Jane Anderson

Jane Anderson combines working full time as a lecturer in Graphic Communication at Birmingham City University with a freelance design practice and set up her own studio Currentstate in 2005. She also co-founded the Type Society at BCU, a group of passionate creatives who share a common obsession with all things type and set up to facilitate, hands-on workshops, talks, masterclasses, screenings and trips.

Passionate about the value of collaborative side projects, Jane has also set up Love Letters a, “typographic doodling” project which runs urban type walks and lettering workshops and more recently, Lucky Pablo an illustration project creating, “joyful designs for uncertain times” with her partner Ally Standing started during the Coronavirus lockdown.

Always a compulsive drawer, as a child growing up in Birmingham in the 70s and 80s Jane was fascinated with sci-fi characters, BMX graphics, and record covers. She initially wanted to be an artist and after completing a degree in Fine Art became interested in graphic design while working as an administrative temp for the NHS. Jane began helping out the in-house designer with small design jobs which led onto a fulltime job role as a junior designer and then eventually progressing to senior designer. During this time, she discovered her passion for illustration and her work was published in a number of magazines including, Computer Arts and Creative Review. Her work was also selected by Channel 4 to be part of the 4talent showcase at the V&A.

Jane started her teaching career as a part-time lecturer at BCU whilst still working as a designer for the NHS and this eventually became her full-time career. She loves teaching both for the opportunities it offers to develop new designers but also for its continuing stimulus and finds a reciprocity between being a design educator and creative practice, which means she is always learning, always growing.

Over time Jane has become increasingly aware of the place of design in consumer society and the accompanying culture of waste. She feels strongly that designers have a responsibility to help change this by fostering a concern with sustainability: “We need to build a better future.” Sensitive to the lack of equality and diversity within the design industry, the gender pay gap and the lack of women in leadership positions she believes, “these are changes that can only be brought about by “full-scale systemic change.”

We chatted with Jane to find out more about her career as a graphic designer and lecturer and her thoughts on equality and diversity in the design industry.

How did you first become interested in working as a designer/educator?

For as long as I can remember, I always wanted to be an artist. My Mom said I was born with a pencil in my hand, and would spend hours on end drawing ET and Star Wars characters over and over again. Like many creatives who grew up in the 70s and 80s, I was fascinated by the exploding visual culture of the time; the hip hop culture of the early 80s, BMX graphics, and everything sci-fi. Record covers enthralled me and I would pore over their every detail, using that inspiration to make my own mixtape cover designs – I guess you could say that was my early interaction with type and image. As I got older, I started to get really into art history and painting, so it seemed fitting that I continued those creative pursuits into a degree.

Describe your career path of how you got to where you are now?

I had quite a non-conventional route into design. After completing my Fine Art degree, I was struggling to find work in the curatorial arts field in Sheffield, so I came back to my hometown of Birmingham and ended up working as an admin temp in the NHS. Whilst there, I was introduced to the in-house graphic designer Andy, and his job really appealed to me. I kept on sneaking into his office during my breaks to learn more, and he soon started to give me small jobs like flyers and posters. My manager liked what I was doing, and then before I knew it we were a small design team. They bought me a Mac and the Adobe software, and I was able to learn on the job with Andy mentoring me. During the evening I would be watching tutorials, getting myself up to a junior designer standard and before long I was producing annual reports, web sites, visual identities, and had also developed a real passion for illustration.

I spent the first few years of my early design career, drawing and illustrating with a Wacom after work each night, and then shortly afterwards, in 2007, I set up Currentstate – the freelance side of my practice. During this time period I had started to establish myself as a multidisciplinary creative, and had my illustrations published in magazines including Frieze, Amelia’s, Computer Arts and Creative Review. In 2008, I was selected by Channel 4 to be part of their 4talent showcase at the V&A. 10 years after graduating, I was really starting to see my hard work pay off, and enjoying the career path I’d forged.

Like many who find themselves in education, I came in to Birmingham City University (BCU) as a visiting lecturer. I was still in the NHS working as a senior designer at the time, and just doing the odd teaching day here and there. It was really scary at first as I was terribly shy and hated speaking in large groups, but I eventually got over the fear factor and started to enjoy it. Teaching is such rewarding work that I soon fell head over heels in love with it, and felt that I had arrived at the career for me. It’s always a good sign when you really look forward to going into work every day.

How have you grown over time and developed throughout your career?

I would say that over time I have developed more integrity as a designer. I design with more conviction about the things that I believe in. Design is a powerful tool, and can be used to address and question so many things in life, rather than just sell consumables. I have found myself more inclined to work with small start-ups that have ethics and sustainability at their core, as well as questioning my role as a designer in general in the current climatic emergency. The creative industries have had a huge part in our linear ‘take-make-waste’ consumer lifestyle, but as creatives we can act responsibly and help effect change. We need to build a better future.

I also get a lot more out of doing collaborative work and have initiated a few projects with my partner Ally Standing. We started a typographic doodling project called Love Letters – which began as a series of playfully-illustrated letterforms and developed into a series of urban type walks and lettering workshops. That then translated into us setting up the Type Society at BCU, which brings together passionate creatives around the common interest of all things type, facilitating workshops, screenings, and social events. We have recently developed another illustrative project, this time during lockdown, called Lucky Pablo – which is an attempt to channel negative energy into something positive and uplifting. The response we have had to it has been really good and I’m hoping to continue to grow it and see where it takes us. If anything, it’s a really lovely way to unplug from this increasing digital world that we are finding ourselves connected to. I’m really missing the face to face teaching and the cathartic nature of drawing simple shapes is the perfect way to decompress from the day.

What do you enjoy most about being a designer and educator?

I feel that being a design educator with a creative practice is a brilliant combination. I love being able to nurture the next generation, help to build their confidence and flesh out their ideas with critical rigour, and equally it’s a two-way relationship – my own creative practice thrives through working with these young inspirational designers. I’m constantly learning and growing, and that cyclical process feeds into my teaching. I’m a workaholic, so I’m never bored; there is always something new to learn, from software to processes. That sums up my love of being both a designer and an educator.

How has being a woman impacted your career?

It takes longer to get to where you need to be. I’m really passionate about addressing and overturning this certainly from an education perspective. I feel the conversation is not only about female designers; we need to see a full-scale systemic change in the industry regarding who is included in the conversation and who is left out. This relates not only to gender but also to racial diversity.

Have you experienced the gender pay gap and do you have any thoughts on how we can counteract this imbalance?

Yes, I have experienced this. When I was in the NHS the managers were wheeling me out to our external clients as ‘the creative director’, but that title never appeared and neither did the pay rise. Men in our department seemed to get on and up the promotion ladder much more quickly, which was really frustrating at the time. I didn’t feel fully valued till I got into teaching.

The 26% gender pay gap is absolutely shocking, but then the fact that unpaid internships still continue despite now being illegal is terrible too. We need to challenge that practise, call it out, and speak up. Mentoring is a good way to address some of these issues – I have just started working with a female illustrator mentee as part of the BFF scheme set up by Birmingham Design. If more senior designers and CDs would be willing to give up their time and offer a guiding hand up into the industry, then that could certainly help redress the balance. No one likes talking about money, but I feel that agencies must foster more inclusive environments where designers can have honest and frank discussions around pay, equality and diversity.

Do you think there are positive trends towards equality and diversity in the design industry?

We are certainly seeing a good balance in education. More females are entering degree courses now, which means those gaps should be narrowing. But change happens slowly. I haven’t met many female CEOs or Creative Directors which is a real shame. Again, I think more needs to be done at those top levels in terms of getting women into leadership roles. I know it’s a completely different industry but just look at the difference between Jacinda Ahearn and Boris or Trump. Women can lead, with compassion and conviction, better than many of their male counterparts.

If you could go back to the beginning and start your career again what would tell your younger self?

Have confidence that you can achieve anything you set your mind to. Don’t work for free and know your worth

Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time?

I would love to eventually be head of a graphic design at a university, maybe BCU and still doing my freelance / personal work, that’s the plan.