Design can be as much about storytelling as it is about creating something practical, functional and aesthetically pleasing, and storytelling can exist in anything from a pendant light, a crafted timber chair or a beautiful ceramic dish. For illustrator and editorial designer Kayleigh Hadley, the art of storytelling presents itself simply with a pen and paper.
Kayleigh graduated from Wolverhampton University in 2011 and caught my eye while I was scouting for talent at D&AD New Blood that Summer. Taking her love of music, film and comics, and handpicking some of her favourite lyrics and quotes, she had created a graduate collection of hand-drawn illustrations that each tell a story. From her favourite song as a teenager, to her most loved Disney film, Kayleigh uses these quotes to present her own personality, an illustrative version of a photo album, her memories laid out using ink on the page.
In her early collections, there is a lovely naivety which works well with the narrative she presents, almost taking the form of a rebellious teenager, scribbling in class rather than paying attention. This idea is highlighted by her use of fine graph paper. Each illustration is individually hand-drawn, rather than vectorised on a computer and printed as a set.
One year on from her first collection, she has experimented with her childhood love of The Muppets, creating a series of ‘Life is like…’ illustrations, each finished by hand and accompanied by a simple line drawing. She’s the first to admit to not taking things too seriously, and this collection plays to her strengths of creating something that is fun and relatable.
Her style is whimsical with her looping hand-written illustrative approach working perfectly in her recent collection. In a collection of love-inspired pieces, including ‘We Are Infinite’ and ‘Home is Where The Heart Is’ her storytelling, although remaining playful, has a more grown-up appeal. Her most recent collection, which launched last week, takes us back to her roots and her love of the classic work of fiction, Alice in Wonderland.
This is first time she has taken her individually hand-drawn pieces and used digital techniques to finalise the designs, giving them a fresh, clean and professional finish without losing the personality in her work. The process of vectorising the illustrated lines means she has more control over what she produces and gives more scope to the final printing options available. Still wanting to maintain a personal finish, Kayleigh is still producing her prints as limited runs, with each signed and numbered in the same way as her original collection.
Having supported Kayleigh from the beginning of her creative career, with her work featuring in two of Look Like Love’s pop-up events over the last five years, I have really enjoyed watching her progression as a designer – and this latest offering is her strongest yet. It may relate to a childhood favourite by Lewis Carroll, but it is also about Kayleigh’s story as she gains confidence as a professional illustrator and designer.
To find out more about Kayleigh Hadley, and to purchase pieces from her collections visit Look Like Love.
