Katerina Janků focuses on original illustration and graphic design. In her work she often combines fragmented figures and shapes with abstract motifs, to which she uses colour gradients and structures. He is currently working freelance. He collaborates for example with Palacký University, TVARG brewery and the Airport Festival. She graduated from the Secondary School of Arts and Crafts in Uherské Hradiště and then from the Fine Arts with a focus on education at Palacký University in Olomouc.
In your portfolio we can find many projects with local brands and institutions. Is it important for you to work with the Olomouc community?
Collaborating with local brands is very important to me. Firstly, because I pride myself on the personal approach in my work, which often involves a personal meeting with the client, but also because I am a native of Olomouc and I enjoy supporting local culture. But I also like to meet new clients outside Olomouc.
According to your presentation at the Telegraph event, there is a story attached to every design and drawing. How would you describe your daily creative process?
My creative process is visibly reflected in my work. It is very colorful and chaotic. Maybe that's why I find it hard to describe any ritual or process. But it all starts with my morning coffee. With some of the more creative projects, I have to be emotionally attuned to the creation, otherwise nothing comes out that I'm happy about and I have to start again the next day.
You have also collaborated with Palacký University in Olomouc. What was the scope of this cooperation?
Thanks to Palacký University I gained a lot of new experiences and opportunities. Cooperation with specific faculties and university projects developed gradually. It all started with Academia Film Olomouc and Pastiche Filmz, then I started working with Palacký University Publishing House and the university shop Upoint. Then I joined the PR team of the Faculty of Arts and started working with the Faculty of Education. Let's see what's next for me.
How much do you follow the brief and how much do you add your own inventiveness?
It depends on the specific project. I follow a lot of intuition, and in that moment when the brief or the client's idea of the final output doesn't fit my "idea", I often suggest an alternative. But I try to follow and respect the client's idea. Occasionally I get a free hand and at that moment I create mainly from my own idea.
Which project was the best for you to work on? Are there certain projects that you seek out more?
The ones I enjoy the most are the ones where I have a freer hand or the client and I come up with inventive and new approaches to execution. Specifically, I can think of the Airport Festival and illustrating emotion cards for the Faculty of Education.
Do you prefer collaboration or do you like to work alone?
I'm more comfortable working alone at the moment. I'm an extrovert and whenever I work in a team, we unintentionally stray from the topic and that makes everything unnecessarily long. And since I do both graphic design and illustration, I usually have a specific idea of the end result that I want to realize on my own. But I am not opposed to collaboration, there just haven't been that many opportunities yet.
You've also created a few prints of your own. What kind of prints are they?
These are my personal original illustrations in which I work with color, grain and objects that often express my inner feelings and life events. I function very intuitively and would like to pursue authorial work more intensively in the future.
What projects are you looking forward to this year?
This year I started working on a new visual for the already mentioned Airport Festival. I'm also working with Tvarůžková Cukrárna in Loštice and continuing on longer-term projects with the university. Furthermore, as I mentioned above, I would like to work more on my own work. Eventually, I would like to open a studio where I could create freely and lead workshops, for example.
Photo: Kamila Francová, Alžběta Gregorová, Kateřina Janků
