Barbara Gibson is a Polish self-taught illustrator renowned for her expertise in digital collages. She co-owns Gibson Kochanek Studio and So Good Studio Ltd with her partner, Marta Kochanek.
Her work has been featured in major publications such as The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Politico, Billboard, The Economist, 1843 Magazine, The Guardian, Yahoo, Harvard Business Review, and Vanity Fair. In addition to editorial illustrations, she creates posters, book covers and illustrations, photo montage work for new media and advertisements.
This week, we caught up with Barbara to discuss a life-changing move to the UK and how it inspired a shift from the stability of finance to the dynamic world of creative arts.
How did you first get into the industry?
Although I spent many years in accountancy holding a senior position in Poland – where I come from, there was always that creative side attached to me. Something I kept exploring and improving after hours and in my free time.
I guess the turning point for me was to move to the UK following a person I’ve fallen in love with. It not only brought the opportunity of quitting the permanent position, leaving the stability as well as comfort zone but face the unknown and explore the opportunities ahead of me.
Where are you based now and who do you work for?
I am Birmingham, UK based. My impressive client list include Vanity Fair, Forbes, The New Statesman, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, 1843 The Economist, The Guardian, Politico, and Yahoo! among many others.
My diverse projects range from property market pieces for the Evening Standard and tech editorials for the 1843 magazine to TV industry features for The Guardian, various political topics for The New Statesman, health and travel for Palm Springs Mag, and workplace/career content for Harvard Review.
ADs and others – I’ve been fortunate to be working on various exciting commissions producing posters for the UK Sport, England Rugby and Commonwealth Games as well as Main Title Sequence for HULU and cover poster for Apple TV+ series. There are also ad campaigns I did for National Express and HSBC UK.
What is your personal background and what role did it play in your career?
Photography was something I got interested in very much. Something I got myself into while in Poland, but then continued passionately after moving into the UK. While I started developing a portfolio and experimenting with editing software, I got myself very much into exploring the endless possibilities in analogue collage making.
Having enough luck, I got my first commission from the HSBC UK, back in 2016. It not only threw me into deep waters of dealing with advertising campaigns but also established the new career path and quite serious confirmation of what I really wanted to do in my life since.
My professional background would not help that much as accountancy is a totally different planet, but I guess consistency in developing my after-hours passion made me who I am now.
If you weren’t in your current industry, what would you be doing?
If I wasn’t brave enough to quit my accountancy job, I would have probably been still and unhappily continuing it today. Taking a risk was all that mattered even though I was not at all familiar with anything the creative industry was and offered. I am glad I took the risk, being already in my 40s.
Can you explain your creative process? What makes it unique?
I strongly believe in research, something I do each time apart from making sure I understand the brief of the advertising campaign I work on or an article I read while working on various editorials. Understanding the subject matter and all objectives allows to explore the thought process but also to get the inspiration from.
I think the uniqueness of each creative person could be measured by its personal taste, I think it comes from my heart and my mind, I just must like the result, trust the process and be open to changes and amendments based on clients’ feedback. Teamwork is crucial as much as being assertive at some point too J
How would you describe your style?
I think it is thoughtful. It is also playful but well considered.
Which individuals do you gain inspiration from? Do you have any heroes in the industry?
Max Huber, Paul Rand, Ladislav Sutnar, Jan Tschichold, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Rudolph de Harak, David Carson.
What tips would you give to aspiring creatives looking for work?
A strong portfolio is a must as well as networking skills. Being consistent and always improving is another crucial aspect of work and being continuously creative.
What tips would you give to other professionals to get more clients?
I think it is every person’s question, answers to which we may find as we move forward, develop and look out for opportunities. There is no simple answer especially when we consider such a competitive industry.
Can you share a memorable experience from your career journey that shaped your approach to creativity?
I think discovering photography gave me the understanding and fascination around the fact that a moment in life could be immortalised forever. Entering the analogue collage making brought to me another dimension within the creative exploration as I realised that I could create my very own worlds that could be unique to how different people would see them.
Entering possibilities of creating digital collage only allowed to make it all faster. Pure fascination with the medium shaped my approach to creativity.
What kind of tools/kit/software could you not do without?
I would not be able to do without my Mac, Adobe package and Wacom!
What’s your secret to staying inspired and motivated?
I am constantly hungry to learn more, do more, explore more and develop more. I think it happens when you finally get to the point of understanding that your passion become your work. It just has no end as each day brings opportunities to read written words (briefs) and convert them into something visually creative.
It is incredible to think that words can be converted into an illustration or collage and immediately get more understanding when we try to send a message across to the viewers or readers.
What’s the work achievement you’re most proud of?
It must be the recent commission I worked on for HULU. One of a kind and something I haven’t been working on before. It brought the opportunity to see and understand how the Main Title Sequence is constructed, how I must think of each frame with another frame in mind at the same time.
As someone with experience in the industry, what trends do you foresee shaping the future of creativity?
The industry is evolving very fast, it is something we observed during the Pandemic times the most. It’s been all very rapid but also advanced. With the scary AI introduction, we cannot be certain, I think.
What do you think sets apart truly exceptional creatives from the rest of the pack?
Apart from talent, great network and connections could be the thing.
How do you think technology has influenced the creative industries and how have you adapted to these changes?
The way technology changes make us worried at first, but I guess the world changed a lot since the first photographic camera was discovered. It wasn’t for everyone due to its price, but it slowly become a tool each of us has in even the most basic mobile phone. Not that scare and unachievable anymore. The same then happened with software we use to edit images and manipulate them.
What is important is how we adopt ourselves to this ever-evolving reality and how best we can take advantage of it. I take it slow when it comes to adopting, trying new gadgets. But I eventually try them and then explore its possibilities almost fully (as updates to software and new gadgets comes too fast!).
What is the one thing that you would change about the industry?
Seeing more women on higher positions and seeing more women being introduced to the world.
Any websites, books or resources you would recommend?
Books:
nu collage.001 / David Carson
Footnotes and Headlines – a Play-Pray Book / Sister Corita
Rational Simplicity / Rudolph de Harak
The Art of Max Huber / Phaidon
