Jan Underhill, Owner, JR Underhill Communications
Graphic design, art direction, marketing

Jan Underhill's interest in advertising goes WAY back—starting with a late '60s retail sales job that helped her save and pay for college.

Formal education: B.A. in History and Art, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan (1979). Spent time along the way minoring in music (piano) and majoring in English at Calvin College. Also attended Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids.

Upon graduating, she learned that the work skills she acquired while finishing college— production in typography and printing—would prove crucial to her career prospects. A publishing job offered satisfying design opportunities but no future prospects that compared with advertising agencies, so that is where she turned next. In 1980 she became a freelancer and has been independently adding technical expertise, marketing experience, customers and community involvement ever since.

Robert Underhill, Part-time Specialist
Writing & research, photography, video, CAD design

Robert Underhill turned from work as an engineering technician to selling typesetting to advertising agencies in the late 1970s. Providing knowledgeable and time-sensitive service to art directors and production managers under stress earned him much customer gratitude until desktop publishing made his job obsolete.

Jan and Bob first met as salesman and typesetting customer. After they joined forces in 1986, it was decided that Bob should complete the degree in electrical engineering he'd been working on part-time for several years, and the couple moved from Grand Rapids to Kalamazoo in 1987 to accomplish this. Bob completed his B.S.E.E. in 1989 and is primarily employed as a service engineer for a medical imaging company in Grand Rapids.

A Colorful (Wet?) Sideline

Bob Underhill has explored Great Lakes shipwrecks for the past 40 years—and Jan's fascination with history drove her to overcome a water phobia to join him in this activity. A side effect of this pursuit has been ample opportunities to practice and experiment with challenges in photography, video, marketing, and graphic and web design. Great Lakes Underwater lets you read shipwreck stories and take tours on them without getting wet.

The little dogs: Mike Nelson, named after Bob's boyhood scuba diving hero, was an enthusiastic presence both on dive boats and in the office, and better known than his parents at notable Great Lakes diving destinations. He shared their lives and adventures for 14 years and will live on in many peoples' memories (and many photographs).

Bob felt there was only one effective remedy for the pain of losing their old buddy, and one week after Mikey was laid to rest under the snow in the backyard, he presented Jan with an extremely lively bundle of canine joy to attempt to civilize. Jacques Cousteau was named after one of the pioneering legends of scuba diving and is quickly becoming a legend himself with his energy and charm.

You can also download the article Encore Magazine did about the Underhills, and a more recent piece on Jan in the Kalamazoo Gazette.

A Special Tribute

The year 2008 marked 28 years in business for Jan, and the sad loss of a friend and colleague who was part of her enterprise in some capacity since the very beginning.

Oakley Sovereign ran his own small marketing firm, Sovereign Incorporated, in Grand Rapids, and in 1980, he became one of Jan's first freelance advertising design clients.

Working with Oak gave Jan invaluable small-firm experience to complement big-agency exposure. Oak's career spanned the "golden age" of advertising, and he had an endless supply of fascinating first-person accounts from all over the country, and the inside scoop on current players and local legends.

Oak became a mentor as well as a dear friend, and in time, he asked Jan to act as an officer in another venture: Anniversary Works Limited. Partnering with Oak in this effort was educational and rewarding.

If his passing came as a great surprise, it's largely because Oak never seemed to change with age. He certainly never slowed down or lost his enthusiasm for life's rewards and absurdities. He is remembered affectionately and badly missed.

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