Every month, we bring you exclusive insights from the UK’s most talented designers and illustrators, fresh from Nicer Tuesdays, a monthly talks event curated by It’s Nice That and sponsored by Adobe Stock, which features keynotes from some of the biggest names in the industry.
We were lucky enough to sit down with Josh McKenna, Designer and Illustrator, to chat about how he got into the industry and what exciting projects he has in the pipeline…
Josh McKenna: Hey, I’m Josh McKenna, I’m 29 and I’m an Illustrator. I’ve been doing this for the last three years and have worked on some amazing projects in that time.
JM: After school, I studied Illustration at Falmouth University. As soon as I graduated I moved to London and took on a handful of freelance jobs, mostly editorials to start with. Taking up freelance work was a great stepping stone and it helped open doors into real working world.
JM: I’ve just handed in a massive project for UAL (University of the Arts London). I illustrated all of their welcome booklets which was quite a big job. I also have a few amazing projects in the pipeline that I can’t talk about just yet. Hopefully I can talk about them soon!
JM: Yes, I use Adobe Illustrator and occasionally Photoshop.
JM: I wouldn’t call myself a master as I’m always learning, but I took an intensive course in Illustrator at the end of my three-year university degree in Illustration. I attended over a couple of months so it was very intense but it really helped me out. I would recommend taking a course to anyone that’s serious about getting better at their craft.
JM: It’s quite geeky, but the “Select similar objects” tool in Illustrator is a life saver. I don’t think I could survive without it!
JM: *laughs* I would probably Photoshop myself into a nice mid-century house in LA. The dream!
JM: It would have to be the Instagram sticker, which I spoke about at Nicer Tuesdays! It’s a little emoji guy on Instagram that was used to represent PRIDE 2017. It was the most life changing project I’ve ever worked on.
A: What’s next, any exciting projects in the pipeline?
JM: I have some amazing projects coming up which I’m really excited about. I am looking forward to doing some personal work, which you can keep an eye out for on my social channels – stay tuned!
A big thank you to Josh for sharing his insights with us. Keep up to date with Josh McKenna’s latest work on Instagram and on his website.
Click here to watch Josh’s Nicer Tuesdays talk.
