Nina Cosford — Freelance
Nina Cosford is a freelance illustrator based in Hastings, UK. She was recently named one of the Top 20 Female …
I’ve been drawing and making things most of my life. In high-school I was making more fine art but when I went to college I thought I could make a better living as a graphic designer. Nothing too romantic, more pragmatic, but I ended up loving design.
I wake up and get my son going for the day. 3-4 days out of the week I will go on a run. Then I commute to my shared studio space. Write a bunch of emails and then start working on client work. That’s a pretty typical day but I try to add time in the day at least once a week for personal work. I’ll also go throw pottery 1 or 2 nights a week.
I have Macbook Pro and 27in Cintiq as my main setup. I use my iPhone 7 a lot to take reference photos too.
Usually, I find the best inspiration in nature. Going on a hike or hanging out at the beach is when my best ideas usually happen. Lately, I’ve been seeing some musicals, going to museums, chatting with other creatives outside the design field and that has been super inspirational too. It’s interesting to see how other creatives solve problems.
This might not be the answer you are looking for but it’s top of mind for me. The other week I saw Hamilton and it was mind blowing. I know this is not a digital product, but it still has many similar goals, constraints, and challenges as building a product. To me, Lin-Manuel Miranda is a master designer with the theatre as his palette. He seamlessly weaves disparate themes, cultures, and genres to create a product that is hailed as a masterpiece and loved by an audience with diverse backgrounds.
This changes almost every month, lol! The latest stuff I have been most proud of is a little shop I put together called Do Better. I sell some prints and donate all proceeds to organizations combating hate.
I have my own company so most of my challenges feel self-imposed, ha! The biggest challenge is to juggle all the different hats I have to wear. I not only a design and illustrator but I am a manager, producer, bookkeeper, client specialist, and on and on. As my business grows I am starting to delegate these task more but it’s still a lot.
Don’t stop practising and don’t be an asshole. Our industry is always changing so you have to be constantly pushing yourself to learn more and be better. This goes for attributes outside of technical design skills. You have to always be trying to make yourself a better human.
You can buy some prints at Do Better and all proceeds going to groups that are trying to make the world a better place. I also have some ceramics and prints for sale here.