Jonny Wan Interview May 31, 2010

Jonny Wan is one of a wave of Sheffield based illustrators who are individually gathering up some real reputations. His distinctive style uses muted colour palettes and repetitive geometric imagery to create images that are at once traditional and contemporary.

Your illustration style is geometric and utilizes a range of textures. What is it influenced by? How was it developed?

I see my style as ever evolving depending on themes and images I find visually stimulating at the time. More recently I have been fascinated with ancient cultures and folk art. I love the aesthetics portrayed in these themes and how they presented themselves visually. The basis of my style comes from experimenting with shapes, patterns and colour, so a lot of my time is spent experimenting with combinations of all three until I discover something whether it be a new technique or way of working which I can then apply to commercial briefs.

Overall, your style has a style identifiable ‘look’, yet each project has a distinguishable uniqueness. How do you keep one style, and manage to keep work interesting and fresh?

I guess it would be a case of trial and error and always being passionate about the next illustration you create. As an illustrator you are a visual communicator and what you need to communicate can vary with each new brief that comes in. That’s why you should always be looking to develop your work and try to illustrate things that are outside your comfort zone so you can adapt to any given job.

I think also the key to keeping your work fresh is to stay away from looking too deeply at what other people are creating, by all means be aware of what’s going on in the industry but remember that you have your own voice and your work should speak for you, don’t become a shadow to something that’s already been done.

Where do you think your style will transition in the future?

I think I have developed a good basis to experiment on, as far as the future goes the worlds my oyster. I guess it will involve more trial and error and also whatever themes or imagery I take a liking to and would want to incorporate in some way to my own body of work. Right now I’m getting into Victorian type posters and 50’s packaging so I’m playing with type a lot now and seeing how I can join my illustrative style to work well with type and decorative ornaments.

Several of your works feature prominent displays of logos, relevant to street clothing brands, from Adidas and Nike to Carhartt and Lyle and Scott. What kind of influence has this sort of fashion held on your work?

Yes, a lot of my early work has included brands, particularly those mentioned above. They still remain to me as some of my dream clients for the future and I very much hope I get to work with them soon. More recently however I have tried not to include any brands or logos in my work because I find it limiting to what I can explore, for example if I’m illustrating a jumper is too easy to simply slap on a Nike logo or an Adidas logo on and call it a day. Im not interested in that anymore, now I would do my research on jumpers (that’s sound really sad!) and patterns and look ways I can incorporate them into the jumper. Then I know I have complete ownership of what I’ve created and it could lead to me finding a whole new niche to explore.

I’ve seen a lot of illustration used things related to indie music and electro. Yet your work, seems to reference more street and urban culture, but without a single reference to a spray can or chubby marker. When you were starting out, did you feel a pressure to go one way other the other?

Haha! I think when you start out your still finding your own individual voice and style. You don’t want to stray from your comfort zone and images you have been drawing for years, also you look to what is immediately popular and “on trend” right now, but as well all know like fashion, trends come and go.

When I was starting out my key influences at the time were people like KAWS and Grotesk both coming from a street graffiti background with a very big street art following as well as clients like Vogue and Kiehls’s. I discovered that the more I was developing the more I was trying to be like them, which is completely the opposite of what a creative should be doing. Instead I went back to the drawing board free from trends and scenes and just started doodling, what you see now is just a natural progression to how far its come, there’s still a lot more to do.

Also I’ve never cared much for scenes and trends anyway…probably because I’ve got rugby player legs and couldn’t get into a pair of skinny jeans to save my life!!

Recently you were signed to an illustration agency. Has this impacted how you go about doing your work? How has the transition to a professional illustrator been?

Yes I recently signed with Agency Rush who will represent me worldwide. To be honest I couldn’t have wished for a better agency to be a part of. I went to visit them not long ago and there was such a communal vibe about the team, its like I’ve been accepted as part of their family! They are everything a creative agency should be and so much more, they are professional, honest, upfront and keen to develop and help you grow as an illustrator.

Any favourite projects yet? Goals or specific clients you are looking for in the future?

I have a few projects on at the moment but I’m afraid I’m bound to keep them all hush hush at the moment, I really wish I could spill the beans but you’ll have to wait and see nearer the time! Just keep checking my blog and website for some surprises coming soon!

In the short-term future however im taking part in an exhibition that will be held at the forum at some point in June so pop down and say hello init. Aside from that I may be exhibiting in Holland come October and before that in Bristol with some big hitters in the street art scene for AnyForty. They are an up and coming urban street brand and have collaborated with some legends in the industry. Anyone who’s into street art should pop down, seriously can’t believe im even exhibiting with some of these artists involved! Look them up – AnyForty.

Rather kindly, Jonny has designed us a print. We are gonna bosh it out in a fair few colours on the Riso. It is soon available from the Article store.