I've moved house.

This is now officially my OLD BLOG. Booooo! But the good news is that I have a brand new shiny NEW BLOG that is integrated with my illustration website. So now you can see all my news and portfolio in one place. So please do come and visit me and I promise more regular updates from now on.

Tales From The Cold

In the past few months, I have been lucky enough to have access to a laser cutting machine. I have been working on a series of paper cut figures from folklore tales that I have been reading about. I think maybe in retaliation to the baking desert heat we are currently experiencing, I find myself drawn to the stories of ice and darkness from the northern hemisphere. Here is one of my favourite designs, taken from an inuit folk tale. The paper cut version is currently in an exhibiton at the Tashkeel Gallery in Dubai.

Always Typographic Advert

Advertising agency, Leo Burnett in Chicago commissioned me to create this colourful piece of typography for a press advert for Always. Now in Teen Vogue among other publications!

Free Range Eggs!

My favourite part of this McDonalds project was to design some huge and ornate illustrations to adorn the sides of their delivery trucks. This is surely my biggest 'canvas' to date but I had so much fun inventing these surreal landscapes. Commissioned by the international advertising agency, Leo Burnett, I have been working on this project for about 6 months and there is still more to come!

As well as the 4 trucks, keep an eye out for numerous press ads in UK national papers and magazines during June and July and more of my illustrations on their website here.

McDonalds Summer Advertising Campaign

After many months of hard graft, I am delighted to unveil, the first in a series of ads I have created for McDonalds UK. The campaign, based around the ABC of the brand's ethics, will be running throughout the summer in UK national press as well as online, in-store and on the sides of some rather beautiful trucks. I'll put more pictures up soon!

Sevenseas Jointcare Adverts

Spotted! If you are in London this summer, keep an eye out for my latest illustrations for UK brand Sevenseas. I took these slightly shaky shots while standing on a travelling tube (with all the other passengers giving me very strange looks!) There are more up throughout the Underground as well at press adverts in the national newspapers, digital escalator panels and animated online banners. I'll post more soon!

Sasha Wagstaff Series

I have had the pleasure of designing lots of book covers but this one has to be one of my particular favourites. Earlier this year I was asked by Headline books to rebrand their best selling author, Sasha Wagstaff. They wanted a mixture of illustration and photography on the cover of her latest novel, as well as a strong, modern look for Sasha's name.

Abu Dhabi International Book Fair

This post is shamefully late - but I am just now surfacing from my busiest work period EVER. I have some exciting new work to show you and one big project to reveal next week. But for now, let's skip back a couple of months to The Abu Dhabi International Book Fair which this year had the very special new addition of an Illustrator's Corner - promoting illustration and matchmaking artists and publishers from the Middle East and North Africa and across the globe. It was a pleasure to be involved this year and I made some great contacts as well as meeting a load of fabulous and talented artists from the region. Here is a small selection of designers, animators and illustrators who I got to know at the book fair. Click their pictures for a link to their own websites and here for more information on the book fair.

As well as exhibiting my work at the Book Fair, I was asked by The National newspaper to illustrate the cover of their special edition book fair magazine - for which they requested a typographic interpretation of the 50 Novels You Should Have Read - have you read them all?!

Marks & Spencer Royal Wedding Tin

Feeling patriotic? The folks at Marks and Sparks commissioned me to create this illustration for a rather unique biscuit tin, commemorating the Royal wedding next month. These beautiful, limited edition tins will be available from today at an M&S near you so get yourself one to celebrate the nuptials of Will & Kate!

A Poem for Valentines Day

A special client commissioned me to hand ink this poem for his loved one on Valentines Day. The poem, hand written with a dipping pen and italian calligraphy pigment is so touching, I wanted to share it with you:

I could happily waste a day
in Paperchase
searching for the card
that perfectly captures in paper hearts
how it feels to look upon your rollercoaster grin
when I am within you.
There is no perfume
that smells exactly
completely
absolutely and entirely
of your particular shade of blonde,
the sweet and secret taste of your skin
cannot be found
in any multicoloured flavour combination
of Jelly Bean,
and as far as I can tell
there doesn’t yet grow the rose
whose name
roughly translated from latin
describes the dumb rush of blood to my heart
when you first walked towards me again.
And so
yet again
calendar-trapped and lacking the exact cliché
I depend upon this final redundancy –
my words,
awkward, graceless,
but all that I have to tell is what you already know.
I love you.

Anonymous

Valentines warm up

As you know, V.day is tomorrow so to get you in the mood, here is a little preview of my illustration for our LOVELY mailer from my agency, The Artworks.

Oh la la!

US publishing house Harlequin commissioned me to design some typography for this saucy novel.

Waterstones Prize Winner

I have some really exciting news to share with you today...Artichoke Hearts by first time author Sita Brahmachari has been awarded first prize in Waterstone's Children's Book Awards 2011. This beautiful novel, aimed at 11-14 year olds, explores some delicate and sensitive subjects about life and death as well as culture, friendship and identity. I was also lucky enough to have illustrated the cover and the drawings throughout. So it is an attractive package and a thoroughly good read- whatever your age!

Sometimes it's good to get away from the screen and make. I have a new found respect for screen-printers - it's really hard manual labour! These are my first samples but next week I will be rolling out a batch of these prints - white ink silk-screen on beige-grey A2 with hand painted red hearts. Only a very limited number will be available so if you want to get your hands on one, drop me a line here.

Screen printing

I have just finished designing this poster to screen print on Sunday. Then maybe it will be for sale...

Moonstruck design awards!

I just received an email from my friends at Sandstrom Design, telling me some exciting news from the US. Above is the latest addition to the Moonstruck/Kate Forrester chocolate collection - purple foil, soft touch coated metallic silver ink and embossed high glass white ink. I'm so pleased with the result. Not only that, we have been chosen to win a Rosey Award (Advertising and Design Award Show) for best packaging design of the year in Portland and also have been awarded number 28 in The Dieline's top 100 Package designs of 2010! For those who don't know it, The Dieline is an international packaging design website, showcasing the best packaging design from across the globe. Here are a few of my favourite winning entries from the list:

Cocoa Jars for Moonstruck

Here is some more of my work for Moonstruck Chocolate - yummy!

Tiffany Holiday Lettering

Happy New Year! I want to start this year with a very exciting project I have been working on for Tiffany. Their New York design department asked me to create some hand drawn lettering for the window displays and signage in Japan and London, as well as the flagship store in NYC. Here are just a few pieces from the range, cut from paper and vinyl and even one painted on a sandwich board for their London 'tuck shop!'

Design: Lucy-Ann Bouwman/Sightgeist Design, Inc.
Photography courtesy of: ©2010 Chris Akelian/Pax Whitfield