Aki — Freelance Illustrator & UI Designer, Vancouver
Experienced Japanese interactive designer who moved freelance work to Vancouver through language study, continuing education, and community networking.
イラストレーター/UIデザイナー · Vancouver
Profile
Aki is a Vancouver-based freelance creator working across illustration, UI/UX, and graphic design. Frog highlights her as an early example of “freelance study abroad”—continuing client work overseas rather than pursuing a local permanent role as the primary goal. She lived at Frog House for about a year and a half from its founding and contributed actively to the creator community.
Current role
At interview time she was in her third year as a freelancer, delivering illustration, UI/UX, and graphic design work. She continued collaborating with Frog on service development and creative projects.
Japan experience
Experienced designer (経験者). She studied graphic design at Tama Art University, then worked about 6–7 years in the interactive department of a Tokyo advertising production company after an internship—covering full-Flash product sites for major clients, entertainment ads (including mixi apps), and iPhone/Android app design and planning. That agency tenure underpinned her later freelance practice. Exact total Japan career years beyond the 6–7 agency years are not separately stated.
Path to Canada / North America
Overseas trips to London and France while employed sparked interest in longer stays. She consulted Frog (via “Vancouver Web Ya”), chose Vancouver for English and proximity to the West Coast tech/web scene, studied about five months at Kaplan after trialing three schools, and took Emily Carr Continuing Studies illustration courses. She also joined local meetups (design, typography, sketching) and worked from Frog House while maintaining Japan clients across time zones.
Outcome
Sustained freelance practice in Vancouver for roughly two years under Frog’s framing, combining language study, skill refreshers, and community—serving as a reference path for freelancers who want to work abroad without a classic local hire track.
Based on Frog’s Japanese-language interview. English summary for scanning (partners / employers). Original interview (Japanese)
Employer name not disclosed (company null); agency described generically.