The work of London based designer/illustrator Thereza Rowe (aka Tiny Red Design) makes me smile ear to ear. And judging from her large fan club, it must have this same effect on many other people. Please keep scrolling to see a choice selection of her brilliant work plus learn more about Thereza in my brief interview with her after the jump below.
01. Wonderland.
Ongoing Weekword Project.
02. Two of Hearts.
Contribution to Amelia’s Magazine collaborative art piece for the Shelter House of Cards project to be auctioned off for charity. Kudos Thereza for your work being chosen for the final piece! And props to Madi as well! See the final composite here.
03. El Justiciero – Solo Art Exhibit
In my interaction with Thereza, I have learned she is not only super talented but a very kind soul… a kind soul with lots of pizazz who happens to speak 3 different languages. Thereza has dual nationality. She is Brazilian + British. Her bright and humorous Latin side really shines throughout her recent body of work for her solo exhibit El Justiciero. You are looking at bits and pieces of this great adventure above. I would love to put every last morsel of this tasty series up on my own wall to gaze upon.
04. MACAVITY Boxed Set
Typography experiment based on the poem by T.S. Eliot.
05. The Horse and The Seed
Children’s book completed in collaboration with designer and writer Ana Cozendey.
You are looking at a mix of images of the final book + developmental mock-ups. The simple line drawings and hand lettered type combined with the multi-layered, random paper shapes make for quite lush visuals with such amazing depth. I also really like the juxtaposition of bright and neutral hues.
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Now let’s get on to our interview with Thereza, shall we? …
(Psst, stay tuned as I will be doing a followup feature/interview with her in coming months.)
Q: Please tell us about yourself.
A: I live and work in London as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer. I drink a lot of pink milk, sometimes a whole carton in just one sitting. (Thereza later explained this is strawberry milk. Hmm, will have to try it sometime.) I was born in Brazil but have dual nationality Brazilian/British (contrasting combination, I know…). My degree was Graphic Information Design but due to my love for image making I’ve been developing and specializing in illustration. They say illustration is the poor cousin of graphic design, well if that’s so, I’m definitely more drawn to the ‘poor’ relation. In fact I never understood why it had to be two separate things.. It’s all visual communication, right?!
I have a surreal and hyperactive head and drawing allows me to creatively express whatever comes out of it.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Simple, minimal, naïve, playful and representational of the world as I see it. I like to convey human actions and emotions through drawings of animals and creatures, a lot of the time, imaginary ones. I love the power of bold geometric forms combined with the use of colour and my work tends to rely on happy accidents as a direct result of playing.
Q: What are your current projects?
A: I recently finished El Justiciero, a set of drawings commissioned for an exhibition/a solo show sponsored by Time Out and Whitechapel Gallery. Currently illustrating an article for Amelia’s Magazine and working on a few other minor projects whilst trying to find the time in between to illustrate my next children’s book. It’s going to be called Jasper and the Nodreams Island. The project has been in a drawer for a while now. Also working on a piece for an Argentine zine. All fun and exciting stuff! No wonder I tend to hang around on this side of the family?
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A big *thank you* to Thereza for sharing her superb work and time!
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Portfolio >> TherezaRowe.com
Blog/E-Sketchbook >> TinyRedDesign.com
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
*Cha Cha Cha* Super work of Brazilian/Brit illus/designer @TinyThereza Humorous tale of El Justiciero+/Read interview: http://bit.ly/2o0B6P
i couldn’t have said it better in that first sentence! thereza’s work also makes me smile every single day. i can’t think of anyone else who processes the world in the unique way that she does, and luckily for all of us, she has the gift of translating that thought process into a visual delight. thank you for sharing more about her work here. great interview!
So much to see in her portfolio. I’m inspired by the enormous range of creativity and yet, brilliant continuity… even the orderly spirographs nestle in with the rest of Thereza’s work,
undoubtedly having the same DNA.
Thanks for this visual treat.
wonderful presentation of Therezas work. I learned some new things about her through your interview as well (like the pink milk – she never told me)
It´s so nice to know a bit more about you…Brazilian…new to me…:) Super nice work girl…
Bueno…haha..
Aimee, you are right… Thereza does indeed process the world in such a beautifully unique manner to everyone’s benefit! Thanks for your insightful comment. :)
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J, I agree… much continuity and range without redundancy.
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Alexandra & Lotte… Ha, very glad you actually found something out new about your friend. Pink milk + Brazilian is a lovely combo, eh? :)