Illustrations for Macclesfield train station footbridge
Creating a series of illustrations for Macclesfield train station footbridge has been the first big-scale project I’ve worked on. I’ve been awarded this commission after responding to an open call back in 2022. In this blog post, I want to share my creative process from the first concept to the final illustrations.
About Macclesfield
Macclesfield is a market town in Cheshire, England, not far from Manchester. In Autumn 2022 Cheshire East Council and Avanti West Coast published an open call where they asked for redesign proposals of the panels installed on the train station footbridge. The brief requested the selected artist to create a vibrant, welcoming and informative set of panels reflecting the town’s heritage and its rich creative and artistic talents while keeping all the existing information.
My initial proposal for the footbridge panels redesign
My proposal consisted of three elements. A new exterior design bearing the message “Welcome to Macclesfield” and two new sets of interior panels. On one of the interior sides of the footbridge, a redesigned timeline retracing the town’s most important historic events. On the other side of the corridor, a new set of illustrations showcasing Macclesfield’s heritage, its touristic attractions and points of interest. The proposed redesign made use of vibrant colours, fluid shapes and a dynamic composition with the aim of brightening the passage of commuters.
My proposal went through. When I received the call that I had won the commission I was over the moon!
Working on the final illustrations
I visited Macclesfield to get accurate measurements of the panels and take pictures of all the landmarks and buildings I wanted to include in the final illustrations. This allowed me to develop a new set of sketches.
The second round of sketches eventually got approved. At that point, I started to work on the final high-resolution and big-size illustrations.
The emotion of looking at my work printed and installed at such a big size is priceless!
That’s all for now, until next time!
Creating this series of illustrations was a dream commission! If you are looking for a freelance illustrator and you think I could be a great fit, why don’t we chat?
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