Overview

Born in Lithuania, Ella Tjader is married to a Swede and has lived in Sweden, Scotland and England before ending up in Zurich, Switzerland. Her childhood was spent drawing and painting princesses in puffy dresses, and some of her school friends still have the pictures she gave them all those years ago.

She loves rain, walking in the woods, and reading moody Scandinavian crime novels, which she somehow finds life affirming. She’s also influenced by vintage Scandinavian illustration. Her perfect evening would include cups of tea and a film. She hates rollercoasters.

Training

Ella studied at the Vilnius School of Economics, but later did a graphic design course via the online college Sessions.edu. That’s how she discovered Adobe Illustrator, and armed with a Wacom tablet she began building up her portfolio while studying the world of illustration, and all the magazines, fashion firms and brands she might be able to work for.

Approach

After reading a brief, Ella lets the idea cook in her head for a few days. Slowly a composition, colours and working style will come to her. She’ll go through her thoughts with the client, take on board the feedback and begin drawing using Illustrator. Sometimes, she’ll work on a sketch first, scan it and trace it using the vector application.

Style

Feminine, elegant, modern, detailed, intricate, loose and light, Ella’s style is usually based around line work, though sometimes she’ll use brushes in Photoshop to drop in some vibrant colours. There are lots of organic and intertwining elements in her work to draw the viewer in. She also creates surface designs - seamless patterns and prints.

Client List

• Vogue Japan
• Henkel
• Victoria’s Secret
• Target
• BBH London
• Blue Dog London
• Ogilvy Advertising
• NYLON Japan