Press Release: A bear on the bed, an alligator in the tub and a tiger on a two-seater: Stockton’s shop safely campaign

‘Graphic artist duo have partnered to create striking and unusual social distancing posters

Artists Abby Taylor and Owen Smith have formed a new partnership Abby+Owen to collaborate on social distancing posters.

Commissioned by Stockton BID manager Jason Maxwell in May, the duo created signage for the town with around 210 posters currently on display in independent shops, the Castlegate Shopping Centre as well as on the high street.

Stockton BID wanted a safe way to re-open their shops and the posters certainly fit the fun and quirky brief.

Abby Taylor and Owen Smith have designed signage for Stockton advising on social distancing and safe shopping

“We realised signage is very corporate so we wanted to make something really accessible, especially for children.

“We wanted to show the danger but without scaring them”, says Abby.

Collaborating on and off for 10 years, Abby and Owen are used to bouncing ideas off each other and within nine days the posters were ready for distribution from June 1.

“With people spending more time at home, house objects seemed the perfect thing to use”, says Abby, and they set a clear image of the 2m distance.

Abby Taylor and Owen Smith of new partnership Abby+Owen

With Stockton as her hometown, proud Abby added: “It’s a historic moment to be part of”.’

- By Anna Twizell for Teesside Live

Shop Safely Campaign

We were honoured with the challenge to create a social distancing and shop safely campaign for my home town of Stockton-on-Tees, for use in all the independent shops in the area, as well as high-impact signage for the High Street and Castlegate shopping centre, instructing residents how to shop safely. We brought the campaign to life on social media, by creating animated versions of the designs to share online.

We felt an earnest responsibility to other residents of the town to make the designs as memorable and accessible as possible. My client, Stockton BID, was also clear that they wanted the messaging to stand out, challenging me to come up with a concept guaranteed to catch the eye of local residents during the lockdown.

After bouncing some ideas around, an original concept began to form. We wanted the posters to provide people with concrete imagery that could be used to visualise the danger of Coronavirus, while also illustrating the recommended 2 metres distance between shoppers.

We wanted to create a campaign that could be understood by adults and children alike, with a higher level of accessibility and inclusivity for all. As most of us have found ourselves stuck in our homes during the lockdown, it occurred to us to use household objects, of approximately 2 metres length, such as a bathtub and a two-seater sofa, as a way to visualise the safe distance. This concept has the benefit of being easier to visualise than the less tangible ‘2 metres’.

We used illustrations of dangerous animals in household settings to visualise the very real danger of bringing coronavirus into our homes, and this conveys the message with gentle humour, without negating the serious nature of the message, and without resorting to using fear tactics. The designs can also easily be updated as the government advice eases and changes.

We created a series of eye-catching animations to share on social media, guaranteed to stop the scroll! Viewers are rewarded when they watch through to the end of the animations, at which point the striking imagery is explained in the statement "Coronavirus is Dangerous. Don't Bring it Home With You". The resulting "ah-ha!" moment is key when it comes to increasing the memorability of any message.

Owen and I believe that the best way to instruct is to entertain. It has been shown that alarming messages often have the opposite effect, causing people to look away from a design that makes them anxious. On the flip side, several studies have shown that humour increases the retention of information by up to 70%. This way, the reward for paying attention is the resulting smile. And besides, during such a troubling time, humour is necessary and in short supply!

This series works brilliantly as memorable posters, but what about creating a fun activity to educate kids about keeping a safe distance? The solution was to create downloadable colouring sheets for children, as a way of educating them about social distancing, without frightening them.

In addition to these social distancing posters, we designed high-impact signage to provide in-depth information about staying safe while shopping in Stockton.

It was a privilege to be involved in such an important project and to have this opportunity to highlight the importance of not just social distancing, but to demonstrate the real responsibility graphic designers hold as communicators. It's essential, as both a designer and a client, to understand what graphic design really boils down to; packaging a message in a way that sticks.

“Over the last couple of months, like most BIDs and local authorities, we were looking at a reopening strategy for Stockton Town Centre. I needed something a little more creative to suit our independent businesses.

Having worked with Abby before I knew she would be the best person to go to as her work is always first class. All I needed to do was to provide the brief, asking if we could be a little quirky and fun with the message, and Abby and Owen did the rest. The result is awesome and we are very proud to display the messaging in our businesses around the whole of the town centre. ”

— Jason Maxwell, Manager at Stockton BID

Partnership Announcement

“How can I add value?” - it’s the question I ask myself with every new project…

As a creative problem solver, it’s my job to help brands present the best versions of themselves to their audience. As a business owner, it’s my ambition to offer the best version of my company to my clients. 

When Owen and I met, ten years ago at The Northern School of Art, I saw potential...

Potential, not just for friendship and romance, but a strong professional partnership. Even as a budding artist, Owen's flair for technical drawing, his funny and original ideas, and his strong commercial voice were all very apparent. It wasn’t long before we began collaborating on freelance opportunities, thriving off the way our skill sets perfectly complemented one another.

In 2015 we both graduated from the Northern School of Art with First Class Honours Degrees. As graduates, we began to map out our future in pencil, leaving plenty of room to doodle in the margins.

But first, we wanted a taste of industry…

I landed a position as an in-house graphic designer, creating web and print materials, while doing freelance work in the evenings. Meanwhile, Owen got a job at a local creative agency, producing work for an array of clients. 

The opportunity to work together arose again in 2017…

In 2017 we collaborated on a competition run by Grand Central. Once again, the value that we added to one another’s work shone through- we not only won the competition, but were commissioned to produce a further six illustrations for Hartlepool railway station. The project even won a local Award for Tourism Potential.

Using this springboard, I leapt into self-employment…

I began building my business from the ground up, as Owen rose to the position of design director at the creative studio he had entered as a junior designer. 

Over the past two and a half years, I have poured my heart and soul into building a strong reputation for this business, through a portfolio of intricate architectural illustrations and striking branding designs. Not one to take success for granted, I began to circle back to that all-important question - how can I add value? What can I offer my clients, that I’m not already offering?

The answer was sitting in front of me…

In October 2019, Owen stepped down from his directorship role ready for a new challenge. We knew it was the right time to forge an official partnership, and in May 2020, ‘Abby+Owen’ was born. 

‘Abby+Owen’ is the sum of its parts...

It’s a creative powerhouse, bringing fresh ideas to the table. It’s an agile, two-person studio offering unmatched dedication to clients. It’s an organic development of our careers, but most importantly - it’s us, offering the best version of ourselves.

Liberty London Flagship Store Illustration

I created this illustration as part of an open project by the fabulous Liberty London. As one of the capital’s favourite luxury department stores, it’s best known for its sumptuous homeware and stylish products and fabric line.

My reference imagery for the piece was provided by my good friend Amy, who lives in London. I drew the artwork by hand using a large digital display tablet, drawing directly onto the screen using a pressure-sensitive pen.

I was especially struck by the wonderful asymmetry of the building. Small differences between the right and left side of the store kept me utterly enthralled in the process of creating the piece.

The more astute of you may spot that the diamond pattern in the background was inspired by the detailing visible on the building itself. I chose the background colour to reflect Liberty's iconic brand purple.

Supporting Live Music by Design

Live music is one of the many things I've been missing hugely during the lockdown, that's why I decided to design something to support my local music venue, The Georgian Theatre.

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As part of their fundraiser, I've created a new t-shirt design depicting the iconic venue in all its glory! All proceeds go towards securing the future of the venue. 

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Firmly rooted in the heart of my hometown, Stockton, The Georgian Theatre has found its program of gigs devastated by the virus. It's also interrupted their work with up and coming talent. I wanted to help out, as the Georgian has played its part in creating some brilliant memories for me; outstanding bands like The Comet is Coming, Snakerattlers, and The Black Sheep Frederick Dickens, to the regular comedy nights by Shoe Cake to name but a few.

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"Support Your Scene" is a rallying cry to action, urging us to keep live music alive. In that spirit, I've created this limited edition 'Support Your Scene' Badge. The Badges and the T-shirts are both super limited edition products and can only be picked up by supporting the Georgian Theatre fundraiser. At the time of publishing this, there are only 44 T-shirts left up for grabs out of the limited run of 100.

The Tees Music Alliance have spent 30+ years providing support for artists, promoters and audiences. To get your T-shirt and badge, support the fundraiser below.

Interview by Chloe Tempesteso, Founder of Project Middlesbrough

Would you like to introduce yourself?
I am an independent multi-award-winning Graphic Designer and Illustrator, based in the North-East of England and working worldwide. I create all sorts of illustrations, often of iconic local landmarks. These illustrations are usually commissioned by local businesses to use as part of their brand, for display in their headquarters or to sell on merchandise. I also create privately commissioned illustrations of people's homes and their favourite local landscapes. I also help established businesses and start-ups by creating branding and promotional materials.

What's your favourite landmark in Middlesbrough?
My favourite landmark is the iconic Transporter Bridge. It's such a striking and dynamic structure. I currently sell prints of my original illustration of the transporter bridge on my website. The commission was an exciting challenge... I had to pay careful attention to the detail and character of the bridge. It's one of my favourite projects to date! I'm now selling charity phone wallpapers and Facebook banners of the illustration featuring a rainbow of hope, encouraging people to Stay Safe in Teesside. 100% of the proceeds are going to the NHS Together Charity.

What does Middlesbrough mean to you?
I went to college to study graphic design at Green Lane, the Middlesbrough campus of the Northern School of Art. This is also where I met my partner, Owen. We found we shared a love of illustration and collaborated together brilliantly. From student nights out at venues like the Medicine Bar to visits to Mima art gallery, I have a bunch of fond memories of Middlesbrough.

What's the story behind your artwork and you becoming an artist?
A year and a half after graduating from the Northern School of Art's university campus, Owen and I entered a competition together to produce 12 large railway posters for permanent display...and won! These are on display at Hartlepool Railway station and the designs are sold on merchandise such as prints, pillows, tote bags and tea towels.

The railway posters were the perfect springboard for me to take the leap to become a self-employed designer and illustrator, leaving my job as an in-house designer for a local apprenticeship provider. Businesses across Teesside began commissioning me to create detailed scenic illustrations of Teesside landmarks and I found myself becoming increasingly renowned across the North East for my distinct style, which is reminiscent of vintage travel posters, but with a modern twist. I’m passionate about showing Teesside in a positive light through colourful, contemporary design.

How is your Teesside themed artwork received by people in Middlesbrough/Teesside?
My work often resonates with people who live in Teesside, and therefore have fond memories of some of the landmarks I've illustrated. I've received so many lovely emails with people explaining how much one of my illustrations means to them because of the memories the location holds. It's one of my favourite things about this job.

I've also found that many businesses commission me to create artwork that will represent their Teesside heritage...for instance, one of my clients, North Star Housing Association, commissioned me to create illustrations of local landmarks for use as wall art in their Headquarters. Vintage Chartered Financial Planners also commissioned me to create an illustration of Roseberry Topping, as they felt the image perfectly encapsulated their Teesside Heritage and brand personality.

What would your advice to anyone in Middlesbrough/Teesside want a career in art?
If you're at the start of your journey and looking to study art or design, I can't make a stronger recommendation than The Northern School of Art. Both Middlesbrough's Green Lane Campus and Hartlepool's University level campus are fabulous institutions. My own experience was that the tutors were supportive and knowledgeable, and the facilities were excellent and easily accessible.

That said, there's nothing to say you have to study art and design to practice the arts at a professional level. My advice would be, if you want to be an artist...make art! It might sound overly simple, but you are what you repeatedly do, and if you can turn creating art into a habit, you're already halfway there! ‘

Written by Chloe Tempesteso, founder of Project Middlesbrough original interview here