Introducing our Brand Illustration Guild: The story of how we came to be and what we can offer
At Hike One we focus on UI and UX, However, today we share for the first time our illustration skills. Why? A while ago we founded a Brand Illustration Guild for our Hikers. And since then we’ve been busy creating stunningly beautiful work.
The beginning
As designers we like working within the UX landscape, however, some of us also have the strong urge to illustrate. Shortly after, Hike One discovered that it had a large amount of really talented and passionate illustrators within it’s ranks. Awesome! From this realisation and the desire to always learn from one another as to how we can deploy our skills within our projects the Brand Illustration Guild was born!
Each of the six members with whom we began, made a personal slidedeck to briefly summarise their strengths and areas of interest, which was composed of the following:
- Recent work
- Current skills
- Areas of interest
- Skills you think you aren’t able to master
We immediately noticed that Hike One employed a wide variety of illustrators. From confident hand drawings, subtle Google’esque animations to complex Photoshop brush artwork, and crisp vector digital assets and so on, every sort of style began to show itself at Hike One!
What the guild is about
At the moment the guild is growing rapidly. We’re having fun, sharing our work to one another and as a result more and more people are becoming interested and showing what they bring to the table. Which is a good thing! Underlying this, is the way the guild operates.
We have a guild leader who tracks the process and appoints one of the designers to come up with a brief. He or she gives the guild a creative assignment, which is always illustration driven. Our Designers are free to interpret these assignment in which ever way they feel, as long they keep in mind restrictions, explore and take leaps of faith as long as the topic is kept in mind.
Two weeks later we all come together and present our visual solutions for the assignment. The work being presented should not only look astonishing, but as well be supported by a strong rationale. Designers initial idea was, what their process was, what tools they used, and how their work fit the brand. We do not ask questions for the sake of asking questions, but rather ask them in order to refine the design. While presenting the designer should be prepared for critical but sincere feedback. This is how the guild instills that its members keep each other sharp and push themselves. In the end, everyone learns from one another in order to progress and develop themselves illustrators.
Since the start of the guild, a few assignments have already been delivered fresh off the press. Below are two creative assignments our designer’s tackled!
1. Ideal workspace
Illustrate your ideal workspace in a style which fits your skills and preferences best. What makes an environment become ideal for you to work?
2. Hike One digital brand extensions
Recently we went through a rebrand. We transformed from UNITiD and became Hike One! ‘Design some digital brand extensions in the abstract, colourful style we developed for our online and offline identity.’ Think about a ruleset with which we can build multiple illustrations to support the brand and communication.
What to expect
The next step is sharing our work on platforms other than Medium. We’ll keep you posted. For now watch the space, enjoy our work and if you dig it, share it!
Danny Groenen, Lodovico Marchesini, Joshua Noon
Designers at Hike One
