Meet Brianna Rose Jarvis | Graphic Designer, Photographer, Queer Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brianna Rose Jarvis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brianna Rose, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I come from a pretty creative family – my dad was an illustrator in the Army, my mom has always been really crafty and has made handmade gifts for as long as I can remember – so I consider myself to be privileged with parents who supported my decision when I pursued an art degree, as a lot of my classmates didn’t have that support at home.

When I was in high school, I started taking Graphic Design classes through our votech, and fell in love with the medium pretty immediately! I had only been exposed to traditional 2D media in an academic setting up until that point, and while I loved to draw, being able to create in this new way was really exciting and I dedicated a lot of time on bettering myself in the Adobe Suite even at 14-15. In my first semester I got involved with the school’s SkillsUSA chapter and started entering Graphic Design competitions, and winning them, which was pretty affirming and solidified my decision to get my BFA in Design.

While in undergrad (Marshall University – Go Herd!), I continued to reach out and join creative clubs and organizations – I was a part of our, albeit small, AIGA chapter and was heavily involved in the Huntington community and the School of Art and Design, I designed several pieces of public art and installations, which again affirmed that I was pursuing the right path!

I can’t say that it’s always been smooth sailing as a working creative, but it has definitely always been worth it. Not only do I get to make art for myself, but I also get to bring some of my closest friends’ brands to life.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Being a working creative definitely has its ups and downs; I’ve had really great roles where I get a lot of freedom with packaging designs and fun branding projects, I’ve had roles where I was supposed to have more design in the day-to-day agendas and then ended up being placed with the Sales Team, I’ve had positions where the ad designs are monotonous and I don’t get to have fun with them, I’ve had freelance gigs with great clients where great brand identities are born, and I’ve had clients with a lot more back and forth before we get that winning design… I’ve been laid off from that “great job” with a start up that was financially insecure and cut the whole Creative/Marketing Team…. but my President of Marketing and his wife became one of my favorite clients (and most supportive friends!) and their business is killing it. I’ve walked away from positions that didn’t provide me with the roles I was looking for or the space to grow that I needed. I’ve taken jobs my heart wasn’t in because I had bills to pay. I’ve lost jobs and coworkers that I loved because of a pandemic. I’ve cried tears of happiness seeing my designs on a parade float going down a Pride parade. It’s definitely not always been easy, but it has always been worth it, and the pay off definitely lies within those affirming, surreal moments that make you wish you could click “pause” on life because they never quite seem to last long enough.

I went through a phase where I also didn’t feel fulfilled because I felt like I wasn’t making enough art for myself, because I was spending so much time and energy creating artwork for jobs and gigs that I was physically and creatively too tired to work on my own projects that were getting sidelined at home. So one of my New Year’s Resolutions one year was to just illustrate one thing for myself each month, just one, a total of twelve for the year. I called this project 12-in-12, and of course ended up creating more than twelve illustrations. A few months in, after great success with my friends (not so much my mom), I was encouraged to have these designs made into stickers and I eventually grouped these illustrations under an experimental brand, Citric Femme, and my Etsy shop was brought to life. As a femme lesbian, and queer person in general, I didn’t see a lot of merch available that really reflected the LGBTQ+ community – it was all kind of kitschy, so I took it upon myself to push that representation a little more than it was before. It is mostly still stickers, but my ultimate goal is to make it more of a stationary brand and have more queer greeting cards. I’m also currently illustrating a queer coloring book that I hope to add to Citric Femme’s inventory in the future as well.

Before moving to Georgia in 2020, I joined the production team for Come Out With Pride Orlando, which is Orlando’s Pride Festival and Parade – which I have been with going on four years now, remote since moving here, of course. Working with COWP is definitely one of my greatest joys because I feel like I get to play a part in Orlando’s push for equality and representation, while celebrating the successes in the LGBTQ+ community. I’ve had the honor of creating artwork for everything from postcards to clothing to float decor and even stage signage, and because of my experience with COWP I’ve also been privileged enough to work with other 501c3’s and their identities. I’m definitely still growing my network in
Georgia, and finding more nonprofits to work with would be really great!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I am a huge plant lady and so is she, so hitting up The Victorian and Seed Atlanta are musts! As well as popping in and out of all of the thrift stores!

Whole days could definitely be spent in the botanical gardens, the zoo, and the aquarium, and I love them especially at Christmas time! I could watch the whale sharks all day though!

If it’s soccer, an Atlanta United v. Orlando City match, hands down! Sometimes I’m still guilty of wearing purple…

And what is a week on the town without visiting some breweries? Orpheus is definitely my favorite! Last time we went we drunk-sang Hadestown all night

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
To my friends: Thank you for all of the near-constant support, from purchases to commissions to recommendations to helping me choose between minute differences in designs to me blowing up our group chats at wild hours of the day (and night). I wouldn’t be the artist I am without your love and motivation. Roses, roses, roses to you all!

To my family: Thank you, thank you, thank you. I love all of you and my vocabulary isn’t nearly vast enough to properly thank you.

To any LGBTQ+ person who enjoys my art: Thank you, it is an honor. I see you. I love you. I’m proud of you.

Website: BriannaRoseJarvis.com

Instagram: @CnvntnlGrfr

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianna-jarvis-a78902144/

Facebook: Brianna Rose Jarvis