I’m Jen Backman, a freelance illustrator based in the Greater Toronto Area. I work across a variety of styles and mediums, with a focus on bringing people’s stories and experiences to life through clear, expressive visual storytelling. I collaborate with creative teams and clients globally—producing picture illustrations, graphic recording, animated illustration assets, concept art, and storyboards. My goal is to elevate every project I work on, making complex ideas tangible and accessible while adding a human-centric, strategic creative voice to each brief.…

Jen Backman

Verified

I’m Jen Backman, a freelance illustrator based in the Greater Toronto Area. I work across a variety of styles and mediums, with a focus on bringing people’s stories and experiences to life through clear, expressive visual storytelling. I collaborate with creative teams and clients globally—producing picture illustrations, graphic recording, animated illustration assets, concept art, and storyboards. My goal is to elevate every project I work on, making complex ideas tangible and accessible while adding a human-centric, strategic creative voice to each brief.…

Available to hire

I’m Jen Backman, a freelance illustrator based in the Greater Toronto Area. I work across a variety of styles and mediums, with a focus on bringing people’s stories and experiences to life through clear, expressive visual storytelling.

I collaborate with creative teams and clients globally—producing picture illustrations, graphic recording, animated illustration assets, concept art, and storyboards. My goal is to elevate every project I work on, making complex ideas tangible and accessible while adding a human-centric, strategic creative voice to each brief.

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Language

English
Fluent

Work Experience

Remote Illustrator at Inky Thinking
November 1, 2021 - Present
Collaborated with a team of illustrators and contributed to picture illustration, graphic recording, animation illustrations, concept art, and storyboards for a variety of global corporate clients.
Toronto Illustrator (In-house Illustrator) at Idea Couture
July 1, 2013 - April 1, 2019
Served as the in-house illustrator for 5+ years, working with diverse clients across technology, health, beauty, and more. Added strategic intention to illustrations to support innovation and elevate projects.
Freelance Illustrator at Jen Backman Illustration
April 1, 2011 - Present
Independent freelance illustration work across a wide range of projects and teams, supporting clients from startups to large companies. Brings a human-centric, strategic approach and a creative voice to each engagement.

Education

Honours Bachelor of Fine Arts at York University
January 1, 2009 - January 1, 2013
Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) at York University
January 1, 2009 - January 1, 2013

Qualifications

Honours Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Arts
September 1, 2009 - June 1, 2013
York University

Industry Experience

Media & Entertainment, Professional Services
    Murals
    Murals bring creativity, life, and a sense of connection to public and private spaces. Using scalable vector illustration, I design custom artwork tailored to fit any wall or footprint without losing detail. I partner with community organizations and businesses to elevate their physical spaces, celebrate what they do, and create lasting visual impact.…
    Storyboards + Comics
    As an experienced illustrator in commercial storyboarding, narrative development, and storytelling, storyboards have always been an area I excel and love to work in. Whether it’s for a specific project, a film, or a commercial, storyboarding can be crucial on projects. Bringing knowledge of human expression, movement, and narrative to every project ensures your storyboards bring to life the true story you are trying to tell.…
    Portraits
    Illustration can be a better approach than photography in some cases when it comes to portraits. Personas can often feel “stocky” as the heavy lean on stock photography can get tiring. Illustration is a great way to add care and creativity to your personas. Have a website where you showcase your team? Illustrated versions of your team’s portraits can be a fun way to show the talent of each person, and make your business stand out! “Jen was TERRIFIC! Her illustrations were beautiful and she was able to tell our story perfectly through pictures.”…
    Concept Art
    Sometimes the coolest ideas live entirely in our heads—or exist way before a camera can ever capture them. Concept art is one of my favorite ways to solve that. By turning ideas into visual stories, illustration makes your vision feel real, clear, and totally approachable for your audience. Whether you’re pitching a new project or showing off what’s next, I turn early-stage ideas into clear, memorable artwork. “Jen can bring concept, ideas and interactions to light in real-time across all industries. She is more than an illustrator, but rather a core member of the strategic vision as she both facilitates and storyboards complex products, services, processes. She was repeatedly a client favourite, often specifically requested”…
    Editorial
    From children’s books and novels to magazines and educational projects, Jen brings written words to life. She collaborates closely with authors, editors, and creative directors to craft bespoke illustration styles tailored specifically to the tone, audience, and needs of every story. “Higher resolution editorial illustration, much of which she has contributed to Idea Couture's quarterly journal MISC Magazine. Her work provides significant value in situations where visualization is critical to concept development, prototyping and validation.”…
    Branding
    Illustration is one of the most powerful tools for making a brand feel memorable and human. Perfect for replacing dry stock photos or breaking down hard-to-explain concepts, custom visual elements bring your story to life. I specialize in tailoring my style to match your existing brand tone—or collaborating with you to develop a completely custom look. “From the very beginning, she listened to what we envisioned and what we liked (even when it was difficult for me to articulate) and then went above and beyond to deliver designs that our whole team has fallen in love with. I couldn't recommend her enough - I can't wait for the next project that will allow Jen to bring our ideas to life!”…
    Product Drawings
    Whether it is for an existing product with a new look or for a whole new one. Illustration can make your product direction make sense. Rough or elevated looks depending on where you are in your business plan. “Jens visuals helped us align a group of senior leadership to bring a new product feature set to life– no easy feat! Jen is the missing link in your strategy planning you didn’t know you needed, and now don’t want to do a project without.”…