SASHA

Kavel Rafferty is an English illustrator. Now based in Barcelona, Rafferty is an artist who has travelled extensively. She’s lived in Wales, London, Brighton, Valencia and Stockholm.

Rafferty collects record sleeves and loves flea markets, 60s and 70s Soul music, mid-20th century design and vintage signage. At least a few of these influences crop up in her work which spans fashion, food, maps, editorial and hand-drawn typography.

Rafferty’s work is thoroughly engaging to me. She collects all sorts of paper and ephemera, which she’ll use in her artwork alongside photos she’s taken, drawings and textures. She works on interesting and unusual colourways, and combines all these elements in her images. Her style is modern, friendly and versatile, with a hint of nostalgia.

Here are some notable companies who have collaborated with Kavel Rafferty:

Vogue

Selfridges

Glamour

The Times

Time Out

Waitrose

The Guardian

Penguin

The BBC

Paul Daviz is an illustrator from Blackburn, England. Starting from a young age, Daviz was an avid drawer. He recalled doodling on his schoolbooks and drawing even when he got his first job at a pyjama factory. After graduating from university where he majored in graphic design, Daviz looked for creative job opportunities and ended up being hired by a greeting card company. However, the greeting card company never let him use any of his illustrations on their products as he was freshly graduated and they assumed he lacked experience. This didn’t discourage Davis, though. He compiled his stunning works into a portfolio, quit his job and became a freelance illustrator. Soon, he found himself swarmed with TV advertisers and companies willing to work with him. He created various storyboards, print campaigns and animated productions.

Now a leading illustrator, confident working in a whole range of cartoony styles, Paul is still drawing on a daily basis. His original inspiration was a copy of MAD magazine handed to him when he was 10, and sometimes you can still spot that irreverent humour in Paul’s work, even today. He also loves Soviet matchbox covers, produced using only two colours, and 1970s cinema advertising, which was cheap but effective.

Now a leading illustrator, confident working in a whole range of cartoony styles, Paul is still drawing on a daily basis. His original inspiration was a copy of MAD magazine handed to him when he was 10, and sometimes you can still spot that irreverent humour in Paul’s work, even today. He also loves Soviet matchbox covers, produced using only two colours, and 1970s cinema advertising, which was cheap but effective.

Here are the companies Paul Davis has worked with:

Canon

Ryder Truck Rental

Argos

Honda

BMW

British Airways

Royal Mail

DHL

Yamaha

Tesco

HarperCollins

The Daily Telegraph

The Football Association

Channel 4

Ravensburger

Y&R

Whiskas

i really like the comic-style feel of pulp magazine covers from the 1940s. they are a blend of both modern visuals with big exclamatory text and eye-catching illustrations, and can have a vintage feel when faded colors like mustard and maroon. they led to the pop art movement of the 50s which explain how similar they look.

i also really like the style of American and Canadian war posters of the early 1900s. the faces on the posters had realistic detail, bold fonts were used, and again they featured vintage, muted colors. this style was brought back in the 1940s (most memorably in J. Howard Miller's "We Can Do It!" poster from 1943)

another style i really like is this Airbrush album cover, which showcases the science fiction element of graphic design that was so popular in the 1970s, with its vaguely psychedelic “Boston” logo and similarities to the pulp fiction covers of the 40s.

another style i’m drawn to is this retro 80s style with its fun colors and geometric shapes that add a playfulness and a futuristic kind of look while still retaining its vintage feel, such as shown in old MTV logos from the 1980s

and last but not least, my last chosen style is the art chantry style of the 90s. this is the most modern style i’ve chosen and it features block typefaces and a consistent color palette, and also has a comic book type feel to it, with the digitized flames and doodles. 

here is a book that has made a profound impact on my life and the way i think, which makes it inspirational.

 Paper Towns, John Green (2008)

everyone gives me so much crap for liking this book a lot because the movie adaptation was thought to be horrible, but it speaks to me a lot. i first read this in 6th grade and Margo Roth Spiegelman, the girl at the very center of the story, was someone i related to and aspired to be at the same time. she constantly felt like her life was off track, that everyone was focusing on the wrong things and letting their universe revolve around maintaining this false identity to avoid peer judgement. she then runs away from home and ends up in a decrepit town and starts living her life the way she wants to, writing poems in her diary and taking life just as it goes. meanwhile, everyone follows a trail of clues she’d scattered around her neighborhood before she left and tries to find her whereabouts, but instead finds out that there’s more to Margo than their initial perception of her.

someone who really inspires me is British supermodel-actress Cara Delevingne. truthfully, I've been enamored by her for years now, because I really admire how even though she works in the world of high fashion and Hollywood, she never lets that keep her from being herself. her personality is quirky and she's a huge goofball, but most importantly she's honest and speaks up for what she thinks is right. you might feel the constant pressure for you to be perfect, especially when you're a renowned supermodel or a famous actress. you might want to keep up a false image because it feels as if everyone has their eyes fixed on you. thats why Cara's strong, carefree attitude is inspirational, because I still need constant self-reminders that it doesn't really matter what people think about you. do yourself a favor, and be yourself.

"what is fashion to you?"