Brands and artists have collaborated for decades to create aesthetics that connect with and guide contemporary culture. We look to Hattie Stewart whose illustrative style inspires brands and designers alike.
More than most professions, artists have the freedom to challenge convention, unrestrained by guidelines, design codes and stakeholders that effect others working in creative businesses. Being inspired by the conventional and unconventional world around us is the key to successful innovation and is what drives change and new visual aesthetics. Just look back to Andy Warhol whose frequent merging of fine art and commercial mass production led the way for the pop art movement of the 1960s. He famously said, “being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art”.
As brand designers, we are constantly looking for ways in which brands can be inspired by artists and vice versa. And as brands continue to align themselves with the art world, showcasing their own cultural relevance, we are rarely short of examples. Take the BMW art journey that is supporting emerging artists by taking them on a journey of creative discovery; or make-up brand Shiseida that commissioned award-winning architect Shigeru Ban to create an installation entitled Reverberation for its luxury brand Clé de Peau Beauté. Similarly, Fashion Designer Katie Eary has recently partnered with KFC to promote its new lunch menu.
Gone are the days of art sponsorship. Today, brands are looking for meaningful collaborations that inspire entirely new creations that embrace the unconventional. Creating engaging, and of course appropriate partnerships invites a wider consumer audience and often help brands accentuate their premium, contemporary or cultural relevance.
This month, we take inspiration from Hattie Stewart, a London-based illustrator or otherwise self-proclaimed “professional doodler”. Her distinct and playful visual style extends itself through art, music and fashion. Having worked with designers such as House Of Holland, Marc By Marc Jacobs and Adidas, she has also exhibited in Miami, L.A, Bangkok, New York, Berlin and London.
More recently, Stewart has been working on a project aptly titled ‘Doodle-Bombing’ where she illustrates over the covers of influential magazine publications including Vogue and i:D. Marrying sociopolitical causes with visual art, Stewart’s projects are increasingly gaining recognition in the public eye advocating the journey of illustration from subculture to an art form in its own right.
Artists have always been big influencers in inspiring what consumers will be buying. Consequently, brands are looking to both artists and influential consumers for branding and innovation inspiration and it is through the lens of the consumers that artists like Hattie demonstrate their talents for self-expression, creativity and individuality. When giffgaff approached us with the brief to complete a brand refresh, we looked no further than Stewart for her disruptive but aesthetically pleasing creative style for inspiration.