Conceptional illustrations often have the power to take us to different worlds, while still telling us something important about our own. Jan Siemen is one of the illustrators whose body of work will make you reflect and think deeply about your place in the world.
The German artist is co-founder of a creative studio named Sons of Ipanema, and he decided to branch out and explore new styles when he started his Instagram page @janillustrates. He tried to find his own style and settled on playing with colors, textures, and shapes while creating the introspective conception illustrations that he’s now known for. He focuses on vector illustration, and mostly uses Illustrator and Photoshop in his work.
Siemen’s illustrations often explore the place of small people in the big world, addressing specific issues such as the impact of technology and climate change. Even though these themes are prevalent in his work, he doesn’t see himself as an illustrator who’s solely focused on social criticism.
“Depending on which illustration you’re looking at, I’d rather call it irony or sarcasm or romanticism than social criticism. I would rather entertain than enlighten… Certainly not everyone understands my intentions and sometimes there are none or it is too obvious,” Siemen told Pop Web Designs.
