Edinburgh Fringe Illustrator Ben Newman shares his To Do List
Cult illustrator Ben Newman tells us about how he got involved with Edinburgh Fringe, and shares his London To Do list including Gosh! Comics, NoBrow and The Shakespeare Pub.
See Ben’s website or follow him on Twitter for more…
How did you get involved with the Edinburgh Fringe branding project?
I received an email from the very nice people at Whitespacers in Edinburgh asking if I would be interested in creating the imagery for this year’s Fringe festival and immediately said “yes”. Whitespacers are a design agency based in Scotland and were a real pleasure to work with.
Tell us more about the project?
I was told that the theme of this year’s Fringe festival was a parade and they wanted me to provide the aesthetics for the characters taking part. The fun part was that I didn’t need to draw humans but animals, monsters and weird creatures instead. Myself and the Whitespacers team batted ideas and concepts back and forth until we reached a look and feel that the Fringe were happy with.The characters had to work as a group and as individuals.
This versatility was required due to the enormous amount of promotion that goes into the festival and said branding covers not just billboards and magazines but also products. One thing I had to keep in mind was that the characters needed to be identifiable as Fringe branding even when they were separated. I guess that one of my strengths as an illustrator is that the limited palettes and simple shapes I use give a general cohesiveness to my work and visual language so applying this to the Fringe branding was thankfully relatively straight forward.
Tell us about your favourite secret/offbeat places in London (food, going out, entertainment, relaxation)?
I go to the Shakespeare in Stoke Newington, the Griffin and Hoxton in Shoreditch for drinks quite often when I visit our Nation’s capital. The Nobrow shop is always a treat if you are looking for some gorgeous books and I lose my self for about an hour every time I visit Gosh! comics in Soho.
What offbeat events are on your To Do List in the next month or so?
Moving house and relocating to London is the big blot on my To Do List currently. If possible, I’ll be heading up to Edinburgh in August to enjoy what the Fringe and the Scottish have to offer…..
What are your favourite things to do for free or little money in London?
I love visiting galleries in London. There are just so many and so much happening that its hard to pick. They have some great exhibitions on at the Tate Modern and the Barbican. I recently went to the Bauhaus show there and had the best time. I felt truly inspired and motivated when I left.
What’s your ultimate London confession?
I could get into a lot of trouble if I told you some of those but I did once pass out with my head in a toilet for half an hour and said toilet happened to be located in London.
What event or product of your own would you like to pimp on To Do List?
My new book is out September 2013 so sadly its too early for me to promote it or tell people what its about but I will say this, its the biggest project I’ve ever attempted and I hope people fall in love with it when it finally sees the light of day. I also have another big project with a company in America that should hopefully come out next year too.
I am Joint Editor at To Do List. I like free, cheap & offbeat London, especially: cabaret, art, theatre, pop-ups, eating out, quirky films, museums, day trips, social enterprise & much more.
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