My story:

I’m Jana Frank, known on the Internet as Miu Mau, illustrator, author and blogger.
Born in Central Asia (former USSR), based in Berlin since 1990.
I worked as an illustrator and drew comics, studied advertising graphics, and then worked as a designer, art director and creative director in agencies.

In 2002 I finished my career as a designer to return to illustration.

I got cancer in 2003, so I couldn’t work for 2 years. At that time I had 12 surgeries, one chemotherapy and 2 trips to the afterlife.  In this whole time I have continued to write my blog. Although there were almost only reports from the hospital at that time, my auditorium grew rapidly.

After the illness I worked on my rehabilitation, drew illustrations, wrote my blog and books and opened an online shop. The topics of my books and blog posts are self-realization, creativity, health, happiness. And how to make a living from creative work.

In December 2014 I began to lose my sight rapidly. This turned out to be a long-term consequence of my chemotherapy. For the next three years I had multiple eye surgeries. The doctors were able to save my sight, but the picture I see is very distorted and bended. Doctors say I can improve my sight. But a physical improvement of my vision is no longer possible. I can only teach my brain to interpret “correctly” what I see. Since then I’ve been trying to teach my brain to see better. In addition to my interests (and topics I am writing about) I added a few. For example, biofeedback, neurofeedback, neurology and the hidden possibilities of the human brain.

I also work with cancer patients and do charity projects with and for them. (See “Battle Inside”)

Whenever I don’t draw or do something creative I spend my time with rehabilitation sports, trying to improve my vision, coordination and health.

I draw illustrations, make small editions of things with my illustrations for my shop, write my blog and books. And sometimes I give seminars and workshops or teach as a guest lecturer at art schools.

By the way:

– All of my projects and journeys (and almost all of my life) are monitored in my Russian blog miumau.livejournal.com

– The blog has over 45 000 subscribers and is visited by about 70 000-100 000 readers every day.

– It is in the top 10 in the rating of all Russian blogs (listing abt 10 million blogs)

– It has over 10000 posts (in the last years – over 1000 posts a year).

– It is visited by over 2 500 000 readers in a month.

– They write me over 100 000 comments in a year, and I read them all!

So if you want to sponsor one of my journeys, offer me a nice job or support one of my projects – feel free to write me!

You also can order an own advertising post in my blog (in Russian)

 

– 1972 – born in Dushanbe, Central Asia, former USSR.
– 1986-1990 studying at the Art-College in Dushanbe, Graphic design.
– At the same time – working as illustrator for magazines and as a layouter for a newspaper.
– 1990 – I moved to Berlin, Germany.
– 1991 – My son David was born.
– 1991-1995 – studying advertising design at the Art Academy in Zuerich, Switzerland.
– 1995-1996 – studying computer graphics at the computer college CIM Data in Berlin.
– 1992-1996 – drawing comics, working as a freelance designer.
– 1996-1997 – print-designer at Kulturfabrik, Berlin.
– 1997-1998 – teaching Photoshop and web-graphics at the Internet Academy, Berlin.
– 1998-1999 – art-director at Tagesspiegel-Online, Berlin.
– 1999-2001 – creative-director at I-D Media, Berlin.

In this time i made lots of newspaper layouts, CD and book-covers, catalogues, booklets,
– Designs for 254 flyers and countless invitations and advertisements,
– 17 package designs, 98 posters, about 10 000 drawings, including comics, approximately 500 illustrations,
– Estimated 300 website-designs and design-relaunches
…for clients like Swatch, Wallpaper, Swarovski, Activest, Agfa, Deutsche Telekom, T-Online Deutschland, T-Mobile Deutschland, T-Com Deutschland, Alcatel, Aeropa, Avanturo, Bee Dees, Camel, E-ON, Living Screen, Lee Jeans, Hamilton Watch, Red Zac, Wella, Winkreative, Yello Strom, Cynigma, E-Cyas, Sony-Europe, Loewe, Europcar, Anatoliy Olshanskiy and GRAN Guitar, and many others.

– 2002 – end of art-director and designer career. I achieved everything I wanted in these positions and decided to paint and work as an illustrator again.
– November 15, 2003 – collapse, surgery because of cancer.
– August 20, 2004 – after 3 surgeries and 8 months of chemotherapy – second visit to the other side.
– 2005 – New start as a freelance illustrator. 

Illustration:

Afisha Magazine, Art. Lebedev Studio, Bolshoy Gorod magazine, Burda magazine, Cosmopolitan magazine, ELLE magazine, Forbes magazine, GEO Focus magazine, IKEA, Marie Claire magazine, Men’s Health magazine, Men’s Fitness magazine, Oooops! magazine, Playboy Magazine, Red Zac, Rolling Stone magazine, Seventeen magazine, Sony, Telekom Germany, Vogue magazine, Wallpaper*.

Design:

Activest, Activ Consult, AGFA, Alcatel, Anatoliy Olshanskiy, Areopa, Artmust, Avanturo, Akademie.de, Bee Dees, Big Brother, Boulevard Online, Burda, Cabinet, Camel, Daimler Chrysler, Davidoff, D-Immo, E.ON, ERGO, Hamilton Watch, Hewlett Packard, Intel, Lastminute.com, Lee Jeans, Loewe, Maisel, Mediavivison, Meinberlin.de, Metronet, MOMA, Mustang, Objektform, Otto, Peter Stuywesant Travel, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Primus Online, R1, Red Zac, Reemtsma, Renault, Robinson Club, SAP, Sony Europe, Sports.com, Swarovski, Swatch, T-D1, Tagesspiegel Online, Telekom, T-Info, T-Mobile, T-Systems, TSM Berlin, TUI, Trimondo, Urban Media, Viag Intercom, Volkswagen, Wallpaper*, Warner Brothers, Wella, West, Winkmedia, Wolff und Lehmann, Yello Strom, Zitty Online, 1860 Muenchen, 20-th Century Fox.

P.S. Why are there so many cats in my pictures? Read the cat story!