Ruth Rowland Interview

This month I was interviewed by my agent, Illustration Ltd. We discuss how I became interested in hand lettering, starting out in the record industry, the creative chaos of my East London studio and secret obsessions! The interview also includes a free download of the specially designed poster you can see below.

If you like to read the entire interview, they've posted it on their site here.

Hardys Nottage Hill

I was asked to work on the new logo for Hardys Nottage Hill as part of Accolade Wines' new packaging and promotion for the range.

The client wanted to re-tell the story of Thomas Nottage Hardy, their founder's nephew who worked for the family business for 66 years, having started as a boy of 15. The wine is named in honour of him and the lettering is designed to have the familiarity of a signature, to reflect this rich heritage and identity, while retaining a strong fluid line to make it stand out on the shelf.

You can see more of my packaging work in the folder on my portfolio site.

Snow Queen Trail

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, the Rose Theatre, Kingston has been presenting a range of special performances to celebrate their adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen.

I was asked to create an illustrated map that would show the route of the four story houses, where the events are taking place. Using storytelling and songs, a group of travelling players are performing short adaptations of some of Andersen's fairy tales, creating a magical trail though Kingston's streets.

Click here to see more of my illustrated maps on my portfolio site.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Twiggy - Romantically Yours

Having worked on the latest release from Cliff Richard this summer, it was great to be asked to work for another British icon - Twiggy. Released by EMI, Twiggy's brand new album Romantically Yours marks a return to her music career with a collection of her hand-picked favourites.

I was asked to work on the artist's name for the CD cover and started by taking her signature as my original reference. Using a dip ink pen that was sympathetic to the line quality and flow of the signature, I fine tuned the letter forms and opened up the letter spacing to maximise legibility while trying to keep the spontaneity and character of the original.

To see more of my music work - click through to my word>music folder on my portfolio site.

Cliff Richard - Soulicious

Released by EMI, Soulicious is the latest album from Cliff Richard, a collection of duets featuring some of the most respected names in soul music, including Roberta Flack, Dennis Edwards and Freda Payne.

I was delighted to be asked to produce the album title, using sophisticated thick and thin curves to add a lyrical flow to the letters. The hand drawn lettering was commissioned to give a personal touch to the elegant cover design. More lettering and calligraphic swashes continue the style across the CD packaging.

You can see more of my music work by clicking through to the word>music folder on my portfolio.

We {Heart} Art for Teaching Tolerance Magazine

This month Teaching Tolerance Magazine features my hand lettered illustration on the opening page of its article, We {Heart} Art. The chalkboard style illustration combines word and image, using the opening copy to outline the affects on American pupils when vital arts programmes are cut.

This was one of several school-related options presented to the art director, who when he saw the chalkboard route, asked me to extend the illustration behind and around the opening paragraph to make a full page illustration, neatly combining the hand drawn lettering and typography.

You can see more of my illustrative work on the images page of my online portfolio.

One from the Archives: Bede's World

In the Spring I took a driving holiday through the beautiful landscape of Yorkshire and up into the North East of England. It was a nostalgic trip for me as I'd studied as an undergraduate at Newcastle Upon Tyne. While there I decided to take a look around Bede's World, Jarrow, a museum that celebrates the life and achievements of the Venerable Bede, a remarkable Anglo-Saxon monk, famous today as the first historian of the English people.

In 2000 I was commissioned to work on the lettering for the 'The Age of Bede' Exhibition in the new museum building. I'd never seen the lettering in situ, so it was a great thrill to see how well the exhibition had been put together with lettering, murals and models skilfully combined to make an informative and interesting tour through the Anglo-Saxon way of life in Northumbria.

The uncial lettering had to reflect this specific place and time, samples were provided by the museum so that I could fine tune the style to be as authentic to the period as possible. It can be seen throughout the exhibition on walls and panels - I've worked on a wide range of projects over the years but it's always a pleasant surprise to see my work reproduced at a large size and so well integrated into the overall design.

One from the Archives is one in an occasional series I'll be posting about jobs I've worked on over the years. If you have any suggestions of jobs you'd like me to talk about - just drop me a line!