jeri, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I got my start in Creative Marketing in a corporate setting in 2018, and wasn’t feeling fulfilled creatively in any way despite the job title. I was able to transition to working as a Freelance creative in the music and entertainment industry in early 2020 pretty organically after being discovered online. Since then, I’ve been able to work on projects that have brought a new meaning to what ‘work’ can look like. Although there are still parameters and structure involved working with musicians like Olivia Rodrigo, and for media companies like Disney and MGM, it’s a lot more fun to be a part of creating culture! It doesn’t feel like work the way that my office job did. Especially now that I’m able to work predominantly remotely, I’ve been able to spend extended time in other cities like Miami where I’m able to pick up my laptop at will and jump on a project if I’m needed at any given moment. Vegas is my next stop!

I knew that my first Design role designing catalogs for the travel company I worked for in my home city wasn’t where I wanted to be long term, so I took it upon myself to level up on my own time outside of that role. By creating my own projects and marketing myself and my work online, I was able to build an extensive client list pretty quickly. Fast forward to 2024, and I’m coming up on 6 years of professional Design experience. 4 of which have been in the LA’s music and entertainment scene working for various record labels and marketing agencies.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
For me it didn’t feel like I had any other choice but to pursue a creative career. I’ve always had an inner voice guiding me, and from a very young age I’ve needed an outlet to express myself creatively. I was a fashion model for most of my younger years, and something about being in that environment changed the way I saw the world. I grew up surrounded by photographers, makeup artists, set designers, hair stylists, and so much more. I learned what a Creative Director was for the first time shooting a fashion editorial in New York City with Jamie Nelson as a 14 year old. Even as a 30 year old that word has so many meanings.

That was such an exciting time in my life. Walking into Jamie’s studio in Jersey City filled with racks of Dolce & Gabbana and Prada was a dream. Having lunch at Core Club in Manhattan with Jan Planit from IMG, my first manager. I have a distinctive memory of stopping by SNL Studios with her on a lunch break, and taking a photo with a disposable camera of the view of Times Square. It opened my eyes to what else was out there, especially coming from a small city like Boston. From that moment I knew the path I wanted to pursue wasn’t going to be traditional.

I fell into Creative Marketing after pursuing a degree in Illustration at MassArt. Looking back, I’m not sure I really had a plan for where to go after graduating. It was in limbo at that time if I would be moving to New York City to continue modeling. I decided to go to art school because I needed a break from being in the fashion industry for over 10 years, and just wanted to have fun! I even considered going completely off the grid and moving to the Caribbean at one point.

There are moments I still question if I made the right choice with the whole Caribbean thing. I love the beach. It’s the only place I can hear myself think. I plan to own a home on the ocean someday.

I grew up in Boston, and spent extended periods of time in New York City, Montreal, and Los Angeles during my formative years due to my modeling career at that time. I missed a lot of school due to traveling so frequently for bookings, and feel I got more of an education from my time spent on set. I went to high school in Newton just outside of the city. Despite the bulk of my work in the Design world being in Los Angeles over the years, there’s something raw about Boston’s underground scene that still tends to show in my work stylistically. I spent my teenage years going to local venues in Boston like Paradise Rock Club, House of Blues, and Brighton Music Hall. My hometown friends used to throw DIY Punk shows in their parents basements, and several of us were doing Graffiti at that time. I’m 30 now, and don’t think I ever fully grew out of that phase nor do I plan to.

I still do Graffiti and listen to Punk Rock. The only thing that’s changed is that I get paid to do that stuff now.

Risk is the only reason that I am where I am today. Giving up my corporate 9 to 5 in pursuit of following my dreams as a Freelance creative was never going to be an easy road. On paper I’ve worked with Grammy winning musicians and household name entertainment studios. Those projects have kept me going, and have kept my creative spirit alive even in my darkest moments. Design itself can be monotonous and left brain heavy at times. Every time I’m booked to work on a high stakes project it makes going through the technical side of things worth it. The payoff is seeing your work in the public eye, and being apart of something greater than.

Someone I worked with at a side hustle recently told me that his roommate owns one of the t-shirts I designed for Thundercat which oddly put things into perspective for me.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
All we’d do is spend way too much money on Hailey Bieber smoothies at Erewhon, and go for a hike at Runyon Canyon or Griffith Park! Perhaps hit up Wasteland on Melrose, then catch a jazz set at Delilah in West Hollywood.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
‘The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck’ by Mark Manson is a book that I’ve revisited at every turning point in my life since I first read it shortly after graduating from college in 2017. Every read has a new meaning to me, even more so now that my perspective on life has grown and changed so much. This book has allowed me to embrace failure and change through the comedic lens. Even 7 years later I still have a chuckle. The human condition is never going to be comfortable. Failure is a part of life. Not everything happens how you expect it to or how you want it to. Sometimes you end up going down a path that you don’t want to be on. You won’t realize if it was actually the right path until you reach your destination. Even if it’s uncomfortable in the moment.

Let’s normalize having a flop era. Not every project is going to be a grand slam or your best work. That’s something that took me until mid career to learn. Compassion and perseverance. Normalize getting fired. Normalize not being for everyone. Normalize being for yourself.

Website: www.jerievan.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/jerievan