Jan Osterlund

As a child, I had a passion for crafting and drawing, and I initially envisioned a career as a carpenter due to my love for creating things with my own hands.

However, my interest shifted during my teenage years when I recognized the growing importance of computers. While I didn’t have my own PC, I frequently borrowed one from a friend’s family. Eventually, my dad bought me my first computer, which opened up new avenues for me.

In 1994, a teacher introduced me to the Internet, a concept that would significantly influence my future. The same year, Surfnet, a local Internet service provider, opened nearby. I began frequenting their store, learning about HTML and graphic design, and collaborating with friends on web projects, including the first homepage for our local parish. This experience led to opportunities to work on websites for local businesses and Surfnet itself, where I designed visuals and a friend handled programming.

After high school, during my military service, I worked as a website administrator for the Finnish Defense Force. Upon completing my service I moved to Helsinki to study at Arcada, specializing in interactive media and video production. After graduating from college an opportunity arose when a friend’s recommendation led me to a job at the marketing department of a Nordic magazine company, where I began working on diverse projects and realizing both my own and my clients’ dreams.

Throughout my career as a web graphic designer, spanning over 25-years, I have gained extensive experience working on a variety of graphical and web projects as a freelancer, a web graphic designer in an online department, and an art director at a marketing agency.

And that’s just the beginning …