Sometimes you really need to ‘Feel the fear and do it anyway’. Or so the saying goes by the book of the same name. I decided to have a small exhibition of some of my art. Some was based on my portraiture illustration and some on my typography. I just couldn’t decide which route to go down so why choose? I decided to go for both.
Category Archives: Illustration
The Hug
Enfield Council issued a rallying cry to all local artists to get in touch with ideas to create a special exterior artwork for display at the Dugdale Centre in Enfield Town. The centre is an an art and business space for the local community to enjoy. It has been closed since the covid-19 lockdown and is currently being used as a covid vaccination centre.
I was really surprised but overjoyed when they called to say that they had chosen my design. They mentioned that they had chosen it as they felt that it was specific to Enfield and that it was hopeful…a sign of things to come.
Unity in the Comm(unity)
The owners of Edmonton Green shopping centre approached me to do an artpiece that could be displayed in their shopping centre. They’re a very community based business and wanted a piece that would reflect the area and the people that live in it.
The theme for this piece is community and inclusivity (circles all the way). About family and friendship. How we can all give a helping hand and look out for each other. In times of mental health issues, we need to talk more and be inquisitive. Ask questions. Is your neighbour doing okay? How we should always be kind. I ask the phrase, ‘can you be someone’s rainbow today?’, regularly on social media and wanted to include particular quotes on the art piece which I feel that people could relate to. The African proverb ‘It takes a village to raise a child’ is the main inspiration for this illustration and there’s a story behind it…
Silhouettes: The Good, The Bad and The Downright ‘Orrible
Goodness me. I’m so bored of seeing silhouettes being used in design. The first time I used them was over 20 years ago when I drew the outlines myself with the aid of Adobe Illustrator – or was it Macromedia Freehand (the precursor to Illustrator?). It was when I was working for an agency in the Docklands. The client was the London Borough of Barnet and I designed an exhibition stand for a jobs fair. The design was brilliant (if I do say so myself) and quite innovative for it’s day. I traced round images of people in different professions and then interspersed these images with job titles to illustrate the jobs that Barnet council offered. I distinctly remember getting really positive feedback about it and I felt chuffed to bits.
36 Days of Type
Personal projects don’t come along very often with me but when they do, it generally means that I want to put my all into it and really push the boat out creatively.
I’ve always loved typography and I stumbled across the 36 Days of Type project on instagram on the day that it started (29th March). Now in it’s third year it has a very healthy amount of contributors and followers. I didn’t think twice about doing it or worry about how much of my time that it would take up. I just jumped head first and thought that no matter how busy I was that I was going to finish this project and that it was going to be good. And I’m so glad that I did it.
Illustrating The Trust and Enfield Market
Following on from the logo design branding blog published last week, let’s move onto the marketing aspects of the project. If you haven’t managed to read the rebranding story yet, please read it first as it forms a really good base for this follow up blog.
Enfield Market promotional material
As there were no actual photos of the new market (it hadn’t relaunched yet), I was asked to do some illustration as an aid to promote it.
The Trust branding story
The client
The Old Enfield Charitable Trust is a charity which serves the community of the Old Parish of Enfield. With the aid of grants, they aim to support families, individuals and community organisations in financial need. They manage Enfield Market which runs every Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Design tender
I was approached in mid July by The Trust and asked to tender for the branding and design of their work. The project entailed logo design and marketing material which was going to culminate in the relaunch of the Enfield Market on 1st October in time for British Food Fortnight. The main brief was that they wanted three logos.
- The Old Enfield Charitable Trust: established to aid the community. They award grants and welcome donations
- Enfield Market: There’s been a market in the square since 1303
- The Market Place: The square that Enfield Market resides in. There will be different events hosted in it and The Trust want to promote it as the place to be.
