Jens Bringsjord
You're listening to Design Atlas Season four.

Megan Luedke
Have you ever wondered how a mere stroke of a brush or a splash of color could become a powerful voice for sustainability and conservation? Enter the captivating world of Jasmine Horton, an award winning illustrator and muralist hailing from the picturesque landscape of Cornwall, England.

Jens Bringsjord
Jasmine's artistic endeavors go beyond the realms of esthetic appeal, as she masterfully defines her creativity to advocate for crucial causes, sustainability, conservation, and the accessibility of the oceans. Health benefits. As a fusion of art and advocacy, Jasmine Horton breathes life into her illustrations, creating a visual symphony that resonates with the urgent call to protect our planet and cherish the interconnected web of life within it.

Jens Bringsjord
Join us as we delve into the realm of Jasmine Horton's creations, where every stroke tells a story and every color echoes a plea for a better, more sustainable world.

Jasmine Hortop
I'm so between London, Bristol and Brighton, but I feel like creatively I think it's Bristol that has grown me the most. that's where I started, really like freelancing and working properly on my work. And I spent about eight years there, and, it's a super cool city, really creative, quite like bohemian, very anti-establishment. a lot of, like, sustainable practices as simple eco villages and also a really big van life community.

Jasmine Hortop
But yeah, so for about four years, I've been like a digital nomad. And I was working from, houses all around the world, really housesitting. And now for two and a half years, I've been doing the vanlife, which I love. and right now I'm in Portugal, and so the van is sort of self converted by me into what I call an art studio on wheels.

Megan Luedke
Jasmine Horton's childhood was filled with drawing a constant rhythm that mirrored her creative spirit. Growing up in a family passionate about art, her dad switched from a city job to photography when she was about ten. Around eight, her mum began studying costume design and their home became a haven for creativity, blending photography and design into an extraordinary daily life.

Jens Bringsjord
Jasmine's early years were shaped by a family unafraid of unconventional paths, leaving a lasting mark on her artistic journey. Today.

Jasmine Hortop
It's just an amazing place to be, and it's sort of like everyone making these huge masks or like Elizabethan costumes and, or just really, really cool. And then I'd just be drawing. She'd always get me to draw, like the, fashion design kind of figures for her or the costumes and, very crafty, very creative. so from there it was I went like, quite a traditional route always.

Jasmine Hortop
I was just always be art. Kid in school, loved, went to college, studied went to university, and studied visual communication as a degree. So, yeah, I started this. Com, as a communication site, and then I specialized in illustration. for a while, I think before uni, I was quite close to get to studying fashion illustration.

Jasmine Hortop
I think probably because my mum was doing that costume course and I was feeling quite fashion inspired. and I'm really glad I didn't, just because of how narrow it is.

Megan Luedke
Having worked both in-house and as a freelancer. Jasmine has a few guiding pieces of advice she would like to share. According to her, in-house roles can limit expressing your true voice and interests as you respond to market demands. The more you work in-house, the more you align with a company's overall direction. That's why Jasmine ended up shifting to freelancing, a choice she believes grants her more freedom to pursue her individual interests.

Jasmine Hortop
Kind of like fulfill what the overall direction of the company is well within you. And, and so, yeah, then when I went freelance, I think it was a long road to finding, like who? I really was.

Jens Bringsjord
After a considerable period working on commercial projects, a realization struck Jasmine's work. She felt she lacked a deeper personal connection, feeling a desire to go beyond the surface. Jasmine embarked on a quest to understand what truly resonated and ignited passion within, seeking a more profound and authentic creative path.

Jasmine Hortop
And then when I went freelance, I think it was a long road to finding out who, I really was. And, I think after, like, quite a big spell of, like, working on much more commercial projects. I sort of felt like this what I'm making is really, it just felt quite like normal, but very commercial. And just like a lot of the stuff that I saw.

Jasmine Hortop
And I was like, I just want to really go deeper and just really start finding like, what makes me tick and so on. And, and I love working on the campaigns because they're you sort of see them through from start to finish. You see them go live. They're quite meaty like that. They're not just like a one off illustration.

Jasmine Hortop
You're generally working on quite a few things for sort of giving the whole look to the campaigns. and that can be working with videographers, maybe to create like videos that can be, working on illustration for the. Well, usually is the main campaign graphic, also of social assets and stuff like that. But yeah, it's really, really awesome seeing those campaigns go live that often to like either drive change at government level sometimes, which is awesome.

Jasmine Hortop
I've done some campaigns that have been like around court and a lot of campaigns, and they've actually made an impact and ended up changing policy. or. Yeah, or also to consumer level as well, which is also really quite fun. Yeah. Recently I worked on, a campaign to call up SOS. We had the Cop26, and then following that there was Cop15, which is the biodiversity we want to focus on by biodiversity rather than climate.

Jasmine Hortop
And, this was a video pushing the biodiversity framework that they wanted to they were campaigning for to make change for at Cop. it was a video project. It's really cool. I was illustrating over video and do and I do like to make change and I do like to make impacts. And I often sort of do take on like huge impossible tasks and so on.

Jasmine Hortop
and yeah, and I love to see that impact being made. and I think from also having worked with companies who don't have that ethos, it's a really big difference in like the feeling of the company, the feeling that you get back as the designer. It's just it that I think that's what's really driven me as well is just, the feeling of the campaign and working on it throughout and knowing that you're making an impact and the feeling at the end and seeing it go live, and especially if it does help create change, compared to a more commercialized campaign that is just making money for a brand it doesn't feel doesn't

Jasmine Hortop
feel so great and, doesn't really align with the values. my art style is very flowing, has a lot of movement in it. that comes down to how I sort of hold the pen, that is inspired by a lot of ink work, line work, and sort of creating movement on the page through that. I really love to feel like the viewer, to feel like they're coming sort of on a journey through the illustration and feel the movement, and it's sort of to feel immersive.

Jasmine Hortop
a lot of my work in the last year and a bit has been quite inspired by spending, like pretty much all of my life next to the ocean. I'm in the van and I am very much immersed in nature. every day, really. I'm waking up in places that, are quite remote usually. And yeah, I've woken up next to the sea every day for, my stay for the last year and a half.

Jasmine Hortop
And, Yeah, I've taken the camera into the sea, the GoPro, and I've been, like, sort of really looking at the movement and the sort of the distortions of the water as well. I really love the wildness of the ocean. And I think the movement that also brings that we can't control and is completely natural. I so that sort of married with the movement that I love to create in my illustrations anyway, sort of really fits together.

Jasmine Hortop
And I love that I can get super obsessed. Right now I'm just obsessed with the ocean, the water, and sort of just, drawing that as well. And, I'm managing to, like, really focus my work more than sustainability. But I'm also working more and more with, companies. So striving for change within the ocean and ocean conservation as well.

Jasmine Hortop
so human connection to the ocean. Yes. so it's like it's my work isn't so heavily based on that kind of materials that I make the hugest choices with it is. But I haven't got anything, particularly in recent years. But my, actual, like, art studio is completely south pallets and, solar powered, powered by the sun.

Jasmine Hortop
I make all my own energy, and that's a really important thing. And I'm also very minimal in my water usage. I think that's just my lifestyle impacting my art in that way. and so I think it's, I guess is sort of how I work in this sort of a more wider sense in my studio.

Megan Luedke
At the time of the recording, Jasmine had been living from her retrofitted van for over a year. We wanted to get a glimpse of what daily life was like living out of a van, and how it helped her concentrate her work as an advocate for the natural world and our oceans.

Jasmine Hortop
So I've got a little dog. so in the morning I wake up, I take her on a walk. Right now I'm parked on the cliffs in Portugal and overlooking the sea is beautiful. So I take her on a walk over the cliffs. I love surfing, so I'd be looking at the waves to see if it's possible to go for a quick surf that day.

Jasmine Hortop
and then back to the van. Breakfast. Eat cornflakes and yogurt every single day at the moment. and right now, obviously it's all different when you're a freelancer week to week. But, right now I'm on quite the beginning stages with some projects. So a lot of sketching, researching, a lot of sort of drawing, just tiny, some thumbnail sketches and so on.

Jasmine Hortop
to send that to the client and then another with the dog. in the afternoon, maybe I'd go out for my cafe just to change things up, hopefully get in for a surf or get in for a swim at least. And yep, that's my day. Yeah, these projects, the sustainable ones, especially if they're sort of, conservation led, it's quite important.

Jasmine Hortop
the figures and facts in them in that, that, that also the illustration is like truly representing.

Megan Luedke
Jasmine loves working on campaign type projects, especially those centered around animals. There's a heightened significance for her exploring the intricacies behind various campaigns has been a fascinating and enlightening journey for her. Delving into the issues surrounding animals, including the loss of habitat and impacts on biodiversity, has been a profound learning experience over the past few years.

Jasmine Hortop
I make a lot of infographics as well. And yeah, all of the statistics and facts and figures are given to me, but it's sort of my responsibility to make sure I'm, depicting that species, like, correctly. and it's not, it looks like them or the, the people from the region are doing something that they would be doing, like, sort of accurately representing what I am showing, really.

Jasmine Hortop
And that's definitely all down to me. And if I don't do the proper research to start with, it will just come back to me and I'll have to do it again. So yeah.

Jasmine Hortop
Yeah, yeah. So the sort of the work I do for my more personal work is obviously quite different in its research, and that's been sort of much more sketching on location, taking my GoPro into the sea, that kind of thing, which I really, really love doing. And that sort of then goes in turn to inspire my work, that person, that personal work that is so important.

Jens Bringsjord
Becoming change makers through design requires a visual approach, recognizing the challenge of connecting with consumers and influencers, especially those in decision making roles, Jasmin sets heightened value for the need of impactful campaigns in our society. With consumers being the ultimate decision makers, we are bombarded by messages from various angles each campaign striving to make a meaningful impact in a visually compelling way.

Jasmine Hortop
Something like cop, like the people who are making those decisions, they're they're having campaigns per them from so many angles. So they've each one really has to try make an impact on. And then, yeah, it's just choosing who you work with really. which yeah, is quite difficult. But for sure, I think I wouldn't say that. I would hate to say like, only what you should only be working with ethical companies because we know this is an illustration as it is, is an incredibly competitive industry and people need to live and so on.

Jasmine Hortop
And whether I think that by setting the intention and I think within yourself, just that maybe having a more sustainable lifestyle than that is just affecting you and affecting your practice and the kind of clients you would attract. And hopefully, even if you're putting that out of your social media, hopefully you are making your own small change in driving other people's thinking.

Jasmine Hortop
So making your own work. Yeah.

Megan Luedke
At the time of this recording, Jasmine joined creatives for climate, an innovative initiative at the intersection of art, design and environment consciousness. Being a part of this group has opened up a wealth of resources for her, which is invaluable when it comes to the learning curve of sustainable design. Having supportive parents has meant the world for Jasmine. When she decided to pursue an art degree, she had reservations about the financial side of it. However, her parents understanding her passion encouraged Jasmine with a simple message.

Jasmine Hortop
If you love it, then go for it.

Megan Luedke
Her parents unwavering support has been invaluable since day one for Jasmine.

Jasmine Hortop
And I just never was never going to do anything else. And so it was just like, well, I've got to, I've got to go for it. yeah. And they've been super, really supportive in all of that, especially in like the last few years, what with like Covid and I have to go back for a year after I've moved out and, yeah, they're really, really amazing with helping me with everything. Yeah.

Megan Luedke
Jasmine's love for her work is genuine and deeply rooted. It goes beyond a mere profession, evolving into a profound passion that ignites her creative spirit.

Jens Bringsjord
With a genuine affection for her craft. She approaches every project with enthusiasm and dedication, seeking to infuse her creations with authenticity and meaning. This authentic connection to her work not only fuels her artistic endeavors, but also allows her to craft narratives that resonate on a profound level, creating a symbiotic relationship between our art history and our genuine love for the creative process.

Jens Bringsjord
The concept of murals as a means of communication on a grand scale is a perspective cherished by Jasmine. Beyond being a mere form of artistic expression, murals serve as a powerful communication tool with the ability to convey messages to a diverse, live, and expansive audience. This large scale canvas of a mural becomes a dialog as a visual language that transcends boundaries and resonates with people from various walks of life.

Megan Luedke
Embracing the idea that murals are more than just esthetic additions to urban landscapes, Jasmine sees them as dynamic storytellers, facilitating a universal conversation that engages and impacts a wider audience.

Jasmine Hortop
One of the things I love about a mural project is that you see the design and you might go back and forth with that with the client for a bit, but then you start painting, and after however many days it's done. It's done, it's done. You don't, you don't go back. You don't go back and forth and it's there.

Jasmine Hortop
It's just painted and it looks amazing. And it pretty much it's so impactful. Is that like it's I think there's something that's really lost when you're sending someone to a client, a digital image, and they know that it's digital and they can say, oh, can you change this or can you change that? And you can't always maybe appreciate the artistry that's gone into it.

Jasmine Hortop
But when it's so huge, like a mural, like it's people are impressed every time. And I mean, I've never asked anyone, have anyone asked to change anything? And I doubt really someone will. And then, yeah, that's it. But yeah, I love that difference in the projects. I obviously love all my illustration projects as well, but it's super refreshing to get a mural project.

Megan Luedke
Jasmine story is nothing but an inspiration for us all. We've delved into the tapestry of her artistic journey, witnessing the profound impact of a creative upbringing within a family passionate about various forms of expression from her early years, marked by ceaseless drawing to the transformative leap her father took into photography and her mother's immersion into costume design, Jasmine's artistic foundation was nurtured in an environment that valued unconventional paths, as she shares her experiences of living in a van, pursuing projects with environmental themes, and finding a supportive community and creatives for climate.

Megan Luedke
Jasmine's love for her work emerges as her driving force. Her commitment to impactful storytelling through murals adds another dimension to her artistic repertoire, where art becomes a powerful means of communication on a grand scale, bridging gaps and fostering connection with diverse audiences. Jasmine's journey is a testament to the enduring influence of a creative upbringing, and the unyielding passion that propels an artist to create meaningful narratives that resonate with the world.