citylikeyou — Stafford / Ben Anslow

Ben Anslow is a designer and illustrator working mainly with print, specifically in book design. Since graduating from Staffordshire University last year he has gained recognition from a variety of design publications, including Wallpaper*, Digital Arts and the London Design Festival. In 2011 Ben was awarded a D&AD Best New Blood and an ISTD membership for his typography. He is currently doing illustration work for Penguin Books.

http://benanslow.com

Designer Illustrator

Current city: Stafford

benanslow.com

Stafford / Museum

The Shire Hall Gallery is in the central area of Stafford town and is an exhibition space, library and cafe rolled into one. Recent exhibitions have included paper-cutting artist, Rob Ryan.

Stafford / Architecture

The village of Brocton is well known for having a number of timber-frame houses, but this house just stands out to me in particular. It was built in 1911 and is one of the most atmospheric and characterful houses you could possibly come across, in what is otherwise a quintessential English village.

Stafford / Place

Well known as being J.R.R. Tolkien’s inspiration for ‘Middle Earth’ in the Lord of the Rings books, Cannock Chase (colloquially ‘The Chase’) is somewhere that friends and I have frequented for many years. If you go to a part called Broc Hill at just the right time, you can literally just sit there and watch the sun disappear behind the horizon, and witness some stunning gradients in the sky. Also a great place for running and photography—you even get to see the odd few deer just bounding around. Cannock Chase is officially listed as one of England’s ‘Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty’ (AONB).

Stafford / Lake

In 1936 George Orwell described Rudyard Lake in one of his diary entries as ‘very depressing’. Today though, I can confirm that it really is a lovely place, with a fascinating display of lakeside cabins and boathouses—more reminiscent of something you’d see in New England than the Midlands. The most popular thing visitors do is set themselves the goal of walking full circle around the lake, which is about 4-5 miles and takes around 2 hours.

Manila / Illustrator

Dan is a graphic designer and illustrator based in the Philippines. He is a founding partner at Plus63 Design Co. and the Hydra Design Group. Dan is represented by illustration agencies Agent Pekka and Vision Track. He has worked on projects for brands such as Apple, Google, Pinterest, Airbnb, Samsung, WIRED Magazine, Fast Co., Wallpaper*, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, Coca-Cola, Havaianas, Heineken, Uniqlo to name a few.

Copenhagen / Designer

Terkel Skou Steffensen is a danish designer based in Copenhagen. He did his design studies in Switzerland at ECAL, where he graduated from in 2016. He worked for danish design brands such as Hay, Menu and as product designer for Oeo Studio. Currently he runs his own design studio, focusing on product, furniture and interior design. He strives to create understandable design that people can relate to, and easy integrate in their homes.

London / Artist

Julie Verhoeven is an artist and designer based in London. After studying fashion she began her career assisting John Galliano before working in the fashion industry as a designer, illustrator, creative director and tutor. Verhoeven’s own fashion label, Gibo by Julie Verhoeven, was launched in September 2002, and she went on to collaborate with global brands including, Louis Vuitton, Versace, Mulberry and H&M. Verhoeven has exhibited internationally since 2003, including solo shows at MU, Eindhoven, ZINGERpresents, Amsterdam, and Vera Gliem, Cologne with the publication of 3 books dedicated to her work, 'A Bit of Rough’, 'Fat- Bottomed Girls’ and 'Julie Verhoeven, Gas Book 13’. Portrait by Mauro Cocilio.

London / Designer

Elinor Portnoy is a London based product designer with a focus on materials and crafting methods. She grew up in Tel Aviv, Israel, but moved to London, to earn her MA from the Royal College of Art. Since graduation she's been working as a product designer for various companies in the creative industry while making, selling and exhibiting her own work at prominent galleries and design stores.

Malmö / Architect

Born and educated in Spain, he furthered his studies in Germany at the TFH Berlin. Trained as and having practiced both as an architect and landscape architect, He is especially competent at overseeing large-scale architectural projects, achieving a balance between function and context, design and ecology.

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