3 Aug 2010

Artist 02: HelloWilson











Big welcome to our second artist to be featured, it's HelloWilson! Also a contributor to European countries rally with her beautiful Bosnia and Herzegovina, HelloWilson creates wonderful detailed patterns and these are locked into mythical and natural forms.

Here is her interview,

Who are you:
I am
HelloWilson (better known as Rachel) and I'm a freelance graphic designer. I'm originally from Yorkshire but I currently live in Rome (although I'm returning to England in the autumn). When I'm not busy designing and drawing things I can usually be found drinking coffee and practicing my Italian; I have very recently discovered the joy of a good car boot sale. The things I miss most about England are the pubs and the British sense of quirkiness, while the things I will miss most about Italy are the pizza and the fun-loving friendliness of Italian people.

What do you do:
I'm first and foremost a graphic designer, having left a job in publishing to pursue a career in design. The illustration work that I do stemmed out of a need to escape my computer and let my imagination run wild with a pen and paper.
I think making hand drawn designs is the most satisfying, creative and relaxing way to work. Designing in this way has a positive effect on all the work that I do.

I think my illustrations have a strong graphic look to them. It's very important to me that the work I produce is decorative and beautiful but also useful.
I enjoy the way they can be applied to practical objects; my favourite piece so far is the 'Storm in a Teacup' tea towel I designed for ToDryFor.com. I have big plans for making new HelloWilson designs available later in the year.

How did you start:
Having always enjoyed art and design at school but also being good academically I initially went to Oxford University to study English Literature. During my degree I continued to go to art classes in my spare time. Afterwards I graduated and worked for a while in marketing for a large publisher. As time went on I did bits and pieces of design work on marketing materials and realised that design was what I was good at and what I wanted to be doing all the time. I left my job and went to Kingston University where I did a masters degree in Communication Design. For me the internet has been invaluable in providing platforms for me to get my work seen. I have work on
Society6, Behance, Envelop.eu, as well as my own blog and website, and I'm frequently (perhaps a little too frequently!) on twitter and facebook. All these mediums have given me ways to learn from my peers, communicate with them and get their feedback not to mention find clients and customers!

A Personal statement about you or your work:
My work is bright, bold and hopefully has a sense of fun. As a designer it's important to me that my work has an end use and is not just art for art's sake. I am most satisfied with my work when I see it applied to some vaguely practical object such as a tea towel or cushion. For my part I couldn't feel luckier to have the opportunity to build a career in a field that is so challenging and exciting.

You can find out more about my work at:
www.hellowilson.co.uk

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