Initial sketches and
final artwork

What was it like collaborating from opposite sides of the atlantic?

TT: It was all done over email, and we started off with sending a mood board each, and we sort of met in the middle. In many ways the distance between us made it easier, because we each had our separate part of the process that we worked on, and left the other to it. We each just put faith in the other’s work to know that it would head in the right direction. Hattie had sent over some of my work that involved stacked typography, and we really liked the idea of creating that in real life. I created some ideas for that, and then Hattie took it from there. It was dreamy!

Hattie – The outcome is quite different to your usual work. How did you decide on the style and execution of the 3D elements?

HN: During some research I came across vintage disco club posters and album artwork, that also made it to my moodboard. Earlier in the year I had experimented with lighting translucent materials with colour and I thought I could marry the two projects to create a fun image for the fast-approaching new decade. 

Knowing Toby was a fan of American signage and a type master, I called upon him for help and explained my ideas. I wrote a long list of possible words and using my moodboard for reference, it was now over to Toby to design some sassy, graphic type.    Together we picked our faves from his selection and I set about getting them laser cut in acrylic.

This is when my friend and photographer, Sun Lee joined the collab. I brought the type to his studio and we spent a day experimenting with lighting and photographing the acrylic words with different colours through glass – aiming to capture the look of a 70s nightclub sign. The motion blur on the ‘2020’ image was a last minute idea – a clever trick that Sun created in camera with a clear acrylic sheet and some vaseline.

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Toby – Did you change your approach knowing it would become a physical 3D object?

TT: There were certainly some differences in working in this way. The big difference was that I sent over the illustrations to Hattie at the stage that I usually send a rough to a client. Usually I would get feedback on it and I would continue working on it, but at this stage it was left in Hattie’s hands to work her magic on.

The other main difference is that I had to strip the work back a bit in terms of complexity. The work had to actually be made out of real materials, so over complicating the type was not an option. I sent over a couple of different routes for the type, and one of them was slightly more ornate, and in truth the option I would have continued with if it were to be a 2D project, but that had to be left on the cutting room floor because it would have been too difficult to make. I trusted Hattie’s judgement on these decisions, because this is her area of expertise. I enjoyed leaving decisions in someone else’s hands for once.

Photography by
Sun Lee Studio

How important are projects like this, to your personal and commercial practices?

HN: Most of my commercial work is colourful, graphic, and made in paper. As much as I enjoy these types of projects, it’s a comfort zone which is so easy to get stuck in! I think it’s liberating for all artists to experiment and explore new territories with their work. It keeps me curious and I can learn things that inform my commercial work. I ultimately love making illustrations and images, no matter what the medium or subject. In this instance I was really inspired to make a typographic piece of work. I know my strength isn’t typography so it made perfect sense to work with the mega skilled Toby Triumph. My strengths are in model-making and art direction and so we gave each other value and created a piece of work neither of us could have done alone.

TT: It has become a bit like a broken record in our industry, but personal projects are the absolute driver in creative careers. They direct future work in such a huge way, and let all of the creative inspiration that has been marinading for the last days, weeks and months come to fruition. It’s incredibly liberating to take that time for yourself and express yourself. I don’t manage to work on a ton of personal projects, but at every opportunity I relish the chance.

I haven’t collaborated a huge amount on personal projects, but it has definitely taught me a lot about the way I can work, and has opened my eyes up to the ways in which my type work can be used.

Links

About Toby

Toby is an illustrator creating detailed hand-drawn pieces with an irreverent edge, that incorporate characters, typography and playful phrases. Outlines and blocks help him create definition within these detailed illustrations, often realised in mono or duo tone colour palettes. 

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