Inside Illustration Podcast 2
Guests for the Branding season podcast are Heidi Lightfoot, Together Design Creative Director and founder, and illustrator/designer branding experts Kate Larsen and Nicola Robson. Rachel Emily Taylor is our host.
Our panel takes part in a wide ranging discussion, exploring the essential aspects of branding illustration from both the commissioner and illustrator sides, examining the process of commissioning, real-life projects and what you should know if you’re interested in getting work in the branding area.
Find out the backgrounds of our podcast guests and host below, and listen below or search Inside Illustration on Spotify, Apple or where you find your podcasts.
Heidi Lightfoot, Creative Director and Founder, Together Design
Heidi set up Together Design with friend, and fellow Creative Director, Katja Thielen in 2003 following 10 years’ experience at other leading branding agencies in London.
With over 25 years of experience she is a regular design award judge and mentors design businesses who are just starting out in the industry.
Together Design work on branding programmes and packaging for arts, education and retail clients. They have a strong focus on collaboration and craft.
Recent projects include the rebrand of a scientific society, book design for Philip Pullman, brand toolkits for Penguin UK, exhibitions for Prix Pictet and Photo London and licensing strategy and guideline creation for literary properties such as Agatha Christie and The Gruffalo.
Kate Larsen, Graphic Designer and Illustrator
Kate has worked as a graphic designer and illustrator for over 19 years. She graduated with a First in Visual Information Design from Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication and from early on in her career combined her love of illustration with graphic design.
Kate has experience working in many areas of the industry from branding to illustrating children’s books, but has particular expertise in the field of packaging. She has worked with design agencies and with in-house teams for the likes of Marks and Spencer, The Body Shop and Boots and directly with her own clients. Kate has won several awards for her work with Fortnum and Mason and Charbonnel et Walker.
Nicola Robson, Senior Designer and Illustrator
Nicola is a Graphic Designer and Illustrator, who for over a decade has worked with leading agencies on brands including Charbonnel et Walker, Fortnum & Mason, Museum of London, Royal Mail, Boots and Caffè Nero.
In addition to design, she has created illustrations for award-winning packaging, branding, window installations and licensing. She has also commissioned and collaborated with illustrators from around the world, creating artwork for skincare, postage stamps and everything in between.
Dr Rachel Emily Taylor, podcast host
Rachel is the Course Leader of BA Illustration at Camberwell College of Arts. She has undertaken residencies at the Foundling Museum, the Bronte Parsonage Museum, Bowes Museum, and the Horniman Museum.
Her research explores how illustration practice might communicate the historical person’s ‘voice’ and examines the value of multiple voices in the museum.
Her book, Illustration and Heritage, explores the re-materialisation of absent, lost, and invisible stories through illustrative practice and examines the potential role of contemporary illustration in cultural heritage.
