For twenty years or extra, magazines and newspapers have been in decline, placing editorial illustrators beneath stress. But it stays one of the vital fascinating areas of economic artwork to work in, attracting the best expertise.
Jake Hawkins is a working example – a rising star in UK illustration whose work at all times feels glossy, trendy and intelligent. We featured him briefly right here on Artistic Increase in 2021, and his profession has gone from energy to energy. In 2025, he gained two awards within the American Illustrator concern 44.
“I am notably drawn to briefs that enable for a conceptual response, because it makes the work extra participating and offers room to discover concepts via metaphor quite than literal depiction,” says Jake. “I typically join with the problems I am illustrating, and it is rewarding when a chunk may also help make advanced or topical topics really feel extra accessible, particularly when it permits house for various views and voices. Serving to these voices be seen and understood is what I discover most rewarding.”
A set of promoting photos for The Economist.
Initially from Somerset, Jake studied Illustration at Falmouth earlier than making the large transfer as much as London, the place he joined The Day by day Telegraph’s visible storytelling staff. He actually has reduce his enamel in an editorial setting, with roles at The Economist and in numerous LGBTQ+ publications. Every cease has added a brand new side to his skillset.
He continues: “Working in a day by day print setting taught me the significance of velocity and clear decision-making beneath tight deadlines. My time in LGBTQ+ media strengthened the worth of amplifying various voices, whereas my work at The Economist has sharpened my concentrate on readability and the affect a picture must have throughout advertising and marketing, occasions and editorial.”
As a senior designer at The Economist, he creates editorial and promotional imagery for the publication, together with animation, whereas freelancing for quite a lot of different newspapers and magazines. He is added shoppers similar to The Guardian, The Washington Put up, and Homosexual Instances to his listing over time.
One in all his favorite items is a canopy for the latter – created throughout COVID, when all the things felt very unsure. Alternatives to work on tasks centered on LGBTQ+ points are notably significant to Jake, as they counter adverse rhetoric with inclusive imagery that offers the neighborhood illustration and visibility.
Democratic Fatigue Syndrome for The Huge Difficulty.
Submission for The Lancet Rheumatology cowl.
Nevertheless, each new temporary is an opportunity to resolve an issue, and that can at all times enchantment to him. “Just lately, I labored on a canopy paintings submission for The Lancet, which was difficult from a conceptual standpoint,” he explains. “Translating advanced scientific language into a transparent visible was the important thing problem. I resolved it by simplifying the temporary’s core message and figuring out imagery that would talk that concept, reimagining the Vitruvian Man as a recognisable framework to carry collectively artwork, anatomy, and molecular science.
In the meantime, in his private work, Jake typically explores queer themes and the human type. He takes it slower and appears for various sorts of inspiration – such because the classic physique images that influenced his Callipygian Determine paintings.
For a chunk about trans healthcare in The Washington Put up.
Callipygian Determine.
To create his imagery, Jake makes use of Procreate on an iPad Professional. He enjoys drawing straight onto the floor with the stylus, holding his fingers engaged with the method although the result has a digital really feel. As well as, he makes use of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and After Results as required.
It is the clever concepts as a lot as the colorful, impactful kinds and trendy end that make Jake’s work stand out. And the tempo in editorial is as quick as ever, so discovering the appropriate commentary and metaphor quick is usually a vital a part of the fee. However when it is not flowing, Jake’s recommendation is at all times to step again.
“When you’re not in the appropriate headspace, it is easy to overwork a chunk or push it in a course you won’t have taken in case you’d given your self house and are available again to it later. Recent air, recent eyes. All of us have days the place the work flows extra simply than others,” he says.
Private work – The Story of a Higher Tomorrow.
