The Creative Condition podcast

Illustrator Sandra Dieckmann returns by popular demand to talk about her debut children's book, Leaf. The story is an incredibly moving and visually impactful tale of acceptance, understanding, alienation and empathy, published by Flying Eye Books. Sandra's stunning array of colours, warmth, detail and natural world are showcased in spectacular fashion as we follow the journey of a polar bear who...

Angela Morris-Winmill joins me to discuss her intriguing journey, switching from a successful career at the forefront of London high-street fashion, to working as an independent multi-disciplinary artist. Angela took bold steps in leaving the world of full-time employment to pursue her creative ambitions when the time was right. She talks about knowing when to make such a big change, the risks and...

Pricey has been working as a photographer at Arsenal Football Club since 2002. He works in many areas of the club, for both the women and men’s teams and on the media side of the game. Self-taught, he worked his way up the ranks, beginning with a trainee role at Colorsport. For a man who admits he never really harbored any serious creative aspirations, his portfolio of football photography is seco...

The transition from education to the harsh environment of the 21st century creative industry is not an easy one. Few of us know where we want to go or how to get there, even if we do. Hazel Mead, 3rd year illustration and fine art student at the University of Coventry details the experience, how she’s starting to build bridges into industry, hopes, fears and dreams. The lack of guidance upon enter...

Paul Shipper’s stunning film and TV artwork began with movie posters on a bedroom wall and inspiring trips to the video library in Manchester. His contemporary twist on a classic era of movie posters has earned him a following comprised of both cinema fans and industry icons alike. He joins me to discuss the journey, from being wowed by the artwork from such timeless films as Star Wars and Indiana...

Welcome to Slayzytown, where ice cream eyes and inverted pop culture characters are the tip of the ice berg. I meet the south London street artist and illustrator to talk about the weird, wonderful world he creates. How does a modern artist try to make a living whilst staying true to the world they wish to create? Slayzy talks about galleries, prints, sharing the inside of his lively mind with fan...

Smart Up Visuals are a visual storytelling agency. The trio of Kristina, Lina and Karina turn words into illustrated stories and join me to share their inspiring story. We discuss the origins of their graphic scribing, which is often carried out live at conferences, events and in animated videos. How do they manage the pressure of working in front of large audiences, with no margin for error and h...

There are few styles as immediately recognisable as the digital portraits of Stanley Chow. The Manchester raised and based illustrator is globally recognised as a heavyweight in the illustration industry, his work being seen regularly in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Nike, WWE and Wired among many other high profile places. Stanley shares the inside story of his success from the roots of his...

Kerry Hyndman has just won the Blue Peter Book Award for 'best book with facts.'The London based illustrator has brought to life David Long's 'Survivors: Extraordinary tales from the wild and beyond' with her stunning full colour illustrations for Faber & Faber. I catch up with Kerry to talk about the experience of bringing to life such an original children's book with often graphic tales of h...

In the second part of the mental health and creativity special, I'm talking to a range of people in the arts about what their creativity provides on a more human level. We're dropping the client lists, the awards and the shiny Instagram profiles and exploring the mind and soul, how it can be enriched by the act of creating something from nothing. I'm joined by Illustrator Malika Favre, musician, D...

On a very broad scale, we all suffer the down sides of being, in the words of illustrator Ste Johnson, the only animal on the planet with the power to introspect and think this way, don't we? Whether it is depression and unhappiness, or simply occasional insecurity and anxiety, as human beings, life can sometimes give us a rough ride. But what role can creativity play in preventing, alleviating, c...

Would it be fair to say that every creative professional, beginner, student or casual ink head has at some stage struggled to settle on a style? Do we even have to? Why is that so frustrating? Willkay Oddking is a broadly skilled artist, designer and illustrator working with the likes of Adidas, G-Star Raw, Converse, BBC and under his own Oddkingdom brand. Will joins me at my studio to talk about...

I'm kindly invited to illustrator What Katie Drew's studio where as you'd hope, sits a desk smothered in incidental ink splats, chance smudges, marks and some smirk raising doodles. With a truly humorously naive, organic style, I talk to Katie about the evolution of it and a journey via the world of advertising. We discuss how time out and a look into other disciplines can help in the long run, wh...

What makes a strong portrait? Stylistically, it's wide open to the viewer's taste and use in context. But what is the essence of a great artistic representation of a human being? I'm joined by Beka Smith to discuss personalities, eccentricity, warmth, the importance of how others perceive the subject and other variable factors to consider when creating a portrait. Beka is a London based portrait a...

I head to the Design Week office in central London to talk to editor, Tom Banks about the brilliant Age Of Design project. Design is now a key driver for businesses and organisations looking to innovate, differentiate themselves from competitors and get closer to their users. But what do these organisations mean by design and how are they using it? Throughout the Age of Design project, we will inv...

Sheffield based graphic designer and illustrator Lisa Maltby has set a great example of how we can turn negative experiences into great creative source material. Collating a number of breathtaking put downs from both her professional and personal life, Lisa has transformed them into a hilarious series of typographic artworks. Whilst some defy belief and others are more naive than malicious, Lisa's...

Ever thought about setting up your own creative workspace/studio? It's one sexy idea, but there are questions that need answering along the way, for most of us. Rabble Studios launched earlier in 2016. At a time when property developers are gobbling up creative spaces for fun, I meet with founder and designer Dan Spain. Rabble houses 24 creative professionals and also functions as a creative event...

It's a very tenuous Christmas special episode and the last of 2016 as Lauren Goodland, aka Dorkfeatures is on great form. The Newport based designer discusses her alternate range of greetings cards, Christmas and non-festive. The range has been very successful early in their existence and we talk about why there is a market for personal, off-beat humour and why her cards have hit the mark thanks t...

There are few bigger names in the ruthless worlds of contemporary art and illustration than Malika Favre. Paris raised, London based, Malika joins me for the 50th episode of Arrest All Mimics to discuss her inspiring journey so far. Malika's distinct style, utilising beautiful colour palettes and digital techniques to their fullest, has been seen in The New Yorker, Penguin Books, Vogue, The BAFTAs...

The image that still tends to spring to mind when you think of what a portfolio is, most probably is a leather-bound one, with a handle. Whilst these still see the inside of the offices of many art-directors, editors and commissioners, what should a portfolio be today? Industrial designer Nick Chubb recently gave a talk with Artsthread at the V&A discussing marketing yourself on zero budget an...

Kerry Lemon is a hugely inspiring example of just how much can be achieved, on your own terms with the correct balance of self-belief, drive, hard work, smart decision making and vision. With an unconventional route into the business, Kerry forges her own path, making smart moves to realise her ideas and project plans. We discuss how a former planned teaching career just did not feel right and aft...

La Boca are a London based image-making studio working with a wide range of clients including Penguin Books, Adele, Island Records and Vintage Books. They recently created a set of stunning cover designs for a series of reissued science fiction classic books, a bucket list project for Scot and Richard, both long-term fans of the genre. We discuss what it was like to land such a brief for a client...

One of the UK's most revered graphic designers and creative minds of all time is arguably best known for his 'First Things First' manifesto, published in 1964. Signed by many graphic designers and artists, the purpose of the manifesto was to highlight the out-of-control consumerist society and urge creative professionals to use their talents and free time to work towards more meaningful causes tha...

We've seen sonic speed developments in technology over the last decade. How do the possibilities impact upon design and its role in the world moving forward? Last year's 'This Time Tomorrow' exhibition at the World Economic Forum was based on the theme 'The fourth industrial revolution' and curated by V&A museum's Mariana Pestana. Mariana joins me to talk about the work featured, including the...

The Association Of Illustrators join me to discuss where we find the industry in 2016. With a dual role of the trade union for the illustration industry and champions of it too, the AOI are as important as ever before. We enter the digital age and with its arrival comes a whole new host of questions about intellectual property rights, big business bullying and where we are headed. I head down to t...