Jana Charl’s design career began at the top Swiss ad agency GGK Zürich, where she won Art Director Club of Switzerland Silver and Bronze awards. She worked on accounts such as the launch of the Swissair frequent flyer program (“Qualiflyer”) and Shell Oil of Switzerland (ads, billboards, collateral). Within 6 months at GGK, Jana was promoted to the art director of the international 5-star Swissôtel account.
After an offer by GGK International to design and oversee the production of a brochure representing the entire network of GGK agencies, she began a 1-year stint as a freelance designer/art director traveling between Zürich and Vienna.
4 years later, Jana returned to Los Angeles where she worked as an associate creative director for an international media company (Globe Media) designing custom magazines and ads for clients such as American Express, Travel & Leisure, and Office Depot. She art directed over 100 illustrations and photo shoots. Next, Jana was employed at design studios (DZN and Melanie Paykos Design), where she excelled as a senior art director and key designer for a variety of projects including annual reports, ads, brochures, press kits, licensing style guides, corporate identities, and direct mail pieces.
With 8 years of experience, Jana launched her own graphic design studio (Jana Charl Design) in Los Angeles, California. The studio passionately strives to exceed client expectations for creative solutions, cost efficiency, and timely completion of projects. Because of Jana’s extensive and varied experience, she is able to deliver on a myriad of projects which vary in size and scope. She has found a niche partnering with client’s in-house capabilities to allow for further cost savings and her valuable skills have been utilized at any point of the design process from concept through completion.
December of 2017, Jana relocated to Oregon. She continues to work with clients in Los Angeles and internationally.
EDUCATION
Jana Charl received a broad liberal arts education at the University of Redlands, Redlands, California. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Art, a GPA of 3.9, and the following honors: Dean’s List, Phi Beta Kappa, Pi Gamma Mu, Presidential Scholarship, Proudian Interdisciplinary Scholar, and summa cum laude. She studied one year abroad at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan.
As a result of her experience in Japan, she continued on for a Master’s of Pacific International Affairs at the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, University of California, San Diego. She completed 4 of 6 quarters before deciding to move to Switzerland and pursue a career in advertising.
Over the years, Jana has studied French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish.
