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Meet our artists

Designers we’re excited to work with in 2022

A new year at TouchNote means an exciting new opportunity for incredible postcard and greeting card designs, templates and stickers to help make your card sending dreams come true. We are very lucky to work with an incredible artwork collective of talented designers who create your favorite TouchNote card designs. 

We asked two members of the artwork collective, Claire Huntley and Catalina Williams, five questions about the year ahead, and their answers have made us even more excited about what card designs they’ll be creating in 2022.

Browse our incredible card designs in the app and add photos, stickers and stamps for an even more personal card sending experience.

If you’re interested in joining our artwork collective please get in contact on artists@touchnote.com.

Claire Huntley

Claire is a UK illustrator based just outside of London. She has been working with TouchNote since June 2021 and has been using her bold, minimalist style to create some incredible card designs for all occasions. Originally a graphic designer, Claire then moved into web design in the late 1990s, and in 2017 made the step to becoming a full-time illustrator. Her designs are created digitally, predominantly on Photoshop, and we can’t wait to see what else she creates this year. 

Explore Claire’s designs in our app for your perfect Birthday, Thank You or Just Because cards. You can also find her on Instagram on @claire_huntley_illustration.

What events and moments are you most excited to illustrate in 2022?

I’m excited to work with TouchNote on more card collections this year. There are many opportunities to connect with people, and cards are a great way of doing that. Besides TouchNote, I enjoy freelancing for Octopus Publishing. Their non-fiction books are so beautiful; I love being involved in the design process and look forward to discovering new publications. Other commissions I’m looking forward to working on are more editorial illustrations for newspapers and magazines, particularly news items, portraits and architecture. I would like to see my illustrations printed on fabric, products, buildings etc. There are so many possibilities…

How has your artistic style developed between when you started designing and now in 2022?

After switching course from web design, embracing my love of illustration and going freelance in 2017, I started specializing in vector work which involved a lot of flat colors and simple shapes. But the more work I created, the more my style evolved. Over the last couple of years, I have gravitated towards a more decorative line drawing style, executed directly within Photoshop, playing around with textures, hues, gradients, and patterns to produce colorful and bold imagery. It can sometimes feel strange to look back at work and see the style differences, but ultimately, I think it’s a good thing to draw on different styles to pick out something appropriate to a particular brief.

How do you approach a new design and how long does it take to create?

As soon as I get the brief, I will jot down initial thoughts that spring to mind, both in drawing and words in a very rough format. The brief depends on the client and the job and can vary from few words to reading a news article or magazine story. I usually want to get at least two or three ideas down as soon as possible in digital format at the appropriate dimensions. Then comes the research, which, depending on the brief, will often involve gathering a few reference photos. Once I have two to three compositions that I’m happy with, I will send them to the art director to narrow them down. Then it’s a case of immersing myself in the line drawing, trying color combinations, adding detail and layers of texture.. Time can vary from two to ten or more hours, depending on the complexity of the image.

What are your favorite card-sending occasions to create designs for and why?

As I have always been a big card-sender myself and having discovered TouchNote about four years ago, I tend to enjoy creating designs that I would want to send myself. Birthdays and Thank you will always be favorites, but I find that the ‘Just because…’ cards are often the most enjoyable to work on because it’s all just about connecting with people. Therefore, it follows that if I illustrate something I love or feel strongly about, there will be people out there who have similar likes and desires. These illustrations could include interesting buildings, people, flowers or objects. I love to visit vintage shops, flea markets, flower stalls, museums, galleries and cinemas, so inspiration from these places often translates into illustrations full of stylish flowers, retro finds, classic architecture or characterful faces, with a cinematic feel.

What are your resolutions for 2022?

I must admit that I usually steer clear of making resolutions, although I do aim to concentrate on doing more of what I particularly enjoyed doing the previous year! 

Constantly fine-tuning a work/life balance within a structure that is efficient productive but also leaves time for rest and rejuvenation is, I think, an ongoing task that will keep evolving as we go through different stages in our lives. I aim to connect with more creatives to collaborate on a varied selection of projects throughout the year and hopefully make new friends along the way.

Catalina Williams

Originally from Chile and now based in the United States, artist and illustrator Catalina has been working with TouchNote since September 2020. Having originally studied architecture in her native Chile, upon moving to the US in 2015, Catalina took on Design and Illustration as her full-time career. Her designs are inspired by urban life and the beauty in everyday objects, and she loves to make sure her designs have a feel of a handmade illustration.

Check out Catalina’s designs in our app right now, and find her work on her Instagram @color_fuel.

What events and moments are you most excited to illustrate in 2022?

I’m a hopeless romantic, so I’m most excited about illustrating for Valentine’s day. I’m actually designing some of the cards right now, and I think they’re the cutest. I also enjoy working with the warm color palettes from Valentine’s day designs.

How has your artistic style developed between when you started designing and now in 2022?

I feel like it’s always developing. Usually, while I’m sketching, there’s a moment when I draw something differently, and I say, ‘oh, that’s interesting,’ and I start exploring that new avenue. That’s usually how I discover new things and how my style evolves. 

It also depends on how I feel. Sometimes I feel more adventurous to try new things, but as an illustrator, your style always has to have a degree of flexibility.

How do you approach a new design and how long does it take to create?

I start by listing words and phrases related to the theme I’m working on. We all have unique associations of images in our minds, so then I start drawing the images that these words evoke. The secret is being patient. The more sketches I can come up with, the better chance I have to find a good idea. 

So, for example, I would take the phrase “ Love you to the moon,” and I start drawing all the things that come to my mind. It can be a rocket writing “I love you” in the sky, two astronauts holding hands, or just the moon smiling at the planets. 

It can take me a day per card sometimes, but other days I feel inspired, and things flow.

What are your favorite card-sending occasions to create designs for and why?

Birthdays are my favorite because it gives me an excuse to send cards year-round. With the pandemic, I haven’t seen my mom in a while since we live in different countries, but this year I will be finally able to deliver her birthday card in person.

What are your resolutions for 2022?

I am trying to do a small painting a day, every day for the rest of 2022, so wish me luck!

Explore our range of card designs for birthday, anniversaries, weddings, thank yous and all other card sending needs. With free worldwide delivery you can send our incredible designs to every and any recipient and bring a smile to their face today.

TouchNote / January 2022
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