Who are you?
Hi – i’m Anna (Katharina Jansen).

What is your profession?
I am a freelancing illustrator. Working for magazines, books + nearly every project clients come up with. Beside that I love to give workshops, work in schools and create my own postcard + calendar edition every year.

Where do you come from?
Currently I live in Aachen. Lived here before. For 2 years as a baby and again for 5 years as a student. As well as in Cologne, Hamburg, Malaysia and at the German seaside for a while.

Three things on your bucket list? 
Illustrationwise my biggest dream is to design a stamp. A real one. That you can buy in every post office. There are competitions you have to attend to get the chance to create a stamp. But I’m not taking part yet – cause in case I will win, I don’t have a clue what my next aim should be! Beside that I would love to do a big fat illustrated mural one day. And I want to illustrate a colourful packaging design – hopefully for chocolate, lemonade or ice cream!

What you love about design?
That you can create everything you want. There are no limitations. When i want to tell a story about a banana with sneakers, i can create a banana with sneakers.

What you hate about design?
The super duper bad conditions when it comes to payment. Especially for illustrators.

What is your secret superpower?
Creating bananas with sneakers.

What is the value of design?/
What means beeing a designer to you?
As an illustrator I am able to make other people smile. About a simple postcard. About a magazine illustration that suits absolutely their situation. About a print or colourful calendar on their walls. Teenie tiny things, but that’s what highlights your day sometimes.

If you had three free wishes….?
First of all: Being able to always make a living from my illustration work!
Second: To understand the German tax system.
Third: Living happily ever after.

One must do/see/try in the Euregio?
Wondering about the fact that it looks so very different, when you cross the border from one country to another. Even if it’s the same street – you can always tell “this side of the the street is Netherlands – this side of the street is Germany” just because of the buildings, street signs, colours… That always makes me smile. Or maybe secretly kissing your teenage crush in the “Heckenlabyrinth” at the “Dreiländereck”.

Your epic fails?
Everything technology related. I try to do a lot by myself – but sometimes I make mistakes so stupid that my friends laugh very hard + long + loud about me.

Your best work/project/discovery?
Probably my first illustrated book project I did in university – cause I got so much positive feedback, that I decided to become a fulltime illustrator. Or maybe our “Blame us for our music taste” project. My loveliest illustration partner in crime Daria Solak and i started it two years ago. Every week the both of us illustrate one song line and post them on instagram (@blameusforourmusictaste) every saturday. It’s kind of a freetime project we started to make sure we do each week at least one illustration without any briefing by a client. It’s super fun + and I’m more than proud that we already did it for more than one year already! And so cool we got to know each other – last summer we met for the first time. In London – where Daria lives. After working together for more than one year already! Crazy internet world!