Today is a Good Day

Nike VCXC

2011-11-08T13:24:00.000Z

I collaborated with Nike a few months ago to design an identity for their amazing pop-up energy space in New York. The space is right opposite Van Cortlandt Park in The Bronx, famed for it's gruelling cross country running circuit. VCXC is a meeting space at local runners and for organised race meets, as well as providing running gear, custom made t-shirts and interactive maps.

For me it was a great chance to design a crest which was much looser than other more formal shields and heraldry I've created for past projects (see my Shakespeare's Globe heraldry).

I'll post a few images of the development for this logo soon...

See the Bernstein + Andriulli post here

Logo's and Icons

2011-11-03T17:02:00.000Z

I've been compiling a new portfolio of logos, icons and heraldry I've designed over the last year or so. Here's a sample...

Aspex Gallery

2011-11-03T13:55:00.002Z

I currently have work on show in 2 exhibitions, one in London and the other in Portsmouth.

In London at the University College London Hospital I have a new piece of work entitled Firewood #1 (I'll upload an image soon) as part of the group show Helter Skelter curated by Adam Bridgland.

In Portsmouth at Aspex Gallery, I have limited edition screen prints of You Make the Sun Come Out and I'm Always in Love on show as part of a group show entitled Must Have...Been Something I Said.

If you're out and about near these shows go check em out!

Portfolio Update

2011-10-01T12:41:00.003+01:00

This week I finally found a bit of spare time to update my portfolio with new work. Here's a selection of some of the work added...

See more at www.mrahayes.co.uk

Be Conservative in What You Do...

2011-09-24T15:19:00.004+01:00

For Communications of the ACM

Chester Zoo

2011-09-24T14:57:00.005+01:00

I worked with the supremely talented folk at Music on a new identity for Chester Zoo.
It's a really great project and here's a selection of the work...

The new Chester Zoo 'adventure' map

Chester Zoo logo

New hand drawn typefaces each incorporating 'special' animal characters

The typeface is also used as part of the Zoo's conservation charity, Act for Wildlife

Read the Creative Review blog post here: www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2011/august/music-redraws-chester-zoos-identity
and Fast Company here: www.fastcodesign.com/1665006/a-rebranding-for-kids-thats-playful-without-being-childish

Absolut SF

2011-09-12T16:10:00.005+01:00

Earlier this year I worked as a typography consultant for Absolut Vodka on their new San Francisco themed product. I picked out a set of typefaces to match various SF neighbourhoods which were then used on various sized posters for an ad campaign. (I also designed one or two myself).

In addition to the consultancy, I was commissioned to design and make 2 bespoke hand-drawn typefaces to be used throughout the campaign.

C'est Si Bon

2011-09-06T15:50:00.000+01:00

New poster design

LA Marathon 2011 - Concept to Final Art

2011-08-03T14:14:00.009+01:00

All work by Adam Hayes

Trans-Siberian Adventure

2011-07-27T14:11:00.007+01:00

In May this year I travelled the long way round to Beijing with my girlfriend Sarah.

Our month-long adventure took us to across Europe to Estonia and Finland, then onto an epic train journey on the Trans-Siberian Express across Russia. We made stops along the way and saw some amazing sights, before hopping back on the train to Mongolia and then on towards China.

We made so many friends along the way, and if anyone of you are reading this then thanks very much for helping make out trip such an incredible one!

See some photos of our journey in my flickr set here > flickr.com/photos/mrahayes/sets/72157627004208306

NSPCC Artworks

2011-04-28T13:41:00.003+01:00

These are 2 recent poster designs for the NSPCC

Live Drawing at Pick Me Up

2011-03-27T10:42:00.006+01:00

Last week I took part in some live drawing at Pick Me Up in Somerset House, as part of It's Nice That and their One of One exhibit. These are just some of the drawings I created.

Spring in the City

2011-02-27T16:30:00.002Z

Planning a weekend in Manchester? Then make sure you follow the excellent Creative Tourist's City Guide, designed by me and Modern Designers.

Bucks University Workshop

2011-02-01T13:35:00.002Z

Students from Bucks New University visited our studio for a series of talks about our self-initiated work and a small group workshop. Read more on the OPEN website, http://o-p-e-n.org.uk/?p=715

New 2K T-Shirt designs

2011-01-31T15:26:00.004Z

My new trio of designs for 2K t-shirts. Available here; www.2ktshirts.com/drupal/artists/adam-hayes

Update: Follow me on Twitter for the chance to win the occasional free t-shirt!

Pick Your Cotton Carefully

2011-01-26T15:23:00.001Z

www.ejfoundation.org

Help Feed the Birds

2011-01-25T13:46:00.002Z

Help feed the birds this winter. See this RSPB guide for some great tips www.rspb.org.uk/news/details.aspx?id=tcm:9-238241

Toronto Life magazine

2011-01-18T15:49:00.002Z

Typo-illustration for the Memoir page of last December's Toronto Life magazine.

2011-01-18T15:12:00.000Z

2011-01-17T11:41:00.001Z

2011-01-13T17:07:00.000Z

2011-01-04T17:07:00.001Z

Born in 2015, born without AIDS

2010-12-01T11:57:00.003Z

Today is World AIDS Day, and to mark this important day I was asked by the AIDS awareness charity (RED) to design a poster to promote their campaign for an AIDS free generation by 2015.

See other artist's work from the series here, and read more about (RED)'s work here www.joinred.com

Desk

2010-11-22T13:07:00.004Z

Desk is my entry to the Maps project. Read more here; make-maps.blogspot.com

OPEN - website launched

2010-10-22T16:14:00.005+01:00

OPEN, a studio I share here in East London has it's own new website. Take a look and get in touch with us if you feel like dropping by...

http://o-p-e-n.org.uk

We're also featured in this months Creative Review -> www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2010/october/cr-november-2010-issue

Well Being Installation

2010-10-15T11:54:00.004+01:00

My work, 'Any Day Now', along with 14 other artist's work has been installed onto the hoardings of the new UCLH Cancer Centre construction site in central London.

Images taken by Adam Bridgland.

OPEN Studio

2010-09-23T16:01:00.004+01:00

Here's a few new pics of our new sunny shared studio, OPEN.

OPEN is a new studio space for 10 illustrators, 2 educators, a screen printer and a publisher based in De Beauvoir Town, East London. Our philosophy is to provide support, criticism, dialogue, fairness, opportunity, a sense of belonging and fresh ambition to both our creative work and independent businesses; and in turn help others to benefit from the same. The two main objectives of Open are education and entrepreneurship. Stay tuned for full profiles and plenty of news!

Photographs by Owen Richards

Foil Blocked Globe Programme Covers

2010-09-14T15:19:00.007+01:00

Thanks to Ryan for posting them over :)

Any Day Now

2010-09-09T13:49:00.005+01:00

This is my artwork for the UCLH Arts Cancer Centre Hoarding Project. Any Day Now will appear alongside 15 other specially commissioned artworks which all interpret the theme of 'wellness'. The works will be on display around the site of the new UCLH International Cancer Centre on Huntley Street in London later this month.

See the other artworks in the project over on Adam Bridgland's blog; here.

Photo's from Porthcurno

2010-09-06T13:56:00.005+01:00

I recently headed down to the Porthcurno Telegraph Museum in Cornwall to check out the exhibition graphics I worked on earlier this year. Above are a handful of photographs from the exhibit.

Maps Update

2010-08-14T13:27:00.006+01:00

There's been some truly amazing maps submitted to the Maps project so far. I've had such a great response from everyone involved, and I'm continuing to receive a lot of nice emails as well as more artists wanting to get involved. A massive thank you to all contributing cartographers, and to all those who are currently scribbling away on their own map creations.

The project is still very much open to new submissions as i'll be keeping the maps blog on-going. So if you're still keen to join in then there's plenty of time, see the project brief here; www.make-maps.blogspot.com/2010/04/make-map.html

Also, the Design Week blog has recently featured the project alongside a brief interview, here's the link... www.designweek.co.uk/cartographers/3016817.article

If you want to keep up with Maps you can now follow the project with updates on my twitter page (@mrahayes) and obviously over on the maps blog; www.make-maps.blogspot.com

Summer's Been Good from the Start

2010-08-07T14:44:00.002+01:00

In homage to this year's cracking summer, I draw up this commemorative poster which has been re-produced as an A3 risograph print by Hugh at Landfill Editions. Buy one here!

The Guide

2010-08-06T11:20:00.003+01:00

I've just added last weeks Guardian Guide cover to the typography category on my website. See the sketches for the artwork on my flickr page here; http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrahayes

Burial

2010-07-29T12:08:00.002+01:00

Earlier this year I collaborated with fellow Pocko artist Staffan Larsson on an illustration commission for Spread ArtCulture Magazine in New York. This is the outcome!

I've Moved!

2010-07-21T08:53:00.002+01:00

I've moved to a new studio in De Beauvoir town in East London - so if you want to drop something in the post for me the new address is below :)

I'm sharing the space with some talented folks, including Ciara, Bobby, James, Damien, Patternity, Holly, Loren, Melvin, David, Ryan and Sarah!

The full new address is;

Adam Hayes, First Floor, 90 Debeauvoir Road, London N1 4EN

Porthcurno Telegraph Museum

2010-07-06T17:13:00.002+01:00

'Nerve Centre of the Empire' is a great new exhibition recently opened at the Porthcurno Telegraph Museum, near Lands End in Cornwall. Formally the largest cable station in the world, the exhibition at Porthcurno shows what massive impact on society and technology this remote corner of south-west England had.

The exhibition was designed by Neil Tinson Studio and I was asked to create panel designs for show which would be hidden away and only accessed by kids who'd crawled under the exhibit's walls.

I've added my work for Porthcurno in the illustration category of my website; but if you're headed to Cornwall this summer maybe go have a look around the museum and remember to crawl under them walls :-)

All New Website

2010-06-22T17:07:00.008+01:00

It's been a long time coming, but this week I've finally launched my new website.

I've been working with Tom at BonjourBonjour to design a new site that makes it much easier to navigate through the increasing amount of images in my portfolio. The new site had to be clean and simple-looking with an emphasis on nice big images grouped into various categories and tags.

My old website had been online since 2003 and had changed little in 7 years apart from sporadic work updates. Despite being quite attached to it's default style I knew it was becoming increasingly redundant and change was long over due.

So anyway, it's now up! And maybe it'll still be there in another 7 years ready for a another upgrade.

Have a look around and let me know what you think :)

www.mrahayes.co.uk

Maps update

2010-06-10T16:29:00.003+01:00

Matt Johnstone's map has been added over on the maps blog and now joins other artists who've already sent over their work. So far we have great works from Ben Javens, Ben Newman, Alex Synge and Andrew Joyce.

If you've not already seen the project go take a look, and feel free to join in! All you have to do is make a map of somewhere you think you belong...

SAVE Billboards

2010-05-17T08:50:00.007+01:00

I just received pictures from Sierra Leone of our SAVE billboard designs going up around the country's provinces. It's taken almost a year to get the designs printed and distributed to our designated billboard sites but the wait has been worth it.

The SAVE message has become really popular in Sierra Leone and the design is being adopted in other developing countries as part of national strategic steps to fight HIV and AIDS. Read more about SAVE in SL here; news.sl/article_200515303

Many thanks to Christopher, Sach and Charlotte :-)

WordPlay

2010-04-20T09:01:00.004+01:00

Opening this Thursday at the New York Times is 'WordPlay', which features the lettering of 'On Language' in the NYT magazine. The show features over 200 works from artists, illustrators and typographers (and me), so it should be a pretty impressive collection! If you're in or around Eighth Avenue I suggest you go take a look. I however cannot go see it as work is keeping me firmly rooted at my desk.

57 Carnaby Street

2010-04-14T12:01:00.003+01:00

If you find yourself shopping, eating or just plain boozing around Carnaby Street in London any time before May 4th, keep an eye out for the Environmental Justice Foundation's 'Pop-Up' shop. The shop, 'Eco Chic', has a load of products from many well known fashion designers plus news on upcoming film nights, gigs and talks all to be held inside. All proceeds go directly to the foundation.

EJF campaigns internationally to highlight the link needed for basic human rights within areas of environmental abuse. They do some fantastic work from fighting against illegal pirate fishing which effects small communities on the coast of west africa, to campaigning to eradicate the use of child labour in the cotton fields of central asia.

Take a look at the films on their website, and be sure to pick up some of the printed literature in the pop-up shop itself.

Maps

2010-04-13T17:17:00.003+01:00

I love drawing maps, and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one. So I've put together this project which aims to collect a series of them from a whole variety of artists and illustrators - each one a response to the task; Create a map of somewhere you feel you belong.

The project will be documented here, and it's already got off to a great start with a map of Tokyo from Andrew Joyce and a bunch of other talented people confirming they'll join in.

If this all sounds like for fun you too, then please feel free to join in!

www.make-maps.blogspot.com

C'mon Spring!

2010-02-22T15:50:00.003Z

So far in 2010, things have been pretty cold, pretty wet and pretty dark - at least it has in London. I've just about had enough and it's leaving me craving for Spring like never before. Below is some of my new work inspired by the daily shift in daylight; if you Watch the Seasons you notice them change so much more.

Shakespeare's Kings & Rogues

2010-02-16T16:42:00.014Z

In November last year I began working with my friends over at Language of Form on the design and artwork for the forthcoming season of plays at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London.

My initial brief was to research and design a set of heraldry for each of the performances in the 2010 programme, plus one extra to represent the season as a whole. There were a number of requirements and restrictions for each of the designs, most importantly they each had to reflect the content of the plays as well as being sympathetic to particular characters and themes. But the brief also stated that each of these designs must remain contemporary and refined, despite the historic content - not easy!

Work began by researching each play and highlighting imagery that can be used or translated for the designs. Once this had been done I then moved onto sifting through hundreds of examples of heraldry, shields and crests in order to find shapes, flourishes or objects that can be used and re-drawn for this project.

After days of research and sketching initial ideas (many rejected!) I continued to work very close with LoF to refine the final concepts.

This image shows the final approved line art for the whole season;

Once the line art had been approved it was a race against time to convert the drawings into black and white blocks. The final requirement in the brief required the heraldry to work as positive and negative shapes as the final outcome would comprise of the designs being visible through photographs. This meant some fast brushing up of my adobe illustrator skills to re-draw the shields as accurately as possible.

These are the final designs that are beginning to appear in the national press and poster sites around London and will throughout the Globe's season;

Kings and Rogues. This is the design which represents the season and incorporates apposing 'King' and 'Rogue' elements. The spear at the base of the design is re-drawn from Shakespeare's own family heraldry.

Macbeth. A tragic tale of regicide and it's aftermath, the design reflects upon the dark elements of the play with the witch's cauldron, the ghostly forest and the bloodied dagger. Being a Scottish play, the shield design incorporates the saltire whilst smothered with wild thistles.

Henry VIII. Henry was well known for his extravagant ways and this crest had to reflect this. The lion and dragon are re-drawn from original Henry VIII heraldry, as is the shape of the shield. The canon represents the one used in the first performance of the play in 1613, which is believed to be at blame for the original Globe burning down.

Henry IV Part 1. A design with strong war-themed objects, the Boars head at the top of this design represents The Boars Head Tavern where Henry and Sir John Falstaff (a drunkard represented by the barrel of ale) passed time with talk of war and rebellion.

Henry IV Part 2. This design incorporates Henry's coronation (crown) with elements of prostitution (the wilted flower)and prison (keys). The uneven scales relate to the bribery in the play.

The Merry Wives of Windsor. A quintessentially English play, the design had to reflect its colourful and musical characteristics, as well as the stags horns which Falstaff is tricked into wearing. The laundry basket represents the 'buck basket' where he was hidden (and subsequently tricked) by Mistress Ford.

Anne Boleyn. Written by Howard Brenton. The brief for this design was to create a crest which depicted the life of Anne Boleyn. The eagle is re-drawn from original Boleyn heraldry and the outer flourishes suggest a feminine yet tragic life. Inside the shield the fleur-de-lis signal to her royal marriage and the cross her religion. She was well-known as wearing a necklace carrying a B and of course her gruesome end at the blade of a sword.

Bedlam. Written by Nell Leyshon. Being much more difficult to research, this new play depicts life around London's Bedlam hospital. The brain with arrows represents the hospitals' mentally ill, the rabid dog it's madness and the conical flasks it's medicine. The Hangman's knot and the hands clutching keys, bottles, rags and chains all aim to conjure the desperation and the vile conditions inside Bedlam.

Thanks to Julie and Ryan for inviting me to work on this project with them.

M.O.S.T

2010-02-06T20:05:00.003Z

Today i went to check out the Museum of Small Things (M.O.S.T) over at the Ultralounge in Selfridges' London store. The show is a collaboration between Pocko (my illustration agent), Kit Grover and Selfridges. After hearing so much about it (and providing a very small amount of help) it was great to see all of the work and the show looked fantastic. I got completely lost around the layout, which only added to the intrigue and bizarre nature of the content.

If you're in London go check it out - it's well worth it. My particular favourites were Paul's badge's (pictured below), Nomoco's stunning sculpture and Ben's mustachioed mask. (don't click the links if you don't want to ruin the surprise!) Other artwork from the show includes works by Grayson Perry, Bob and Roberta Smith, Kinpro and me.

The show is open now until March 7th.

American Illustration

2010-01-28T15:17:00.005Z

I remember my old art college library having a shelf full of American Illustration annuals; and i also remember picking up the odd copy now and then to get a bit of inspiration when needed. So it seems a strange and quite proud moment to now have my own work tucked away on one of their many pages. Here's a glimpse of my work inside AI 28...

Russian Alphabet Dolls

2010-01-28T13:49:00.004Z

This week i've been decorating more Russian Dolls for Pocko. Last time i defaced a set of these dolls (blanks available from Magma books) i burned them; this time i opted for enamel paints and the Russian alphabet...

Museum of Small Things

2010-01-26T17:57:00.004Z

The Museum of Small things opens at the Ultralounge in London's Selfridges store early next month. Keep track of the shows progress and read the details over at the M.O.S.T blog. It's definitely going to be a show not to miss.

Plus keep an eye out for the next issue of Pocko Times which launches at the same time as the show. I've had a sneak peak and it's even more impressive than the first, so something else not to miss!

London Restaurant Festival

2009-11-16T11:49:00.003Z

Last month was the London Restaurant Festival. Despite the festivals' logo appearing on almost every bendy bus in London, I wasn't aware of any of the food themed events. But I did draw this poster (which was incidentally unused)...

New 2K T-Shirts

2009-10-25T13:03:00.004Z

3 of my poster designs have been re-produced as t-shirts with 2K. They should be available to buy any day now...

Icons for the Design Museum

2009-10-06T13:40:00.004+01:00

I recently worked with my old college friends at Language of Form to generate some simple icons for the Design Museum. The icons are being used as part of a 'designers in residence' show that's currently taking place at the museum. See the icons in use and find out more information on the project here.

Live Art at Wagamama

2009-10-05T14:58:00.006+01:00

Last thursday I took part in a live art installation organised by Intercity at Wagamama restaurant in Spitalfields Market, London. Billie Jean, ContainerPLUS and myself were drawing and painting onto a 7 foot tall 3 sided t-shirt to promote a new competition by Wagamama.

The artwork will be displayed in the market till the 8th October.

Sierra Leone project

2009-09-30T11:43:00.001+01:00

In June this year I travelled with artist Sarah Bridgland and Katherine and Luke from State of Play to Sierra Leone. We were working with Christian Aid on 2 new projects related to their work with HIV and AIDS in the country. Sarah and I were asked to work with various communities to help replace existing HIV and AIDS health information posters with ones more accurate and educational.

Many of the existing HIV health messages are incorrect or fear-based which can lead to increased stigma and discrimination towards those infected with the virus. In Sierra Leone, billboard posters still portray captions such as 'HIV KILLS' and 'HIV can get you totally wasted' and as a result access to free testing and treatment facilities remains low and many people living with HIV are scared to disclose their status.

One of the Christian Aid priorities for 2009 is promotion of the S.A.V.E message (Safer practises; Available medication; Voluntary counselling and testing; Empowerment through education) which is both holistic and stigma free.

Having been fully briefed, we set to work with The National Network of HIV Positives in Sierra Leone (NETHIPS) to begin generating ideas for the new billboard poster design.

Our design had to not only be clear, accurate and informative, but we were challenged by reality of the country's large illiterate population and the high level of information that had to be somehow represented. Not to mention that the design had to be finalised within one afternoon in the blistering heat!

After completing the layout for the design and receiving approval from Christian Aid and everyone at NETHIPS (as well as their family members and other people within their communities) we began the task of painting the design as a mural on the wall of the NETHIPS centre in Freetown.

Before we travelled to Sierra Leone we were offered donations of acrylic paints from Winsor and Newton and Liquitex, and paper from Paperback (thank you!)

We finished up painting the new billboard design in a couple of days. Then we took photos of the new work and presented them to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in Freetown. From here we got the department to replace all government billboard posters which promote stigmatising messages with our new design.

The second half of the project involved travelling to the remote village of Jendema on the border with Liberia. Jendema was a particularly hard hit area during the Sierra Leone civil war and is a very impoverished small village. We were there to continue working with our SAVE design by talking with locals to see if our design could have the same impact as it did in Freetown.

Yoki from Jendema's community centre helped us present our design to the people there and we received some great feedback.

Helped out by a bunch of enthusiastic school kids we set to work painting parts of the design in and around the community centre.

On returning to the UK we were informed that Ernest Bai Koroma, The President of Sierra Leone had personally endorsed our new design and it will not only be distributed onto billboards in Freetown, but across all the country's provinces. And to add to that, Christian Aid are hoping to use the design in all of their 'SAVE' participating countries.

More photos of our trip here.

Print Shop

2009-09-24T12:54:00.001+01:00

I've just set up a new print shop where I have one or two screen printed posters for sale. I'll be adding a bit more stuff to the shop in the next few days and weeks, so keep an eye out...

www.mrahayes.bigcartel.com

Pockoshko at Magma

2009-09-22T17:37:00.000+01:00

My agency, Pocko, have got all their artists to embellish a set of russian dolls for an exhibition in Magma stores as part of the London Design Festival. The dolls went on show last Saturday and will be around during the festival, before passing by New York, Madrid, Milan and finally ending up in an auction in aid of a Russian childrens charity.

Here's one of my 'burned' dolls...

All The Lives...

2009-09-21T10:10:00.001+01:00

A couple of months back Alex Bec of ItsNiceThat asked me to design a poster to promote the featured book of the month by Picador for Foyles book shops in London. The typographic brief was to use a sentence from Aleksander Hemon's 'The Lazarus Project' which will appear on the reverse of a folded hand-out containing further information and extracts from the novel.

Heres' a couple of images of the hand-out plus the original pencil 'rough' which became the final design.

Oh yes, I have a blog don't I?

2009-09-21T09:41:00.000+01:00

Well, to be honest, I was never that committed to the idea of this blog. But after completely forgetting about it for the last 7 months, this morning i've decided to give it another go. So here is my first new post for bloody ages:

Web archive update!
Take a look over at my work archive to see a bit of what i've been working on this summer... www.mrahayes.co.uk

Video Portfolio

2009-01-26T13:25:00.000Z

Pocko Gallery

2008-10-31T13:02:00.000Z

If you happen to be in Milan at the moment, go check out the new Pocko gallery. The opening show is 'Let's Make Out' and includes work from Paul Bower, Nomoco, Uudam Nguyen and me!

Pocko gallery

Via Ariosto 6

Milano 20145

16 Weeks and counting

2008-10-31T12:58:00.000Z

I've just finished drawing the 16th 'Streets Ahead' map for the Guardian Travel. Here's a picture of all 16 so far, stuck together with masking tape above my desk. There's still a few more to come so keep a look out...

Metropolis

2008-10-31T12:51:00.000Z

I recently worked with fantastic photographer Judith Erwes on a project for our agents at Pocko. We were asked to make a piece of work along the theme of fritz Lang's Metropolis. Here's the result...

The Joyful Bewilderment

2008-09-09T16:32:00.000+01:00

Dates for your diaries... The 2nd of October'll be the opening night of The Joyful Bewilderment - an international group exhibition. Details here of the artists involved plus other useful info like where it is...

Web update (finally)

2008-09-08T13:59:00.001+01:00

It's been a little over 3 months since I've even looked at my web site, never mind update it. So this morning I sharpened my best html pencil and put on all my newest work, including all of the guardian travel maps so far, plus recent work for the southbank and soho house. It's all here...www.mrahayes.co.uk

Street's Ahead

2008-08-28T12:00:00.001+01:00

I just found a selection of my weekly map drawings on the Guardian website...

www.guardian.co.uk/travel/series/streetsahead

Grafik August 2008

2008-08-12T09:51:00.001+01:00

I have been featured in Grafik magazine's A to Z of illustration, here's the lovely write up they gave me...

"Whether it's designing T-Shirts for Uniqlo, creating maps of the City of Culture for Soho House magazine or scribbling on the pristine walls at St Luke's, one thing that can't be denied is that this RCA graduate is a man with a lot to say. A long-standing love affair with type, an affinity with nature and a compulsion for drawing letters by hand have resulted in Adam Hayes producing some of the most expressive and intriguing work around."

Thanks very much!

Off the Deep End

2008-08-06T07:56:00.001+01:00

TV's Alexa Chung is photographed in thelondonpaper wearing my design for Marc Jacobs! Get one for yourself here.

Cheers Craig for the heads up

An illustration process

2008-08-05T13:49:00.001+01:00

I thought it might be interesting to create a post about a typical illustration process. Every job I do is very different, but almost all of them have similar stages or contact points with the client before completion.

This example is a commission from Redwood Publishing to create a visual for an article in Smart magazine. After initial contact being made from the magazine art director which outlined the job, I accepted the offer and agreed to the deadline and fee.

The Brief:

The illustration is for a spread called 'Business Clinic' - each issue a particular company raises an issue they have, and then 3 experts give their way of tackling that problem. This time round the company is called The Organic Flower Company. The statement the owner, Felicity Morgan makes, is below:

In March, I sold my florist shop and decided to focus solely on selling ethically grown, Fairtrade and organic flowers on the web as The Organic Flower Company. We now need some cost-effective marketing ideas to raise our profile and attract more customers. We are keen to explore using direct mail, such as catalogues, leaflets or mailshots, as well as find out about how we can come top of search engine lists, without the need for expensive sponsored links.

On speaking with the art director we decided a possible solution involving type - this would allow the illustration to also act as a header to the article. The agreed type would read 'Organic'.

The next stage was to produce very quick roughs to be used as a visual reference for how the illustration could look:

I also included that the word itself could be printed in woodblock to enhance the concept...

The art director was more than happy to use the woodblock, and preferred the style of the first sketch.

With this, I proceeded to create the final illustration. I set the type and began to draw the flowers on a separate sheet over the top. After colouring the artwork I then re-sent it over to the art director...

The feedback from the art director was that the concept and shape of the art work was looking good, but that for it to work in the spread the height had to be reduced somewhat. We also decided to make the colours much brighter and it was also felt that a more 'blockier' and vibrant style to the flowers would work much better.

After re-drawing the flowers I began to re-build the piece over the top of the existing woodblock type. I enhanced the colours and then re-sent the illustration...

An email followed to say everything was great and that was that. Job done!

Posters For Sale

2008-07-18T19:02:00.002+01:00

My 'Brighton Girls are Like the Moon' screen prints are now available to buy online over at PrintClub. Get yourself one here.

Rat Race

2008-07-18T18:19:00.001+01:00

My new design for Howies is their t-shirt of the week!

Click here to get your hands on one, they're only available until the 24th July - that's next week!

The travel section

2008-07-12T20:19:00.000+01:00

Today's Guardian newspaper saw my first illustration for their new backpage series on emerging neighbourhoods. This article is about triBall in Madrid.

I'll be doing these for the next 12 weeks, so keep a look out!

Brighton Girls...

2008-07-12T20:07:00.000+01:00

Here is my poster for the 'Blisters on my Fingers' group show in Dalston, London. The print is white acrylic on metallic silver board in an attempt to capture a moon-like sheen. Incidentally the quote is a line from Bob Dylans' 'Sign on the Window' (New Morning). Nice one Bob.

Havana Rum

2008-07-12T20:03:00.001+01:00

This is my painted bottle of Havana Club Rum for the forthcoming '100 Pieces of Havana' exhibition in London. The bottle is painted yellow and then the names of clubs and bars in Havana are scribbled on...

Blisters Show

2008-06-25T13:58:00.002+01:00

I've just finished screen printing an edition of posters for a group show i'm taking part in. The show is in July and is organised by the fantastic Print Club in Dalston. There's loads of great artists taking part so it's definitely worth heading over and having a look - plus if you want to buy one there's only a really small quanitiy. The private view is on the 11th, rsvp now!

Design Auction

2008-06-18T12:20:00.001+01:00

A while ago I donated some A3 posters to the Graphic Design students at Lincoln School of Art and Design for a design auction they'd organised. By all accounts they raised enough cash and are currently holding a great show - good work!

www.designauction.co.uk

Updates

2008-06-05T15:04:00.001+01:00

My main work website has been updated....check www.mrahayes.co.uk

Let's Make Out

2008-05-31T19:52:00.001+01:00

You may have seen the original pencil drawing of this on my flickr site, but after a few weeks of staring at it (just behind my computer) i've decided that the final printed version will be a little more red. Here it is...

Result of procrastination #1

2008-05-24T20:23:00.001+01:00

I'm really busy today, yet I have managed to create a whole new image which has absolutely nothing to do with the work I need to get done.

Working bank holiday weekend

2008-05-24T12:34:00.000+01:00

Oversized ice creams

2008-05-24T12:30:00.001+01:00

Cardboard, paint and lots and lots and lots of sticky tape

...and it begins

2008-05-24T12:00:00.001+01:00

welcome to another new blog