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An illustration of tall, dark purple columns standing on a black and white tiled floor. Slender green plants with small white flowers grow between the columns, casting long shadows across the ground.

Ten young illustrators take part in Q&A relay for 56+1's new issue

Words
Rob Alderson
—
Date
13 December 2012

I once boldly proclaimed to my colleagues that I didn’t rate any publication that you couldn’t read comfortably on the train (I hadn’t thought it through truth be told) but if I really did believe that then I’d happily make an exception for the new issue of design agency Fivefootsix’s 56+1 magazine. For their third publication they’ve collaborated with Beach London and ten really talented young illustrators taking their first tentative steps into the professional world. Kicking off with the simple question “what next?”, first creative James Jessiman has provided an image and then set the question for the next illustrator and so on throughout the series taking in inspiration, motivation and post-project celebration among other themes.

It’s a neat enough central conceit but the work’s what makes it, with no fewer than four of last year’s It’s Nice That graduates included (Ellie Andrews, Grace Helmer, Lorna Scobie and Joshua Checkley) alongside some new names we’re sure have got big futures ahead of them. And yes the oversized format really works really well!

A high-contrast mixed media portrait of a person looking towards the camera. The image uses a blue and white halftone pattern, with expressive ink splatters and yellow accents across the bottom.
Above

James Jessiman: What Next?

An illustration of a seated figure rendered in expressive, swirling washes of green, yellow and purple. The figure has a distorted, mask-like face and holds a small, oval object in their hand.
Above

Charlie Cameron: Are You Still Making Record Covers?

An illustration of various black animal silhouettes scattered across a bright yellow background. In the centre, a small black table with a lamp sits atop a large, orange-edged yellow shape.
Above

Lorna Scobie: What Would Your Perfect Studio Space Be Like?

A black and white worksheet titled “The Problem” featuring a series of creative exercises. The page contains numbered line drawings of a lightbulb, a postcard, a microscope and various abstract shapes.
Above

Simon Cheadle: What Do You Do When You Hit A Mental Block?

An illustration of a black silhouette of a person with a glowing pink brain visible inside their head. They stand in a room with a potted plant and a blue table, under the heading “Good Idea”.
Above

Josh Wiley: When Do You Know You’ve Come Up With The Right Solution?

An illustration of a row of tall, dark purple columns standing on a striped black and white floor. A translucent glass vase holding a few green stems and white flowers sits between the pillars.
Above

Joshua Checkley: What Do You Do To Celebrate After A Project?

An illustration of a surreal scene emerging from an open book held by two hands. A person on a swing, a plane, a floating house and a large face drift through a dark blue void. Below them, a small yellow house sits on a snowy landscape under a bright moon.
Above

Grace Helmer: Where Do You Get Your Motivation and Ideas From?

An illustration of a collection of objects on a pale yellow background. A bottle of “San Juan Saucy Rum”, a typewriter labelled “Hunter S. Typewriter”, a pack of “Renault’s Soft & Smooth Smokes”, sunglasses and a palm frond surround the title “The Rum Diary”.
Above

Joe Vass: What Have You Read That Has Influenced Your Work?

An illustration of a meal on a white table, consisting of a glass of water and a bowl of cereal with milk. A pink mountain range sits under a striped, pale pink sky.
Above

Callum Robey: What Would Your Most Ideal Surroundings Be?

An illustration of a tall, abstract building composed of stacked geometric blocks in pink, orange and blue. The structure resembles a cross-section of a city, featuring architectural details like stairs, windows and grids. A green vertical strip on the right contains four small, minimalist diagrams.
Above

Ellie Andrews: If you Could Build Anything, What Would You Build?

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Further Info

www.fivefootsix.co.uk
www.beachlondon.co.uk

About the Author

Rob Alderson

—

Rob Alderson is a freelance writer, editor and strategist. He was previously editor-in-chief of It’s Nice That and WePresent, and editor of Design Week. He publishes the newsletter Undo, which tries to make sense of how AI is changing design work, the design process and the design industry.

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