Jan Lindgren
Graphic design & photography
PORTFOLIO
TEXT, PHOTOS & DESIGN: © JAN LINDGREN COVER GIRL: MY WIFE, SUSANNA LINDGREN
TABLE OF CONTENTS WHO ME?
05
18
THE BEGINNING
07
08
14
CONTENT CREATION
16
20
WHAT MAKES US TICK
ARS LONGA VITA BREVIS
28
Born Beneath
242
WHERE IS HOME?
THE FINAL 30 CHORDS
A conclusion of sorts
5
ABOUT ME
JAN LINDGREN
I
am 44 years old, married and a father of a beautiful 6-year-old daughter. My wife and I had to wait for her over a decade, but in the end, it was all worth it. Sometimes life gives you time to grow and mature, even if you feel that you don’t need it. I was born and raised in Turku, and even went to college here, as it was one of the best on offer. This town has always felt like a home to me. I’ve been working for a family business with my father for the past 18 years. Not only did I learn to really know my father, but it taught me a lot of humility and tenacity. Fathers and sons, eh? The freedom to decide for my working hours was really a treat, but I've really missed a workplace community. I am a very sociable person and my personality particularly benefits from interaction with other people. How nice it would be to bounce off ideas with others and.. well, just to meet new people! I’ve now set out to find a community to contribute to and to learn from. I’m well aware that I’m not yet a complete backage for the positions I now seek, but I also know that I have a lot of potential, I’m honest, easy-going, hardworking, and quick to learn.
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PORTFOLIO
Jan Lindgren
p
Graphic Designer
+358 41 526 7709 www.janlindgren.fi jan.lindgren@janlindgren.fi
Jan Lindgren
w m
Graphic design & photography
THE BEGINNING
Jan Lindgren
Portfolio DVD
F
irst things first, whether I would try to generate work as a freelancer or apply for any position, I would need a business card, a printed portfolio and maybe even a DVD-Portfolio with high-resolution images to hand over whenever I’d meet someone of interest. Naturally, a clean, unique style would be required, but first and foremost, it would have to convey a professional image but with a personal twist. Since I’ve always loved octopusses as they are extraordinary and mystical creatures, I wanted to draw one to use on this. You could also say they project a certain "hands-on" attitude, which I find very befitting as an allegory to myself. In addition, I decided to do the whole portfolio in English to show off one of my strong suits.
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CASE STUDY
S
porttimyyjä was the only B2B magazine for Finnish sporting goods business. Throughout its 30 year history, it was revered as the forum for the industry professionals and respected for its independence and journalistic integrity. For the past 18 years, the magazine was published by Sportseason Oy. As an employee and later as a business partner, my primary responsibilities were the layout and graphic design for the magazine. However, I was also responsible for the website including writing and publishing the breaking on-line news, customer marketing and foreign sales. Since outdoor and technical sports clothing has become very popular amongst the urban people of today, it probably isn't a great surprise that the 80 % of sales in sports retail business generate from the sales of shoes and clothes. Because of this, these two segments were well represented on the pages of Sporttimyyjä magazine.
The slow but steady decline in publishing business became apparent quite early on, but just like in the Finnish newspaper industry, the decline wasn't as steep, as it was in many other market areas. The overall decline of print media and the rise of the internet naturally contributed to the plight. The countermeasures were made quite early on, and lots of thought was put into it, but in the end, we just had to accept that our business model wasn't viable anymore. According to surveys, the magazine was still deemed vital by the readers, importers and professional sports event organizers. However, in spite of our best efforts, it seemed that very few were ready to uphold the magazine financially and, thus, we had no other choice but to wrap it up.
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MY WORK
ORIGINAL PHOTO: BERGANS
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T
he cover of the magazine was given a soft touch finish to make it feel a bit more special in hand and to prevent fingerprints from showing. As a bonus, it also gave the cover a semi-matte look. In my opinion, the biggest impediment to good layout design is the overwhelming amount of material per page. Of course, you want to give people as much information as possible, but at the same time, you need to keep in check that the layout doesn’t get clogged up. This is something I’ve struggled sometimes in my work. Writers do not really like to be edited, and they naturally consider their piece to be the most important part of the publication.
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he other thing was the time available, or rather the lack of it. Every issue of Sporttimyyjä was positioned to be published just before one of the larger Finnish retail chain’s presales events for optimal impact. After the Asian factories started to demand next season’s production orders several weeks earlier than the year before, it naturally dragged the presales earlier aswell – and the companies struggled to keep up. Every year it seemed to get a little harder for the brand representatives to organize the photoshoots of new collections in time, and thus made it harder for me to do a good job with the layout. Every layout had to be done in just about a weeks time, which isn't really optimal.
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porttimyyjä and its supplements were made strictly for profes-
sionals. Sporttimyyjän Vaatetieto was one such supplement. It was a yearly updated guide for the sales professionals, designed to provide independent knowledge and specifications for highly technical clothing materials, including different types of surface treatments, finishes and breathable water repelling membranes. It also featured all the best nature could offer materialwise, like viscose, wool and merino wool. The overwhelming amount of text sometimes made it difficult to portray everything in a meaningful and aesthetic way, while still keeping the lid on costs. On the other hand, it taught me to use simple graphics to liven things up a bit.
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CASE STUDY
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T
he Sporttimyyjän Käsikirja was another supplement to the Sporttimyyjä magazine. It was traditionally pub-
lished with the magazine’s first issue of the year. It’s been dubbed The Bible of Sports Trade in Finland ever since its conception. One notable Finnish importer once said: “If you are not in it, you don’t really exist!”. Well, that used to hold true in the past anyway. Even though any information can be queried from the web in mere seconds, our humble Sports Brand Catalog held its ground somewhat miraculously. The reason probably being that while stores do have computers, they are usually there as cashier machines, and thus, are not even allowed to be used for web browsing. This book had all the information that shop clerks needed and nothing but. It had all the contact information for Finnish businesses associated with sporting goods business, and even an alphabetical directory for all the brands sold in Finland. Being responsible for compiling all the information, designing new adverts or updating the old ones for the clients every year thought me to be very organized and orderly. No corrections were needed afterwards.
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CASE STUDY
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DESIGN WORK
I
was asked to design the cover art for a Finnish death metal band Wrathrone by the band members. Wrathrone hails from Laitila and has won fans over not only in Finland but also in Baltics and Germany. As I love music in all its forms and listen to a wide array of musical genres from classical to jazz and again from pop to grindcore, I said yes without hesitation. The project taught me right away that when a client says they want something different, what they really want is something different but still within the rigorous limitations set by already strictly defined genre. A fine lesson, indeed.
Born Beneath
Born Beneath
Of course, nothing is more important than communication with the client. Despite the differing views, we quickly found a solution that pleased the client. Even if the client is always right, I decided to show you these two of my initial designs, which were deemed too unconventional by the band. Despite having lyrics about childbearing with a rusty old knife, a drawn picture of a baby born in questionable conditions was too much for the band members. I took it as a compliment and reasoned that it was due to some of them already having children of their own.
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CONTENT CREATION
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othing gets me more pumped than creating something visually pleasing. Well, sometimes I like to stir things up and make something a bit disturbing, while other times I aim to comfort the viewer. Anything that grabs you by the balls and makes you FEEL SOMETHING. Most of the stuff that passes through the feed of a chosen social media app is meaningles, copied from the competitive marketing efforts just to fall through the eyes of their targeted audience. One trend right now seems to make use of a long abbreviated copy text to say the same thing in dozen different ways with a clickbait after each effort, usually with a total disregard for visual integrity. I have a long history as a visual designer. I've tried to evoke feelings in viewers for two decades, both as a magazine layout designer and as a visual artist. These professions aren't as far apart as people tend to think. I've never tried nor even considered to try to live off art alone, firstly because I'm a coward but most importantly, because I 'm a father and would like to provide a meal for my child. Besides, I love to constantly learn new things and incorporate my previous skills to the new found territory. I don't want to limit myself too much. The vector drawing of a Porsche 911 I made for a work application but the japanese deamon mask I made just for fun and mock-fitted it on a bottlecap.
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A design for a bottlecap.
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I am able to illustrate in many different styles for about any given need.
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TEMPUS FUGIT What makes us tick?
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MY DNA
After my mother's death I was able to buy a watch of my dreams. It might sound foolish to invest so much money on a wrist watch but it is actually a very good investment. I could now sell the watch for twice the money. In actuality, I will soon have to, if I don't find work! Anyway, that's a pretty good ROI, if compared to the negative interest rates or current volatility of the stock market.
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Great design will be great even after a century. Not so sure? – Just look at Bauhaus.
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echanical watches are very much obsolete. They may have been that even in the early '80s when the quartz crisis had wiped off over 60 % of Swiss watchmakers. Switzerland's once-booming industry was in tatters but it was to be saved by a company called The Swatch Group, somewhat ironically, selling nothing but relatively cheap quartz watches. The smartphone is capable of showing the perfect time, and there are much more accurate timekeepers available for a fraction of a cost. Still, micromechanical wonders of Haute Horlogerie are what makes me feel all giddy inside and ignites my soul. The beating heart, racing at the rate of 28'800 vibrations per hour, the beautiful finishing techniques; Côtes de Genève and Anglage on the bridges and Perlage on the baseplate, all of which, by the way, have also an important function. It's like carrying the living history of mankind's endeavors in micro-engineering on you! In addition, I happen to think that a watch is the only accessory that a man can wear besides a wedding ring. As it is usually very carefully chosen and thus a very personal belonging, it becomes a large part of wearers identity as well. Besides, there is almost always a great tale in them.
"My late grandfather's Atlantic is about ten years older than I am, yet it works just fine. It is certainly more consistent than my body on most days."
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My late mother's old Tissot Seastar Seven might be in a serious need of a new plexicrystal and its crown stem is broken, but it's still the most precious watch I have. I didn't even know my mom had a mechanical watch. It was only found after her death when a box of her old stuff was found from storage. Even if it's a bit small by today's standards, it's such a great memento to have on the wrist.
1965 Atlantic 1975 Me 1985 Tissot
After my mothers death I was able to buy a watch of my dreams. It might sound foolish to invest so much money on a wrist watch but it is actually a very good investment. I could now sell the watch for twice the money. In actuality, if I don't find work soon, I will have no other choice.
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The Importance of Home A
house is not a home, the loved ones make it one. Home is a "why" for me. There's a great quote from Nietche I once read: "He who has a why can bear almost any how". I love dark winter nights in front of a fireplace together with my wife, after our daughter has fallen to sleep. The warmth of a fire on the face, a glass of red in hand – everything will be fine. Even if it's only a moment's solace, it is good enough for me. My bed is my sanctuary. There is no place as safe and comforting as one's own bed. Even if I like "the finer things in life", I do understand what really matters the most. I love music, literature and good food. I know how to prepare a meal and know how to pair it with wine. Last few years have been a great exploration to the ferritory of natural wines for me. A real eye-opener.
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“With a good enough why one can bear almost any how.�
Which book to take on a desert island? Rerea
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it is considered by many that Camus really won the Nobel for the better known and much revered The Stranger but it was politically much too inconvenient at that time, so it was granted to him over ten years later, at the time The Fall was published. While that may be, I think that The Fall really stands on its own. It's easy to read, but complex enough to be different every time. I think I've read it 8 times already and probably will read it yet another 8. That is why I would recommend this rather short book as a companion to a stranded island.
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James Joyce's brick-like Ulysses might be all about a single day in an ordinary man's life but it is also a joyous plunge into a bizarre, experimental mash-up of literary styles and forms. Created with language so rich, it was long deemed as impossible to translate. It also contains a bunch of onomatopoetic chapters, which will drive some readers crazy. Still, it has so much nuance and breadth to it, that it is perfect, if still laborious, book to read when the time is NOT of the essence. This would be my number one choice.
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Thomas Pynchon is an enigma. Nobody knows much about him and probably never will since he doesn't do interviews. For an American, he is also a very complex writer. His book Gravity's Rainbow is considered to be his most prominent work. On the year following its publication, 1974, the Pulitzer Prize Jury selected it as the winner in the fiction category, but the Pulitzer Advisory Board was so offended by the contents of the book, that no price was awarded for fiction that year. Now you just want to read it, don't you?
A FUTILE LUNGE 0F A CHARCOAL // a wild stab in the dark 30
”Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing in the world is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” – Calvin Coolidge
There's no denying it, I don't have a business education. I have an art background and it will trouble some of the possible employers. I understand that well, I've seen my fair share of well-meaning idealistic yutes. I probably used to be one. The truth is though, I've never really been an artist. I've never had the courage nor conviction to really throw myself into it. Even back in art college, I knew that I would have a job outside the art world. I've never even applied for a grant, as it feels too much like begging to me. Still, I wouldn't change a thing. Art is such a great thing; completely useless in a utilitarian way, yet still an important part of human culture. Much like, say, a mechanical wristwatch today.
Still, I'm perfectly capable in the profession. I've made it to the pages of professional magazines, had my critiques in the local newspapers and even been cited in other artists' critiques. One of my sculptures has ended up in the collections of EMMA, The Modern Art Museum of Espoo. Hell, my works have even been stolen from a gallery. Alas, it's not easy to make a living as an artist.
Profile study of Susanna, 2011, pencil & acrylics on MDF board.
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A FUTILE LUNGE 0F A CHARCOAL // a wild stab in the dark SUB-PPRIME CRISIS, JULY 2007 Cast bronze ø 12 cm, two sides
PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG ARTIST, 2001 Cast bronze Natural size
AUTOPORTRAIT TYPE GA70, 2001 Cast aluminium, movement detector, vacuum cleaner Natural size
One piece that I'm especially proud of since it was made in the advent of U.S. banking crisis, on the very day investment bank Bear Stearns announced that two of its hedge funds had imploded. The mortgage crisis would be much later dubbed as sub-prime crisis, lending its name also to this piece.
It was part of the collection I made as my graduation exhibition. In 2004 it would also be exhibited in The 108. Annual Exhibition of Finnish Artists in Taidehalli, Helsinki, and later found its way to modern art collections of EMMA, The Museum of Modern Art in Espoo.
Also part of my graduation collection. It has been since exhibited also in Rauma Art Museum. The work consists of a vacuum cleaner, movement detector and a sculpted self-portrait cast in aluminum. The vacuum turns on when the work is approached and sucks air through the mouth and nostrils.
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SELFPORTRAIT, 2018 Charcoal and acrylcs on MDF board
PORTRAIT OF CAMUS, 2018 Color pencil on canvas board
GOLEM – ( )ת(מאE)MET, 2014 Charcoal, clay & acrylics on canvas 100 cm x 100 cm This is a self-portrait inspired by the stories about Golems in Jewish tradition. According to the story, a rabbi would animate a creature made from clay or earth to help the people in their daily lives in the ghetto. In one version the Golem is animated by writing the word emet, meaning the truth in Hebrew, on its forehead. The contract made with the Golem guarantees it one day of rest every week, which is done by removing the first alef ie. syllable from the word emet, leaving only the word met, which means dead in Hebrew. However, on one unfortunate sabbath, rabbi Löw forgets to give the golem its rest, and it starts to rampage in the synagogue. A fierce battle ensues between Löw and the Golem to put the monster to rest.
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CONCLUSION
I'm a scorpio, so beware!
My friends call me "Doctor
Just kidding, I have a friend
Phil" sometimes. It's a horrible
who's born just a couple days
joke, but as always there's some
before me and he corresponds
truth to nicknames. Many of
much better to the personality
my friends find it easy to open
description of a Scorpio.
up to me. I don't know why but
I did a personality survey once,
sometimes they even turn to me
and I found out that my person-
in hope of some kind of advice,
ality is "The Campaigner". To
especially in moral questions.
be exact, ENFP-T; Extraverted
I'm good at listening, so I don't
(enthusiastic & energized by
mind. I love my friends and turn
social interaction), Intuitive
to them in need as well.
(imaginative, open-minded &
Although I must admit, I'm not
curious), Feeling (sensitive,
very good at asking for help. I
emotionally expressive &
hate being indebted and wish to
emphatic), Prospecting (good
figure everything out by myself.
at improvising, flexible &
I'm a firm believer that if some-
nonconformist) and Turbulent
one else can do it, so can I. That
(self-conscious, perfectionistic
can be a hindrance sometimes,
& eager to improve).
but also it has made me learn to
Maybe you can already tell but
do many things by myself. I tend
I'm also very open and honest.
to feel that whenever something
I do wear my heart on a sleeve,
needs to be done well, it is best
as they say.
to do it myself. It is not true, not at all.
THE FINAL CHORDS What are my other weakness-
Uomo Universale is a delusion.
es then? Well, I am the perfect
I've always wanted to do
example of 'the Parkinson's
everything, which is really quite
Law', an adage, that "work
stupid. I still think that general
expands so as to fill the time
knowledge and transversal
available for its completion".
competence is a good thing but
I am hard working but I do tend
I also understand that the world
to take my time since I try to get
today needs more and more
it right the first time.
specialized professionals.
THE EPILOGUE The sheer amount of infor-
I am tenacious. I like a good
mation to absorb every day is
challenge and I don't quit. I
just ridiculous. I need to rein in
tend to get what I want, and
my ambitions, however much I
rarely want what I can't get.
would like to learn everything. I need to specialize more.
After losing my mother, I've learned to appreciate human interaction even more than
I would be an asset to any
before. The wisdom can be
company. Even if I don't have
shared and I look for it in every
a proper education in graphic
individual.
design. I am quick to learn
I tend to believe the best in
and incredibly motivated. I am
everyone and usually, it pays off.
ready to start from the bottom
When it doesn't, it is usually their
and work my way up. I just
loss. I'm extremely loyal.
need some supervision and a fighting chance. Having been
I still have high hopes and big
Never have I ever praised
a business owner, I am used
dreams. In fact, I feel like I'm
myself like this before. It makes
to handling large entities and
only at the beginning. Just give
me feel like I've made a bit of an
understand well that money has
me a place where to stand and
ass of myself – but an honest
to come in, before it can go out.
I'll pry the world from its orbit.
ass at that. Still, it would've been a damn sight harder for me, had I tried to write this in Finnish. I didn't think about it when I set to do this, but writing in English really helped me to alienate myself from the topic. Well, I'm trying to sell myself as an employee after all, so forgive me of any and all boastfulness. I'm really amazed if you've read through all of this. I hope it has at least been pleasing to the eye. I hope to hear from you in the future!
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Logos.