Viva Brighton Issue #68 October 2018

JESSIE FORD
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worked part time with them; I got to meet lots of people
in the industry, saw a lot of portfolios, got a good grasp of
trends and how to promote my work. It was an invaluable
experience. I was able to build up a portfolio and a network
of my own clients, and eventually I was too busy to keep up
the agency work and I went into illustration full time.” The
company (Central Illustration Agency) went on to represent
Jessie, and still does now, ten years on.
As an illustrator, Jessie has worked on an eclectic mix of
projects, from fashion to editorial to packaging, for clients
including The Guardian, Starbucks, Kiehls, Random House,
The Wall Street Journal and, recently, luxury chocolate
brand Godiva: “That was an amazing project,” she says. “I
designed their Valentine’s range this year, which was about
six different boxes in different shapes and sizes. They also
had a box for White Day – a festival in Japan, the month
after Valentine’s, which is traditionally a day that you bring
chocolates and flowers and gifts in for your work colleagues
and your friends. I’ve done lots of packaging work recently,
which I love – it’s my favourite thing to do.”
This autumn will see the launch
of Jessie’s latest children’s book –
under her kids’ design brand Sugar
Snap Studio (sugarsnapstudio.
co.uk). “It’s called ABC, What Can
She Be? and it’s an illustrated A to Z
of jobs for girls,” she says. “A is for
‘astronaut’, B is for ‘botanist’, C is
for ‘chef’… Now I’m about to start
work on the boys’ one.” You can see
a selection of Jessie’s design work
at jessieford.co.uk or on Instagram:
@ jessie_ford_illustration
Rebecca Cunningham
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