Get ready for our latest artist collaboration with Jordan Kay, an award-winning freelance artist, illustrator, and designer based in Seattle, Washington. Known for her vibrant and dynamic designs, Jordan's work spans a variety of mediums, including illustration, motion, and graphic design.
This collaboration brings Jordan's unique artistic flair to life through a range of designs that are as fun, lively, and stylish as they are bold and expressive. Her designs for this collection feature colorful motifs and elements that she has developed over the years. She incorporates psychedelic daisy-like icons and her signature "swooshes," which convey emotion, movement, and ethereal qualities. These elements come together to create a vivid and imaginative visual experience that embodies a sense of wonder and playfulness. With this collection, we're excited to bring Jordan's dynamic artistry to your everyday style, adding a burst of color and joy to your wardrobe.
What inspired your artistic path and where did you get started? When did you know you wanted to pursue art full time?
I was initially inspired by my dad. He used to read to me when I was super young, and would draw with me in a notebook around the same time, writing out words and drawing the corresponding object. Through drawing, I learned to read very early in life (like 3yo!) Since then drawing has become a natural hobby and then led me to pursue it professionally.
Do you have a favorite style from your collection with Tailored Union? What makes it special to you?
I definitely love the pink-forward pairs in my collection. I think they turned out really cute! I feel like these are the most playful colorways and the most feminine, which I enjoy. But all are great!
How would you describe your personal style?
Work personal style: I love undulating colors that create a sense of movement and play. I love disco/boogie/funk music and I feel like that comes through in my style. I listen to sooo much music every day and my work is very much informed by dance and music in general. My only goal with my work is to bring a bit of joy/respite to someone’s day.
Attire personal style: I dress based on mood, mainly. I might be totally normcore one day for getting a lot of things done around the house, or crank out a lot of work in my studio, but then the next day I’ll just wear a bunch of random jewelry and fun clothing just to bring me joy and confidence for the day!
What do you find most fulfilling about your creative pursuits?
I feel really lucky that my work feels more like play to me. There’s something I love about creative problem solving, where there could be a million ways in, to solve the puzzle. Just taking that initial leap into sketching sort of leads me down a rabbit hole of intrigue and I really love when little surprises arrive in the piece–I find it entertaining. For example, discovering a new way to blend colors or add teeny elements to make the work really sing.
Can you share how your experiences with large brands like Disney have shaped your approach to collaboration and design?
Hmm, working with larger brands is definitely a different space than smaller ones. Larger brands tend to want creative work to stay in a much safer space. Once I figured that out earlier in my career, it became easier to play with how to ‘fill in the blank’ with art. I like to concept a direction that’s exactly what the client has asked for (like an “I hear you”) and another way in that’s more adventurous and unexpected. Usually large clients choose the safer way, but sometimes elements from the adventurous concept are accepted! That’s always a little win for me.
You have collaborated with Starbucks on multiple projects like the red cup and packaging design. How did this collaboration opportunity present itself, and what has been your favorite part of working with them?
Well, I was an in-house designer for the Starbucks Creative Studio awhile ago. That’s when I worked on the red cup, as well as some coffee packaging (and a lot of gift cards!) I feel like working in that environment was sort of a designer boot camp. There were (and are!) many extremely talented designers there, so every project that came through that I was assigned to was such a treasure to work on. All of us were inspired by each other and many times sketched for the same project and then whoever got their concept chosen got the project. It was really nerve-wracking at first, but I think we all developed thicker skin because of it. Such a fun learning experience, and dream job. It taught me a lot of what happens ‘behind the curtain’ with larger corporate clients, from a freelance perspective.
How has working with a wide range of global clients affected your worldview? How does it inform your creative practice?
I think the biggest factor that threads through all successful client/freelancer relationships is quite a bit of communication, and setting expectations up front. From there, both parties feel protected and then we can just have fun together. In order for a project to have successful collaboration, in my opinion, there needs to be equal amount of commitment from the client side and the artist’s side. I love when feedback gets really specific, to me that means the client really cares. (And then, repeat clients have so much more trust in me to just do me, because we’ve already built those boundaries and expectations.)
Do you have advice for other aspiring artists?
Personal work informs client work (at least that’s been successful for me.) If you want to draw flavor cues for packaging, draw a lot of flavor cues for yourself and promote it everywhere. Or if you want to make surface design for clothing, create a lot of mockups for yourself and post it all over the place. The more areas where clients can find your work, the better, and the more they can point at something and say ‘we love this, can you do it for us?’ the easier it is to get the gig.
Do you have some inspiring quotes that guide you or that you live by?
Don’t stop learning and growing, nothing is forever.
What should we expect to see from you this year, anything exciting in the works or any goals for the remainder of 2024?
Ah! There’s some things happening that I can’t talk about yet… but there are some releases coming next year that I’m really excited about. Also, lots of editorial work is coming out soon, and I’ve just done quite a bit of Publix bakery packaging, if you’re in that area, check it out! Oo, and I hear there’s a line of socks coming out… ;)
Where can people find out more about you?
Website: jordankay.com
Instagram: @msjordankay
Behance: behance.net
