About Jefkins Art and Design

  My name is Isabella and I am a Graphic Design graduate from Canadore College. For me this means I'm not only a designer, but also an illustrator, photographer, and artist. I work with both traditional and digital materials and sometimes like to combine them to create unique designs. My style is both realistic and minimalistic. I want to show off the natural shapes of things without going into full detail in order to create a different look. My traditional paintings, however, are done in a realistic style that shows fine details. I enjoy using a combination of different materials in all of my work.

From my youngest days I have enjoyed the creative process. Part of this experience included 5 years of working with the award-winning Northern Ontario entrepreneur, Kathy Antonio, through her "Tweeny Project", which saw me helping to design clothes for young women under the My Ol' Blues brand. I worked with another entrepreneur, Brianna Marybelle, for my high school co-op where I learned about social media management, logo design, and video editing. This is where I first fell in love with graphic design. I have also taken small group art lessons, participated in events with Indigenous Knowledge Keepers at the Ojibway Cultural Foundation and studied with artist Mark Hope while taking a painting class in the style of Tom Thomson through Perivale Gallery.

A lot of my design and artwork are inspired by the landscape around me. I was born and raised on a beef farm on Manitoulin Island, the largest freshwater island in the world. My perspective is rooted in the farmland, lakes, rivers, and shorelines I grew up with every day. I am inspired by the changing seasons, the natural world, and the history behind landscapes and buildings. I enjoy being challenged by clients who need help to find a design that captures their brand and product or service. A lot of my photography focuses on the beauty around me, but I also like to do portraits and product photography. In addition, I like working with watercolours to help clients capture a place or moment in time, whether it be for their business or personal collection. When I'm not sitting at my desk working on a project, you'll likely find me outside finding inspiration from my surroundings and taking photos and making sketches to add to my collection.

Professionally, I have already engaged in a variety of freelance projects. I have designed several different brand logos, painted a mural to provide advertising for a small business, and have been commissioned to do watercolour paintings for several clients who wanted to celebrate places that have special meaning in their lives. I redesigned the website for a local airport on Manitoulin Island, as well as designing my own website.

In the three years I studied at Canadore, learned how to elevate my designs and use different techniques, particularly in digital design. I am confident using industry standard Adobe Suite platforms such as InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop and AfterEffects. I also created my own brand, Jefkins Art and Design, to share my artwork and expertise. Through my work, both personal and professional, under Jefkins Art And Design, my goal is to express my love of nature and to help turn clients' ideas into reality. I am constantly learning and advancing my skills to stay up-to-date with industry standards and practices. With my knowledge and experience, I am excited to see what the future holds for me and my brand. And, hopefully that means getting to work with you!