Designing Women, and a Few Good Men Too

Jill Kerrigan was the youngest of six children. Each of her siblings had a special interest. One day, her very busy mother suggested, “Why don’t you draw?”

And so she did.

“My father was an engineer,” she explained. "So he would teach me perspective drawing, and how to draw boxes and things. And I think that’s where it all started.”

Kerrigan earned a degree in graphic design from Eastern Illinois University. She landed her first job as an artist at Breymeyer Design in Burr Ridge. She worked there for 11 years, eventually becoming the owner's art director and running his business.

She also started doing some freelance work on the side. One day, she ran into a long-lost high-school friend at a restaurant in Oak Brook. The friend was working for American Express and asked if Kerrigan would be able to design a business-reply card for her.

That friend then passed Kerrigan’s name to a colleague, and she began to do small ads. Her portfolio of freelance work was growing.

“Back then, there wasn’t any scanning,” she laughed. “It was paste-up and waxers and type-setters and strips of type coming out. Doing a layout in a different color, you had a giant light-table and markers.”

After she had her second child, she began working part-time. When a friend suggested that she strike out on her own, Kerrigan said, “What if I fail? What if I don’t make enough money?”

But family concerns finally convinced her to try. “I just did it,” she said.

JAK Graphic Design was launched in 1995 in Kerrigan’s home in Bolingbrook. She did not fail. In fact, her business grew. And when she could no longer handle the billing on her own, she hired her first employee, Laura. Her business continued to flourish. And her staff grew.

She contacted a client in Naperville, asking for referrals for artists. The client said that she was shutting down her own business and her art director was looking for a job. “That was nine years ago,” she said. “And he’s still here.

“We just slowly grew,” she continued. “It’s all by referral.”

But having eight employees working out of her home created problems. They moved to a bigger house in Westmont, converting the entire basement into the business area. But it got awkward having people come for business through the front door.

Kerrigan finally found office space on Plainfield Road. She and Laura set about transforming it into the creative space it is today. Colorful curved and angled walls are covered in pictures of her eleven employees and their families, mementos of group events and various other artistic efforts.

“You have to have a sense of humor to work here,” she laughed.

The office is a reflection of Kerrigan’s personality.

“If it ever stops being fun, I’ll sell,” she said. “Because we are a very close-knit group, and the humor here is what gets us through the day.”

Kerrigan’s flexibility with her employees does not go unnoticed.

“One employee’s husband was in Afghanistan when she started here, and I gave her a lot of leeway (with time),” she explained. “Everyone here was very supportive of her. And she nominated JAK for a Patriot Award. And we won. The military came out here to present it to us.” 

JAK Graphic Design works with clients such as ComEd, Exelon, World Wildlife Fund, Ameritrade and American Express. “Lots of people that go to other places still come back to us,” she said.

Customer service is a big factor in the success of JAK Graphic Design. “We have a rule. If the phone’s ringing, I don’t care whose desk it’s on, you answer it,” she explained.

Kerrigan is proud that her company is a Certified Women’s Business Enterprise by the city of Chicago, the state of Illinois and the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council.

And she’s proud of what she and her staff have accomplished.

“We take every client seriously,” Kerrigan said. “It’s my name on the door. I’m not going to have anything I’m not proud of go out the door.”

JAK Graphic Design is located at 1450 Plainfield Road, Suite 4, in Darien, and can be reached by phone at (630)512-0500. More information can be found at their website: www.jakgraphicdesign.com.