Creating a bespoke illustration is always an enjoyable project. Much of our design work typically revolves around producing assets for businesses, so the opportunity to work on something hand-illustrated is a genuine pleasure.

One of our long-term clients approached us with a request for a bespoke illustration to hang in their family home, commemorating their wife’s upcoming 40th birthday. As part of the celebration, the family planned to create 40 new memories over the course of the year and record them using a Polaroid camera that prints sticker photos. The illustration needed to feature clearly defined spaces to accommodate each photo.

Inspired by the theme of creating memories, we developed a design featuring ‘memory trees’, incorporating a pathway to symbolise the journey through the year. At the client’s request, we also included an additional area for writing comments or reflections. This took the form of a stream, representing the family’s ‘stream of kind thoughts’. For the overall style, we opted for a hand-drawn approach rather than a modern, minimalist aesthetic. Soft pastel colours were chosen to provide a gentle hint of colour without overwhelming the design.

The finished piece was professionally printed at A0 size, framed, and now holds pride of place on the family’s wall.