Visual Design Inspiration | Dan Dowker
Dan Dowker, a Leeds based illustrator and graphic designer, originally from York, studied Graphic Arts and Design at Leeds Metropolitan University but didn’t find his passion for illustration until his final year. Since then Dowker been developing his style within illustration, and just generally having fun within this field, applying it to anything he can, from flyers and posters for events, to artwork for music producers. He recently worked on the artwork for Bambooman’s ZZZz’s release which was then printed onto a limited edition cassette tape.
Keen to explore the direction of editorial illustrations, he notes, “there are so many possibilities of context to illustrate. I like the process of being given any subject in order to create stunning, visual imagery for. Ultimately I would like to reach the point where I can draw and create illustrations every day and provide for myself too”.
The illustrations of his ‘Workspaces’ project came from never really having a set workspace at home which he was content with. Finding it difficult to get work done, when you’re not happy in the space you’re working in, led Dowker to create a series of images, illustrating his frustrations. He has also created a series titled, ‘NES Box Theme’, drawing inspiration from the design of Nintendo’s Entertainment System (NES) box artwork. Video games were a huge part of Dan Dowker’s childhood, and the game box artwork was something he admired and spent hours examining, leading him to design a series of tongue-in-cheek illustrations.
