Contact: About Jan

Jan

An Olivetti typewriter sparked my passion for design when I was just a kid on a family vacation in Washington DC. It was on display at an exhibit featuring ordinary but beautifully designed tools at the Renwick Museum.

At the time, Apple Computer inventors Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were probably playing dodge ball somewhere. And though technology has changed, I noticed then what I notice today about good design. It draws your interest, and it invites use.

Since that visit, I have had a design career that spans being a community organizer in VISTA, an interior designer of public spaces (including 6 years with HKIT Architects in San Francisco) and a graphic designer focused on corporate identity and public outreach as Jan Brown Design, DESIGNinhouse, and now Spokewise in Richmond, California.

People tell me I'm a big picture person, quick on distilling information and visualizing systems that build one upon the other, but I enjoy the entire process of design that always starts and ends with the people it serves.

I graduated from the College of Environmental Design at UC Berkeley with a major in Design, have served on its Alumni Board, and am a member of the American Institute of Graphic Artists.