Last month, we collaborated with the artist @big_squid_man to create a t-shirt fundraising for Gendered Intelligence. With our combined efforts, we were able to raise more than £1,400+, allowing the charity to keep spreading gender diversity and improving the lives of trans people. We would love to share our very special interview below. Happy reading!

Yellow and Brown Tonal image of a Train Carriage with a Hound and Person Dressed in Clothes with Flowers Around Them — Haul by @big_squid_man

Hi! I'm Squiddy, a UK based illustrator specialising in drawing funny animal people. I like to capture mundane details to give them amore exciting appeal through the medium of art, be it cluttered homes or food wrappers!

Where do you get your inspiration from for your creative work, and more specifically for this project?

The mundane and ordinary life i like to focus on, but more importantly those smaller details, those simple things like adverts on a train or mascots on food packaging. These are tiny things that i find make a place interesting, though usually overlooked by most in day to day commutes. Through my illustrations i hope to really capture a lived in world for people to feel immersed in while adding interesting characters and themes to flip these mundane situations, these are heavily inspired by the work of the great south Korean illustrator Kim Jung Gi . Relating to flipping the mundane, the design for my shirt features two un-ordinary figures who are just finishing up smashing some classic sculptures, that were depicting the "perfect form" of a human body.

Why illustration? Can you tell us about your journey to this point?

I used to run a few small time comic account's on Instagram for a few years, i had a great time having the freedom and passion to draw what i wanted. Then i went to university and it wasn't for me, editorial illustrations and corporation stuff was killing my passion for illustration, this was the same time i started commission work to help pay the bills for my accommodation. During this i realised i had a much funner time finding out what i liked to draw and what subject matters and styles interested me through drawing in my own time. so i left university for the sake of saving my passion to pursue what i draw now, and luckily it's been working out!

Green and Orange Toned Fisheye Image of a Graffiti room with a Hound and person dressed in Hawaiian Shirts — Fell Awake by @big_squid_man

What do you think will be the biggest challenge facing young designers in 2023?

I'd say a large challenge facing the young designers/artists is the discourse in the art community regarding the rise of A.I generated art. I know its discouraged alot of people who've been creating and designing for years so I can't imagine the impact it has on younger designers/artists who are just getting their footing. Personally my advice is to never mind all that, ignorance is bliss sometimes so best get to drawing and experimenting on your own work before humanity is enslaved by machines!

Any exciting projects in the works?

I have the beginnings of a short comic in the works! Nothing too long or crazy but something to get me into the world of making comics! It's been a goal of mine for a while, so I'm excited to get this little passion project in motion. And this is too still in the works but hopefully I'll be selling prints of my work at MCM comicon in London next Month! Then potently more cons but we'll see how it all goes!

Thanks so much for your time Squiddy, it’s been a real pleasure!

We also received this response from the charity collaborator Gendered Intelligence -

We're thrilled at the (well-deserved) success of this campaign - over a thousand pounds is absolutely incredible. Now, more than ever, we rely on the kindness of generosity of our community and our allies to support our work. Arts and creativity are particularly close to our heart - in fact, GI started out as an arts collective. It's wonderful to see this amazing art being shared, and helping us in turn keep sharing our work to support young people, improve understandings of gender, and raise the quality of life of the trans community. We feel really lucky to have been part of it, and we can't wait to work with Print Social again

Gendered Intelligence, established in 2008, is a registered charity that exists to increase understandings of gender diversity and improve trans people's quality of life. “We are a trans-led and trans-involving grassroots organisation with a wealth of lived experience, community connections of many kinds, and a depth and breadth of trans community knowledge that is second to none. We believe everyone can be intelligent about gender!” - https://genderedintelligence.co.uk/

Thanks so much to Squiddy and to Gendered Intelligence - You can shop all future campaigns with them here - https://www.weareprintsocial.com/bigsquidman

IN CONVERSATION WITH SQUIDDY