Janae graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor of Fine Arts focused in Animation, but upon graduating found herself working for Interior Designers as a digital artist rendering elevations and floor plans. Always one to take on a side project to grow her skill set, she worked on branding and website projects and later opened her own Etsy shop in 2015. Shantelle and Hillaree later found Janae through her Etsy work, and the rest is history!

The Frances Roy value that resonates most with Janae is family first, one that Janae thinks is the best value and one that businesses rarely support. Janae appreciates that she can work around her children’s schedules to catch martial arts classes, special events, and more. “It’s a wonderful work-life balance support here at Frances Roy,” says Janae, “and this year Frances Roy even sponsored my son’s soccer team!”

Janae finds energy for her work through the challenge of putting together graphics like a puzzle. She enjoys finding new small touches to enhance a design, and oftentimes coming up with various options allows her to see how she can push her design skills! She says, “And, of course, I drink lots of coffee to stay energized.” Things that she does outside of work to avoid burnout are spending time with her family, working on her illustrations, reading, and watching shows (like competitive baking). Janae says, “I try to organize my workload before the day starts and at the end of the day so I know what’s coming and don’t have to think about it while I’m not at work.” She also gives herself some grace since she is continually learning more about burnout.

Her best piece of professional advice that she would pass along to someone is that soft skills are underrated! She says, “Be interested and invested and show it. I get really discouraged when I write a helpful email or offer guidance and don’t receive any response. Even a quick thank you would go a long way.”

Janae loves learning new things, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that she has more than one thing she wants to learn about this year. She says, “Graphic design is always evolving and more tools become available, so I’m constantly learning new things in graphic design.” She also is currently learning more time management skills and simplifying processes.

Come back in two weeks to learn more about another one of our Frances Roy team members as we celebrate the Year of the Team! Learn more about what Year of the Team means to us at https://francesroy.com/year-of-the-team/.