JENNIFER DANIEL

where are you from and how long have you been illustrating?
Kansas. My parents are from the East (New York/Massachusetts), so that makes me a bit East meets Midwest.

amazing website URL! pretty much lets people know what they're getting into right off the bat huh?

If someone made the effort to type in all 73 characters of my url then I like to think they really want to be there. I'm constantly updating and have a hard time editing myself both in person and in my work. Currently, http://httpcolonforwardslashforwardslashwwwdotjenniferdanieldotcom.com is at an obese 84 projects. I confess, sometimes I check my site just to see what I'm up to.

According to your artist information (a nice mix of Lorem Ipsum and facts) you state a "love for tacos". Can you talk about that?

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How did your stint with themorningnews.org come about?
Rosecrans Baldwin and Andrew Womack are great human beings. The Morning News is a really unique place where it's personality directly reflects the disposition of all the writers. I had been reading it for years and emailed them a fan letter, a lock of my hair, and said I would love to contribute. They responded back with love and hooked me up with Todd Levin and we created a series of video diagrams. Since then, TMN and I have collaborated on some other really great projects like their first Annual (TMN is an all digital publication so going to print was a big deal), and a t-shirt or two.

your work is really clever and i mean REALLY clever...how do you brainstorm? Seriously, where are these ideas coming from?

Unfortunately, there is no secret to the way I work. I sit in front of a computer with an oversized wacom tablet, a collection of half filled sketchbooks, a hard copy of the the assignment, half empty coffee cups, and just think. . . until a new episode of LOST is on.

do you consider yourself a designer as well? I mean, your work is pretty designy...

Most designers think I'm an illustrator. Most illustrators think I'm a designer. My mom thinks I'm adorable. I'm somewhere where the three intersect.

at the bottom of your insanely well laid out website lies the joke "A Rabbi, A Priest, and the Pope walk into a bar. The bartender says, "What is this? Some sort of joke?" - how does one decide to finish with THIS particular joke?

I love a good laugh. My grandmother can tell a real good dirty joke. Whenever my family gets together we laugh a lot- 70% because we're funny and 30% because we're drunk. I guess, like most designers, I'm really freaked out about people not liking my work, which in my case often means people not getting my sense of humor. I end my website with a joke- as a last resort. If you didn't laugh yet hopefully you'll chuckle at that.

the majority of your work looks digitally created, do you work traditionally as well?

I think if I were to refresh this website in a few years "digital" will be "traditional". If Albrect Dürer were alive today he'd be an illustrator.

are all the stenciled pieces actually stenciled pieces?

Yes! Both my boobs and stencils are not fake.

you do alot of work for the New York Times, is that right? Thats pretty cool.

Yes, I have a really unique relationship with the Times. I do a lot of different things there that range from art direction, designing, chart making, coffee drinking, lion taming and illustration. I'm usually working in my studio but if someone is sick or on vacation the Times gives me a call and I work behind the curtain.

you went to Maryland Institute College of Art, how was that experience?

I love Baltimore and I go back as much as I can. MICA is between three culturally diverse cities- D.C., Philly, and New York. This accessibility was a significant shift to everything for me when I was 19. Growing up in Kansas- well, I had never had this kind of freedom before.

The illustration department has a really dedicated dept chair (Whitney Sherman) and even though I studied design I tried registering for as many illustration classes as I could. I never really thought I was "good enough" to do illustration so I became a designer. I know that's horrible to say- but I figured I couldn't be one I'd work with them.

Ellen Lupton is the head of the design department so I was really lucky to be surrounded by two really strong, smart, and successful female professionals.

did you feel prepared for the real world upon graduation?

No.

if Im hiring you as an AD what should i expect?

Expect nothing. I'll exceed all of your expectations and not disappoint.

how important is living in New York for you both is general and as a creative? I've always wanted to live in New York. I didn't know if I was going to be a lawyer, an artist, a fireman, an astronaut, homeless, a mom, a parole officer, a psychologist, a unicorn chaser, a princess or what. New York was less a destination and more a part of who I wanted to be. I love it here. As far as the "importance" of living in New York for being creative- well, I just think it's important to surround yourself by interesting things and what you're curious about and it will seep into your work. This isn't necessarily unique to Brooklyn- but if you walk down the streets here and don't find something interesting well- you're not looking.

wheres your work currently going / where am i going to see it in 5 years?

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stylistically, how did you wind up where you are now?
I come up with the idea first- and usually that dictates the style.

what are some major influences in your work?

Lisa Frank, Mussolini, coffee.

you're only 26 and really successful...what the hell? what 5 things can young illustrators reading this at home do right now to be exactly as popular and well known as you (aka advice for new / young illustrators?)

I'm not convinced I'm in a position to give advice. I came to do illustration in a very haphazard way so I am am not sure how to answer this. I just try to (as much as possible) to keep doing the things I don't feel like is work and that makes me happy. The idea making process is grueling but oh-so-worth it in the end.

all images copyright Jennifer Daniel
http://httpcolonforwardslashforwardslashwwwdotjenniferdanieldotcom.com

YES!!!!