The Dutch Uncle Journal is a considered study of illustration, design, and animation in practice — how they are conceived, commissioned, and realised in the wider world.
This is where we share the thinking behind our latest projects and engage with the wider shifts shaping visual culture — from the resurgence of handmade texture to the ways art redefines the spaces we inhabit. A considered collection of work and ideas from the front line of contemporary illustration.
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Brian Rea / Noma Bar / Satoshi Hashimoto / Javi Aznarez / Debora Szpilman / Simone Massoni / Ping Zhu / Klaus Kremmerz / Lucas Varela / Charlotte Trounce / Marc Majewski / Kustaa Saksi / Alessandro Gottardo (SHOUT) / YOCO / Hsiao-Ron Cheng / Jisu Choi / Graham Roumieu / Tavis Coburn / Joel Holland / Robert Nicol (MA RCA) / Clara Dupré / Marc Burckhardt / Aesthetic Apparatus / Jon Gray (Gray318) / Christian Montenegro / LAPRISAMATA / Gaku Nakagawa / Adam McCauley
Roots: Kustaa Saksi’s Monumental Installation at Institut Finlandais, Paris
Kustaa Saksi presents Roots at Institut finlandais, a monumental textile installation featuring a suspended 15-metre woven pine. Drawing on Finnish landscape traditions linked to Pekka Halonen, the work explores memory, identity, and nature through jacquard weaving, combining contemporary textile practice with cultural heritage.
Lucas Varela : The Art of Polite Chaos in the FT
Lucas Varela creates editorial illustrations for Financial Times, accompanying Robert Shrimsley’s advice column. His work transforms everyday dilemmas into subtle, composed visuals, using quiet humour and minimal detail to reflect moments of tension, decision-making, and human behaviour alongside the column’s dry, observational tone.
Cool Beer, Characterful Art: Javi Aznarez’s Fridge-Friendly Designs for Andes Origen
Javi Aznarez collaborates with Andes Origen on illustrated can designs that transform packaging into playful, character-driven scenes. Working with This Is New London, the designs build brand identity through humour and storytelling, aligning with trends in craft beer packaging where illustration creates memorable, collectible visual experiences.
Creativity Is Dead: Noma Bar and D&AD 2026 Challenge the Industry to Prove Otherwise
Noma Bar leads the Illustration jury at D&AD Awards 2026, supporting a bold manifesto questioning whether creativity is in decline. Developed with Nils Leonard, the campaign argues creativity thrives through action, experimentation, and craft, challenging industry complacency in an era shaped by AI tools.
Illustration and Animation in Health Insurance: How Klaus Kremmerz Illustrates Clear Communication for KOTA
Klaus Kremmerz collaborates with KOTA to create illustration and animation systems that simplify complex health insurance and benefits information. Using clear, human visuals and structured design, the project demonstrates how illustration improves user understanding, making pensions, coverage, and pricing more accessible across digital platforms.
Tavis Coburn and the bold look of the Camp-X Book Jacket Series
Tavis Coburn creates bold, retro-futurist covers for Camp-X series by Eric Walters. Using strong shapes and limited colour, the designs support the books’ grounded espionage themes, translating real wartime training into clear, engaging visuals that make historical storytelling accessible to younger readers.
Counting in Colour: How Illustration and Animation Helps Kids Learn Maths
Christian Montenegro uses illustration and animation to make early maths concepts accessible through visual storytelling. By turning abstract ideas into simple actions, his work supports number sense, pattern recognition, and problem-solving, aligning with research showing that visual learning improves comprehension, retention, and confidence in foundational numeracy for children.
Illustrations of Hamburg by SHOUT
Alessandro Gottardo, known as SHOUT, creates a series of minimalist illustrations capturing the atmosphere of Hamburg. Drawing from neighbourhoods like St. Pauli and HafenCity, the work translates everyday urban scenes into clean, conceptual compositions that reflect the city’s architecture, rhythm, and emotional character through precise graphic storytelling.
Simone Massoni x Mr Porter — Gifts All Wrapped Up
Simone Massoni collaborates with Mr Porter and Net-A-Porter on Gifts All Wrapped Up, a festive animated campaign produced with Animade. Combining hand-drawn illustration and 2D animation, the project delivers a playful, character-led brand experience across film, social, print, and outdoor media.
A Cabin Turned Into a Touring Art Show at 35,000 Feet
Delta Air Lines and Coca-Cola collaborated with Wieden+Kennedy to transform airplane tray tables into a global illustration project. Featuring artists including Ping Zhu and Noma Bar, the campaign turned in-flight surfaces into a travelling gallery, later exhibited publicly, blending art, travel, and everyday design.
David Benioff : Book cover illustrations by SHOUT
Alessandro Gottardo, known as SHOUT, creates cohesive cover illustrations for David Benioff titles published by Penguin Random House. Designed under the direction of Paul Buckley, the covers establish a consistent visual identity across the author’s catalogue, linking separate works through a unified, structured design approach.
Klaus Kremmerz Breathes New Life into French Cinema Classics in The Metrograph Magazine
Klaus Kremmerz creates evocative illustrations for Metrograph Magazine, reinterpreting classic French films such as L'Atalante and Hôtel du Nord. Designed by Matt Willey at Pentagram, the issue combines illustration and editorial design to revive the mood and storytelling of 1930s–40s cinema for contemporary audiences.
Simone Massoni Illustrates Corcoran’s Expanding Locations
Simone Massoni collaborates with Corcoran to create illustrations marking new office locations. Each artwork captures the character of cities from Virginia to Frankfurt, forming a cohesive visual system that documents expansion while translating place, architecture, and lifestyle into clear, refined imagery.
A Masterwork for Collectors: Marc Burckhardt’s Edition of Dante Paradiso
Marc Burckhardt completes a decade-long project with a deluxe illustrated edition of Paradiso by Dante Alighieri for Easton Press. Combining classical painting techniques with luxury book design, the limited edition transforms a cornerstone of literary history into a collectible art object.
Clara Super Duper x Lufthansa: Inspiration Above the Clouds
Clara Dupré collaborates with Lufthansa on the Allegris Art Series, transforming long-haul travel into creative inspiration. Flying aboard the new Allegris cabins, she developed artwork reflecting the experience of flight, joining a European roster of illustrators translating journeys into visual storytelling across campaigns and public exhibitions.
Golden Threads: Kustaa Saksi x Oribe Artist Collaboration
Kustaa Saksi collaborates with Oribe on the Golden Threads holiday collection, blending textile art, mythology, and luxury packaging. Inspired by Norse themes, the project spans illustrated designs, a large-scale tapestry, and sustainable production, creating a cohesive visual identity that connects beauty, craft, and contemporary art.
Debora Szpilman illustrations for the Knight Frank Residence Report 2025/26
Debora Szpilman collaborates with Knight Frank on The Residence Report 2025/26, using illustration to translate complex property data into engaging visual narratives. Her work brings clarity to global housing trends, highlighting shifts toward wellness, community, and evolving definitions of luxury in the international real estate market.
Brian Rea and the The History of Illustration (Fairchild Books – Bloomsbury)
Brian Rea contributes to The History of Illustration, a comprehensive academic volume edited by Susan Doyle. Spanning global visual culture from ancient to contemporary practice, the book positions illustration as a critical discipline, linking historical image-making traditions to modern storytelling and communication.