Based in Barcelona, Hey is a creative studio that focuses on graphic design and illustration. Recently, the studio released the second edition of their Hey: Design & Illustration book that features their well-known brilliant colors, whimsical graphics, and stunning works as a whole. The works within the pages of the book are from clients, promotional pieces, and illustrations that not only showcase the potential from the studio but also act as a comprehensive piece of inspiration to share with the public. Perfect for a wanna-be designer or someone in the business for years, this book doubles as the perfect gift, not that the holidays are quickly approaching or anything.
This revised and expanded second edition of ‘Hey: Design & Illustration’ contains many new projects as well as the work and collaborations carried out as part of Hey’s expansion into the world of retail.
What strikes us first, when we look at the body of work created by Hey, is a love
for what they do. They say, ‘if you love what you do, then you will never work another day in your life’, and I think there is certainly some truth to that old adage. To that effect, it is clear why Hey have picked up a cult-like status among their hundreds of thousands of social media fans, during their ten years in design.
Everything we love about design is celebrated within their work; from colour, shape and pattern to illustration and typography – these disparate elements, continuously intertwining to amaze, delight and enthrall us.
The Barcelona-based studio is renowned for its bright, playful graphics and their output is a fine example of what can be achieved, with a limited number of graphic devices, in order to bring about a strikingly arresting end result. They contrast and clash shapes and colours, while forms are bent, ripped and manoeuvred in endless ways – always culminating in something fresh; something new.
There is a sense of creativity within their work, and indeed of play, alongside unquestionable technical ability. Their work, much like their name, is fun. We never view a Hey project that appears not to have been a joy to create and this is due,
in part, to the fact that many of their projects stem from personal work and the same sense of energy is present in both. It is this sense of balance between commercial work and experimental projects that has garnered so many fans, many of whom would surely dream of enjoying a similar level of creative freedom.
One of the things that drew me to the work of Hey, from early on in their career, was the seamless marriage of design and illustration – as completely fresh ten years ago as it is today. This potent mix has resulted in an enviable client list, including the likes of Paypal, Nokia and Oxfam.
The work on show within this book, from clients such as these as well as the promotional pieces and illustrations, is by no means a complete archive of Hey’s work. Neither is it exclusively the prize-winning or the most ‘well-known’ projects. The work was selected primarily to demonstrate the versatility of the studio’s output and the written text included in order to explain how Hey confront design problems; how ideas are hatched and problems solved.
Though the studio’s output has been studied, exhibited and honoured within the international graphic arts community, much of this work is published for the first time.
Hey is equally well-known in Europe for its illustrative work for the likes of Monocle, the global affairs and lifestyle magazine, as they are for creating brand identities for some of the bastions of Spanish design. Organisations such as ADC and CCCB are clients that Hey have worked with for many years and brand identity is a critical part of the studio’s output.
Hey’s graphic and branding work is characterised by the juxtaposition of bold geometric shapes, a riot of colour and the clever use of materials. These playful concepts are then realised with strong, clean typography – the mix of regimented grids and illustrative graphics, creating inventive and exciting solutions.
The woman that has coordinated, championed, crafted and carried the Hey banner for over ten years is Verònica Fuerte. Fuerte set up the studio in 2007, after several years spent working for a variety of design studios in Barcelona. Over time, she has built Hey into the multi-disciplinary studio that it is today, currently a five person team. As their notoriety has grown, so has their client list; with larger names jumping on-board, including the likes of Apple, Wall Street Journal, and Penguin/ Random House – all seduced by their bold, brightly-coloured, forward-thinking design work.
Hey are one of the most innovative design agencies of recent years and regardless of what medium or field they work in, it is clear that we are all discovering a group of creatives who clearly unite both spheres of design and illustration with ingenuity, warmth and wit. For the name ‘Hey’, is not only a moniker for the company, but an ethos – a smile, a surprise, a welcome shock to the system – and every form of communication that comes out of their studio adheres to this. That sense of fun has become synonymous with their design projects, illustrations and even their working environment.
We hope that this book reflects this. It is a book for anyone interested in visual communication and, above all, creativity. It is for professionals and students, executives of large corporations and managers of small businesses, art directors and everyone else curious about Hey and the world of graphic design and illustration.
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