How did you discover your love for typography and illustration and develop the skills to enter the creative industry? I have always had a natural gravitation toward type. It all started with creating custom wordmarks for brands; I think this then helped me move into the world of type design. While I enjoyed creating typefaces and fonts, it was hard to scratch any real creative itch in type design, so that is when I started playing around and getting creative with type.

I am a self-taught designer, so I have always focused on personal projects and many hours of learning and playing around in software applications. This goes a long way when developing my skills.

Tell us about your background working at ad agencies and design firms. Why did you eventually make the decision to become an independent creative? My first industry gig was at a production agency where I worked as a designer, mostly working on TV identity packages and art directing creative work with animators and 3-D artists. I then moved on to a brand agency where I got to focus more on building brands and using my love for type a little more. Then, I moved into a senior role with the agency and also mentored some of the junior designers. I took a part-time role with the agency, which enabled me to build my independent creative life and eventually move into that full-time.

How would you describe your style of illustrative typography? My style is certainly a developing mashup of 2-D and 3-D. I love to add depth to my work, which I think comes from my time working in a 3-D and animation environment early in my career. I prefer a more graphic style for my work, which is why I keep a 2-D first approach with a 3-D mix—nothing too polished and realistic unless it’s required.

Your illustrations typically feature distinctive colors, which I think makes your work identifiable as Andrew Footit’s. Where did you get the idea to develop a signature color palette? When I first started out as an independent creative, my work was much more black and slick-looking—which I do enjoy! But I needed more color and enjoyment in the work I was creating. Around 2020, I went on a style journey, starting to develop and work in the colors I use today. Working within the primary color range was where I hit my stride and felt comfortable. It is quite fluid if you want to add or limit colors in your work.

Tell me about your involvement with Adlam Display for Microsoft, in which you helped design a typeface and graphics for Pulaar, the endangered West African language of the Fulani people. What was it like to work on a project with such significant cultural import? Initially, McCann New York asked me to work on a range of designs that focused on specific letters from the typeface. A well-known type foundry had already been hired to develop the typeface, but the typeface still needed a design direction. I was asked to develop a direction.

I went through loads of images of cultural fabrics and traditional jewelry. We also spoke with a specialist in the Fulani culture. One specific shape always showed up, and it was the shape I used as the basis for the typeface design. It tied everything together so well—it was a relatable shape for the Fulani people and represented the culture perfectly.

The research done for the type design direction also set the art direction and color palette for all the campaign artwork I worked on. It was such an important project and one that I will always appreciate being part of.

What have been some of your other favorite projects you’ve worked on, and how have they changed your perspective on what you can accomplish with illustration and typography? In terms of typography, the National Geographic 33 identity, the New York Times’s Puzzle Mania book cover and FC Barcelona’s first team training ground artwork for Spotify. In terms of type design, creating the typeface for ESPN’s Monday Night Football was certainly a memorable type design project.

Illustration and typography have shown me that they’re not just tools for making something look beautiful; they communicate personality, build emotional connections and transform complex ideas into something engaging.

What is something that people misunderstand about typeface design? I think that the complexities of designing and developing a typeface can often be misunderstood. It’s about designing a system that has to work across every letter. Everything is carefully considered so that the type feels balanced and all the combinations of letters have cohesion.

To the average person, great type design is often invisible. They just experience the communication side of it. They don’t notice the artistry and technical precision that goes into every letter in the words of a book or the campaign line they’re reading.

Where do you see the field of typography headed? Typography—and type design, in particular—is becoming more appreciated and pivotal for brands, especially. Brands are looking for more distinction in their identities and communication, and having an ownable custom typeface has become a top criterion for that.

I do feel there is a renewed appreciation for typography as an expressive visual element, typography that is more human with personality—whether it’s written by hand or clearly crafted by a creative and not just AI. I feel the balance of using new technology combined with craftsmanship will bring some new innovative approaches to typography.

Do you have any advice for other typographers or illustrators entering the field today? I think it is super important to find your voice and style, and then you should build on that—especially in the more illustrative field. Spend some time looking at what brands and agencies are doing and work on personal projects as much as you can. That will go a long way.

I have been asked to review work and advise creatives, but their work is just not at a commercial point where brands or agencies will hire them. It is important to put in the time to get your work to a point where it can be commercially successful.

In terms of type design, it is more a matter of developing skills and honing the craft of creating well-balanced typefaces that have great technical functionality, but it is also about finding the purpose of the typeface amongst the many, many typefaces already available. ca