UK-based illustrator Nami enjoys making works that reflect how she sees the world and everything in it. Having studied and experimented with art and illustration for a few years, and completed a BA degree in illustration and an MA in museum and gallery studies in the process, Nami became curious about creating new and exciting illustrated work inspired by cityscapes and everyday life studies. Working with her chosen mediums of paints, inks, and other materials, one of the creative’s personal projects has been to focus on and dedicate her time to documenting and capturing the unique character of various cafes in London.
A series of illustrations depicting the unique and bustling life in London cafe culture
For Nami, London is a place of endless character and unpredictable occurrences, which make it the perfect location to watch and study as an illustrator. “It never runs out of references, the inspiration exists everywhere, on the loud tube journeys, the diverse fashion worn by relentless city-goers, shop windows existing as live, ever-changing canvas’, lights blinking, glowing, shining, blasting all types of colours, and the versatile nature of noise in the city that can sometimes be alarming and deafening, or gentle and comforting, all of these elements cohabit as some of the many characteristics of the city”, she writes.
London never runs out of references, the inspiration exists everywhere, on the loud tube journeys, the diverse fashion worn by relentless city-goers, shop windows existing as live, ever-changing canvas’, lights blinking, glowing, shining, blasting all types of colours…
And the perfect place to take it all in and immerse oneself in the bustling and everchanging atmosphere of London is sitting down in the midst of it all, in a cafe. Nami puts in extra effort and energy to search for the best and most intriguing cafes, with an interesting look for her to illustrate, such as low lighting, plants, vegan options, and stylish décor. “Some of these cafés had inspired me so much that I had used them for a university project about cafés as I had hoped to express their unique nature through collage, ink, and pen. During that point in time, I had become a researcher of café culture, it was a very enjoyable time since I got to explore new cafés in the city and create a variety of beautiful illustrations in response to that.” Nami continues the project to this day, as she has picked up the habit of documenting her favorite places in her particularly soft and delicate illustrative style – which you can enjoy by following Nami on Instagram, or visiting her website on which she often combines the works with interesting personal texts and anecdotes. Below you can see some of our favorite works by the illustrator.
