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Read MoreMathilda Holmqvist's Work Brings People Together, Often for Food
Mathilda Holmqvist's Work Brings
People Together, Often for Food
MIKE O'DONNELL / EDITOR
Being a freelance illustrator and graphic designer has afforded WNW Member Mathilda Holmqvist the ability to combine her two favorite passions: visual communication and food. A lot of her work exists within London's food scene, like a recent large-scale project designing a food court next to the Thames under Hungerford Bridge. In our interview, Mathilda tells us why she elected to switch over from painting to pursue a career that employs her creativity in an everyday and communal sense.
Mathilda also offers some really useful advice on maintaining creative curiosity. "It’s more fun to be a beginner at something than a master, so don’t be afraid to go outside your comfort zone as you’ll approach a project with a really different energy as a beginner than if it’s something you’ve done for years."
Tell us a bit about your creative background. Who is Mathilda and how did she get here?
I started out studying painting at a private school in Sweden and then moved to London to study Fine Art at Goldsmiths. After graduating I worked full-time as studio manager for a sculptor for 3 years until I finally made the move to go freelance.
I really loved my years of studying art but a few years after graduating I realised I much preferred working directly with people, and for my creative work to be more useful in an everyday sense rather than contained to hanging on walls to be looked at. (Not that there is anything wrong with that!) So I moved on to working with illustration and graphic design, and for the last few years, I’ve worked mainly within the food scene in London, which I love! Food is my other passion besides visual communication.
How would you describe your creative style? Do you recognize a signature style that links most of your projects, or do you try to excuse yourself and approach each project as its own entity?
Probably something along the lines of bold, sensitive and atmospheric. I started out creating quite painterly illustrations with lots of textures and details as that was how I was used to working, but as I developed as an illustrator my images have become more minimal and scaled back. I don’t think of myself as having a signature style but rather of my work as being a progression of my development as a creative. The style is more a reflection of what inspires me at a specific time and what I’m trying to communicate.
What do you see as the turning point in your creative development and career so far?
When I had worked as a studio manager for about 2 years, I applied to an illustration competition to create a whisky label for Bunnahabhain. During those two years I hadn’t done much creative work as I felt disconnected from painting but hadn’t found a new creative platform to replace it with. At the time I was a bit worried I would end up working for the creative industry rather than as a creative. But unexpectedly I won the competition, which led me to recommit to working creatively and exploring illustration and design. It turned out I both loved the process making of illustrations and graphic designs as well as the community. A year later I moved on to freelancing.
What were some of the challenges in launching your creative career?
Having expensive Swedish student loans to pay back as soon as I graduated was definitely a challenge, as it didn’t leave much room for internships or just exploring different options. Another thing was getting a hang of how the illustration world worked, since it wasn’t an industry I was familiar with. I found pricing and contracts very confusing in the beginning – and still do sometimes!
Which of your projects are you proudest of and why?
Together with my boyfriend, I run a design collective called Pencil x Pixel, where we mainly design branding for London and UK-based food traders and producers. This spring we were commissioned by Southbank Centre and three separate food traders to design a food court next to the Thames under Hungerford Bridge. It was the biggest commission scale wise we had done to date. It was so much fun working on that scale and thinking about how people would physically experience and interact with the area, the colours and designs, as well as getting all of the food trades individual branding to work together cohesively. It was a challenge I really enjoyed and one of those projects that felt really rewarding and satisfying to complete.
What would be your dream project or job, or is it already on your resume?
I would love to illustrate and design a cookbook! I have always enjoyed reading cookbooks and love learning about different cultures through their food traditions and recipes. So to dive into illustrating a really thick cookbook that people would use for decades would be a dream.
How would you define the London creative scene?
Extremely talented and full of friendly but really hard working people. It is also very diverse and dynamic.
How do you see the creative landscape shifting in the UK/Europe?
I think visual design is becoming a bigger part of our everyday lives, which is great as it’s creating more work for creatives. It’s also become a bigger part of companies’ identities, no matter the industry. Even smaller companies are becoming more sophisticated in their approach to design and branding. I think this is leading to more being asked of creatives in shorter amounts of time, but maybe it’s always felt like that?
If not here, where would you most like to live?
Either in a cabin in the North of Sweden or Vancouver. Vancouver would probably be better for work… but North of Sweden would be great for inspiration!
Who are your biggest creative influences?
At the moment I’m very inspired by Aaron Draplin’s ‘Thick Lines’ posters. I’m going through a bit of a 60’s and 70’s phase and just love how those posters in a very contemporary way evoke that era for me.
What scares you most about making creativity your career?
Not much at the moment! I had lots of worries starting out but am at a pretty happy place at the moment creatively. I’m sure there will be more worries in the future but for now, I’m just enjoying working.
One book, one album, one movie, one show. Go.
Book: Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Album: Anything by Alison Krauss
Film: It’s A Wonderful Life
TV: Parks and Rec
What is your most treasured possession?
Hmm… not sure! Maybe my Moomin mugs? Tove Jannsons’ illustrations are a daily inspiration while having my coffee.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
A wallpaper designer, fashion designer, astronaut, actress, Disney animator and a painter in the south of France (I was very good at dreaming of the future).
What do you do when Not Working?
Cooking, eating, seeing friends, playing softball, baking, reading.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever heard or received that all creatives should hear?
It really depends on what kind of creative rut I’m in, but either ‘just do it’ or ‘work hard and be disciplined’ or ‘take time to refuel your inspiration’ usually does it for me. I also found this to be true, that it’s more fun to be a beginner at something than a master, so don’t be afraid to go outside your comfort zone as you’ll approach a project with a really different energy as a beginner than if it’s something you’ve done for years.
Who are some WNW members whose work you admire and why?
Lilian Darmono for her wide creative skills and talents (I don’t think there’s anything she can’t draw!) and my very talented boyfriend and collaborator Ian Sargent who teaches and challenges me creatively almost every day.
What’s next for you? What are you working on now?
At the moment I’m working on three exciting branding projects for local food traders. I’m also hoping to take some time to work on a personal project I’m developing around food and hosting dinners this autumn.
Discover more creative talent and projects like this on Working Not Working. If you're a WNW Member with new work, exhibits, products, or news to share, email us.
FEELING HANGRY AND INDECISIVE? END YOUR SUFFERING WITH MENULESS
FEELING HANGRY AND INDECISIVE? END YOUR SUFFERING WITH MENULESS
Two very hungry people who can't make decisions
We've all been there. Hunger sets in, but instead of eating, the next two hours are spent "deciding." It happens when you're alone, with your roommate, or with a bunch of coworkers at the office. And by the end of those two hours, nothing sounds good. Because everything is shit and what's the point? Aziz Ansari's taco indecision scene totally nails it.
That's where Menuless comes in. Started by WNW Member #3520 Jillian Dresser with her partner Julian Tippins (two people who love food but hate decisions), Menuless is a food ordering service like Seamless that decides your order for you... so you don't have to. All you do is enter how many people you have and how much money you want to spend, and they send you food from a good restaurant nearby. Just think about how much more space you'll have after you clean out your menu drawer.
We spoke to Jillian about how hungry they were when Menuless was born, the crazy methods of delivery they considered, and why they're passionate about ending hanger. If you're too hungry and exhausted to order from Menuless, you're probably beyond saving. But I just had Chinese, what about Indian? Does the pork speciality shop have good vegetarian options? Is 4 and a half stars a good enough Yelp rating? Shut up.
Tell us a little bit about your creative backgrounds.
We both graduated from VCU Brandcenter (different years), and met working together as an art director/copywriter team at Walrus, an ad agency here in NYC.
How hungry and indecisive were you the moment you decided to start Menuless?
Ha. Back when we were working together, we were on a low-budget photoshoot where we were on our own for lunch. We were at a random little studio in midtown. Nobody knew what was around for food, nor did anyone want to take charge or suggest anything. You know how it is, no one wants to be the one to blame if you end up with something awful! So anyway, after some half-hearted Yelping and Seamless review-reading, we settled on some unknown pizza place nearby. It was terrible. Like, so bad, that no one even pretended that it was good. We’ve all been there. We’ve all had those bad ordering experiences — especially in big groups — and we were just like, wouldn’t it be nice if there was something that just sent you food and you didn’t have to decide? So anyway, I’d say we were only at a 7/10 for hunger, but a 10/10 on the indecisiveness scale for sure.
What are your respective roles in building Menuless?
We took on pretty much everything as a team. When it came down to the nitty-gritty of site design and fine-tuning copy, we fell into our old roles a little bit, but really every decision we’ve made has been together.
"Before we found a food ordering API that we could actually use, we considered all sorts of stuff that now seems crazy. Like calling in all of the orders by hand, and even having a dude on an electric bike with a cell phone and bag of cash that would just drive around ordering and delivering shit. We didn’t know what we were doing."
What have been some of the challenges you’ve encountered thus far?
Our first major challenge was figuring out how we were going to get the orders through. It took us a long time and a lot of research to figure out how the hell our website would connect to the restaurants. Before we found a food ordering API that we could actually use, we considered all sorts of stuff that now seems crazy. Like calling in all of the orders by hand, and even having a dude on an electric bike with a cell phone and bag of cash that would just drive around ordering and delivering shit. We didn’t know what we were doing. I’d say that, and doing taxes. Business taxes are a bitch.
In the early days of Menuless, does it seem like people are giving up control to stave off starvation?
I think it’s more about making food ordering fun again. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut of just hitting the “reorder” button on Seamless. We all do it — it’s just so easy when you don’t have the energy at the end of the day to try something new. Or the guts, really. Menuless not only makes getting out of that food comfort-zone ridiculously easy, it makes it fun and exciting and even a little dangerous. But really, in a pretty low-risk kind of way. We made the probability of getting something you’ll like high by only choosing restaurants people love, and menu items people rank highly.
The whole voice of the brand is hilariously unapologetic. Did you ever consider a more comforting voice or is part of the fun taking charge?
It’s funny you ask that because that voice was actually one of the first decisions we made. I think the unapologetic tone sort of reflects the mindset of our audience, which are really just non-picky, hungry folks that just want food now, without having to fuss over it.
But yeah, we knew we were building a novelty product that wasn’t for everyone and we knew that if we tried to be more comforting it could have been a slippery slope toward creating a site that wanted to be something for everyone. Seamless already does that, and they’re great at it.
A GLIMPSE INTO THE MENULESS FAQ
What else are you working on these days?
Ironically enough, we’re both pretty into cooking. When we’re not working on Menuless or at our full-time or freelance ad gigs, we’re usually talking about new kitchen gadgets we bought or how to make the best quiche. But no other big projects in the works yet.
What are some top tips you can offer creatives who are thinking about launching a side project?
Just do it. I didn’t mean to sound like a tagline there. I just think you gotta get over that inertia we all have and just start doing whatever it is you’re thinking about. It’s easy to spend a lot of time in the dreaming phase, but if you just start building whatever it is, then you have something tangible that you can work with and mold and shape. That, and find people that are as equally passionate about your ideas as you are. It helps to keep the momentum going.
"It’s easy to spend a lot of time in the dreaming phase, but if you just start building whatever it is, then you have something tangible that you can work with and mold and shape."
What’s one song that always gets you in the creative zone, and still sounds good when you’re hangry?
That’s a funny question. I don’t know if there’s one song per se, but I remember listening to a lot of AC/DC during a work session once, and it inspired a whole other side project we’ll have to talk about some other time :)
Anything else you’d like to add?
Yeah! If you’re curious about what restaurants are on Menuless, follow us on Twitter at @menulessnyc. It’s also where we give away discount codes and other nonsense. Happy food ordering!