Jessi Evans : Modern Calligrapher & Designer

Interview & Photography by Dylan Priest

Jessi Evans is a graphic designer, letterer, and modern calligrapher based in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Designing wedding stationery and paper products, as well as branding for small businesses, Jessi's work is truly special—with an attention to detail and polish one can't help but notice immediately. We learn how she balances a budding freelance career with a full-time job.

What is your intention when you create?

When I create, it's mostly for others which is how I like it. I am most successful when my creative intention is for someone else or when I'm thinking of someone. It's always about sharing, and never meant just for me.

Where do you draw inspiration?

My inspiration mostly arrives from people and nature. Their stories and energy drive my inspiration.

“I am most successful when my creative intention is for someone else or when I’m thinking of someone. It’s always about sharing, and never meant just for me.”

How do you balance full time work with your freelance work?

Balancing my full-time job as a web designer for a fashion corporation with my personal work is a constant learning process. But having the freelance work is necessary for my creative muscles and my sanity. I get to focus on personal, meaningful design outside of work, and having this balance is something that I do my best to honor.

Describe your style.

My style is feminine, whimsical and ever-changing. I love clean lines and lots of flourishes. The beauty in the organic shapes of the letters and their delicate nature have been something I've always been drawn to.

Why do you create? 

When I get to do this work, it's when I feel the closest with the person I truly am. It's my therapy and my guidepost, and the thing that I love sharing the most with the world.

Thank you Jessi for this interview. To learn more about Jessi and her work visit her website or follow along on instagram.