About me

I have been drawing since I can remember, constantly bringing my ideas to life. As I got older I began trying to bring my ideas to life in different ways through mediums such as film, painting and photography. I went on to study at Goldsmiths design. This course allowed me to experiment and explore creativity without the boundaries of a certain practice holding me back. I hope to hone my skills further so that I can explore what design is capable of becoming and achieving. - Currently I am a freelance Illustrator creating T-shirts, Cards and online media (most notably Underpinned who update their site with my work every week). I also manage The Marquis Of Wellington, a busy and exciting central London pub situated on the Bermondsey beer mile. A long side managing the bar in a traditional sense I’ve also managed the in house art style for both the pub and it’s online presence. Please browse my website! - www.williamfrancisdrawingman.com

QuestionsProjectsExperienceTeam

Projects

• MindMind, the mental health charity, asked a team of five of us to design an intervention based either around community or the home. We decided to look at the language used to describe or talk about Anxiety and to question quantifiable statistics and the relationship they have with mental health. To collect the language around anxiety we decided to put boxes which allow anonymous self expression about anxiety from members of the public in Hackney- the base of our operations after contacting Hackney Mind and receiving their help.  After a few days we collected the boxes and revealed the results, there was a wealth of data provided, ranging from poetic to the silly. All of it very useful and exciting.
• Underpinned IllustratorI draw a weekly illustration for Underpinned's short reads a short piece of writing based around everything to do with freelancing.
• The Original Mr SexMr Sex is an alias of mine. Inspired by other illustrators and a personal love for rap music in which the Emcees, like MF DOOM, would have alias' which they rap under. In addition to this I no longer wanted to be restricted by own perceived idea of what myself would and could do, and making an alias seemed like a logical way of doing this. I was also interested in making this alter ego and exploring how far I could push this character who didn’t physically exist. The unexpected affect this has had is that Mr Sex has become a brand, and also a character that other people interact with, often other people will suggest behaviours he might have and actions he might take. Soon after creating the alius people wanted Mr Sex to produce purchasable art. Therefore I made and sold christmas cards under the alius of Mr Sex. Mr Sex exists, but only through the drawings he creates and social media presence he has. Check out The Original Mr Sex's Instagram! - https://www.instagram.com/the_original_mr_sex/
• Marquis Of Wellington Arts SupervisorThe Marquis Of Wellington is a new pub based on the beer mile in London. It has a young customer base and so needed to appeal to them. I was asked to draw the singage and on the interior of the building to make the pub more youthful and exciting. I also created a beer menu for them and helped to form their online presence. My Website - http://www.wnfdesign.co.uk/pub-art.html
• Smashed VinylBrighton based Independant Music magazine, Smashed Vinly, invited me to illustrate the lyrics to three different songs. 1. Girl Band - Paul 2. The Libertines - Anthem For The Doomed 3. Wolf Alics - Turn To Dust My website - http://www.wnfdesign.co.uk/smashed-vinyl.html
• Project MikeMike is a character who believes he exists within the boundaries of an advert, more specifically a sports advert. Everything he does must be advert quality, brands must look great, and he must be the sporty star of the show. However the world around him is not advert ready, it’s just normal reality. The purpose of Mike was to reveal the unattainable hyper-reality of advert fantasies and see how they merge with boundaries of reality. Unattainable fantasies created by adverts is a theme I followed throughout the project. Below is a final film my project generated, called Mike.

Work history

Projects and Design AssistantThe Big Draw
Dec 2016 - Dec 2016London, United KingdomInternship
I was responsible for the creation of all graphic content at The Big Draws yearly award ceremony. I created an online badge and a physical award, which featured artwork from Chris Riddell, for winners of awards from The Big Draw. Another of my roles was to create the presentation which was shown at the Awards ceremony, I ensured all sponsors were clearly visible and that all videos featured at the ceremony were edited to under three minuets. Furthermore I was a key part of the execution of the awards ceremony, ensuring running times were smooth and that all guests, ranging from Gerald Scarfe, visiting schools and Great British Bake Off winners, were treated with upmost respect and care. The Big Draw - http://www.thebigdraw.org/the-big-draw My Website - http://www.wnfdesign.co.uk/the-big-draw.html

Skills

• Abobe Illustrator
• Adobe Photoshop
• Abode Premiere
• Illustration
• Big Ideas
• Film
• Photography
• Graphic Design
• Art
• Creative Team

Education

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BA (Hons) DesignGoldsmiths College
Oct 2014 - Dec 2016London, United Kingdom
Goldsmiths Design is a leading course in speculative and theoretical design. During my time studying on Goldsmiths Design I was constantly asked to evaluate what I believe design to be, training me to be someone who doesn't just learn about the status quo of design but creates it. If you want someone who is truly creative, hard working and interested in the world around them, Goldsmiths BA Design is the place to look.