New On Freepik: Featured Artists Section
Today we present you with a brand new section at Freepik called Featured Artists. We wanted to bring the idea of a collaboration a step further. Under this label, we will offer first-class resources created by great designers and illustrators from all corners of the world. We’ve seen this kind of collaboration in many different areas and businesses. Think of clothes or accessories, when fashion brands team up with celebrities to launch special collections or redesign a particular item for a festivity.
So taking this as an example, we are launching our Featured Artists space. Regularly, we will work together with renowned artists to give an extra value to our Premium content while allowing these designers to be known through other channels. It’s a win-win situation! The first featured artist we want to introduce is Ivan Castro.
Source: Domestika
The Featured Artist: Ivan Castro
He was born on the outskirts of Barcelona in the late 70s. From a very young age, he showed an unusual interest in the shapes of letters, drawing gothic fonts, and Superman S here and there. Thirty years later, he still makes this for a living, that is, calligraphy and lettering. Ivan combines the work in his studio near Barcelona, from which he works for the world as a calligrapher and graphic designer, with teaching in schools such as Elisava, BAU, or Visions. He also gives conferences and workshops where he is needed. Ivan is also the author of the manuals The ABC of Custom Lettering (Korero Press, 2016) and Lettering a tope (Larousse, 2018).
Source: Ivan Castro
The Project
At Freepik, we wanted to let Ivan’s creativity led the way in this collaboration. We gave him free rein to create lettering designs. And we couldn’t be any happier with the result: ten lettering resources that revolve around food and gastronomy. The inspiration came from the posters usually hanged on traditional diners in America.
These resources reflect a vintage and retro style that take us back to The Frosty Palace (Grease) or any other famous diner on screen. Regarding the creative process, he has shared with us different thoughts on his work. For instance, the part of the creative process he enjoys the most is the development of the idea. “Although it can be a bit scary to start off a new project,” he shares. “In this particular project, all the illustrations are made with traditional lettering techniques, all by brush, so that it looked more real.”
“For me, it was exciting to collaborate with Freepik on this new project. The leeway they gave me makes it seems like a more personal project.” – Ivan Castro.
Click here or on the image above to download these Premium resources by Ivan Castro. We want to conclude with Ivan’s tips for starting designers and illustrators: “Work hard. Don’t rush on things; success is relative. These days you only see the pretty face on Social Media, but there will be times that you’ll feel frustrated too. Be constant, work hard, and everything will be fine.”
From Freepik, we want to thank him for this collaboration, and we hope you enjoy these resources as much as we do. Stay tuned to find out who will be our next featured artist at Freepik.
