Hi! Iâm Raj.
Iâm a Design Director for Brands, Artist, Illustrator and passionate keeper of sketchbooks.
I have 24 years experience working as a Designer for Brands. Iâve worked with some of the most respected and celebrated Design Agencies in London, Amsterdam, Munich, Hamburg and New York.
I exhibited my first collection of figurative artwork with The Other Art Fair in London, in 2011 and 2012, and have since been moving between my Design and personal creative practice.
Iâm passionate about championing the work of artists and illustrators for brand-driven work in the design studios I collaborate with.
Iâll never tire of talking about sketchbooks and colour palettes!
I relocated from London to Bavaria, Germany in 2017, where I live with my husband, our son and Giant Schnauzer Nala. Youâll see a lot of her here!
Paid members: Work through 5 commercially focussed creatives briefs with me:
Starts February 2025 Ends November 2025. January and December are for preparation and rest.
Each project lasts 2 months
Brief is released at the start of month 1. This will be a focussed, in depth commercially focussed creative brief, as you would expect to get in the real world. These are aimed at artists and illustrators who want to bring their work to areas such as packaging / book covers / luxury goods / groceries / hospitality.
Project focussed chat: a space to share thumbnails, ideas, ask questions and get feedback on the brief. Regular check ins.
End of Project LIVE Zoom. Show and tell! This deadline is in place to ensure you get the work done, share the result, get more support and feedback as needed.
This is an opportunity to access commercially focussed briefs and work at a gentle pace, with other creatives, and with myself. Iâll be doing the work with you, and sharing my process as I go. This is a trial for 2025 only! Join in and get some projects under your belt!
NOTE: This is not a course. I wonât be teaching. I craft the briefs, give as much information as I can, then its over to you. Itâs a shared workspace, where we work together. Think of it as a virtual studio, where we can ask questions of one another and get feedback.
Project (& Process) access - what remains unchanged from current:
Private Audio podcast feed: Notes from the Forest series.
In depth Videos: Process, Projects, Materials
Round Table Sessions (Live Zoom): We go deep into topics that pertain to a creative practice, and share perspectives and ideas. (Frequency: quartley-ish)
Sketchbook Tours: In depth, chatty versions (longer videos)
Archive access: Iâve been sharing all sorts on here for 2 years now, there is PLENTY to dive into!
Free membership: âGet inspiredâ
Sketchbook Tours âlightâ: Shorter, easy to watch versions of my sketchbook tours. I hope this work inspires your own practice, and helps you to access âplayâ.
Industry Insights: Designed to help you with your own creative projects and practice, without needing to commit financially to the âProjectsâ tier. I aim to give you tips and actionable ideas that you can go away and work with yourself.
Random posts about my creative practice: Sometimes, I just want to share stuff. So I will.
Discounts for any upcoming prints in my âcoming soonâ store.
Podcast: Currently there are a number of solo episodes in the feed. Check them out, and download the app to subscribe to all future episodes. Youâll also be able to access audio only versions of my Co-Swatch sessions this way - quite nice for studio company!
Free subscribers: I aim to be respectful of your inbox. I wonât flood you with posts that you canât access due to a paywall, I wonât email you too many times a month. Iâll send updates of what is happening in the paid community as part of the free posts, so youâre up to date with what weâre up to!
Why should you join?
Your commitment to your creative practice matters. As a free subscriber, I aim to encourage you to make the time for yourself, and through my own practice, inspire YOU. As a paid subscriber, weâll work on the same projects together, and Iâll go deep into how I work. Also, Iâm an over-sharer, so Iâll be VERY real with you about my experiences of juggling ALL THE THINGS (hello freelance life, parenting, mid-life joys, adjusting to life in GermanyâŚ) and show you how I get through it all whilst cultivating my creative career.
