I’m embarassed to admit that this is only the second time that we’re featuring a Trinidadian artist in our Designer Desire series. The first was textile designer, Althea McNish – and that was way back in 2018!
Huggins is from a completely different generation to McNish, and their work and methods are poles apart. Huggins produces much of his work digitally on a computer using Adobe Illustrator.
I was introduced to Nicholas Huggins’ work not that long ago via a Global Voices article. I was struck by his bold use of colour and creativity in his hugely successful project that was part of 36daysoftype.
In it, he interpreted the vernacular architecture of the Caribbean in his own style, using all the letters of the alphabet and the numbers 0-9. He created a limited-edition print of the project which sold out within weeks.
The subjects of his illustrations are often subjects that are Trinidad & Tobago icons; rum, carnival, calypso, the beach, food & drink, folkloare and day to day views such as gas stations, parlours and roadside vendors.
The 36daysoftype illustrations are included at the top of our montage and below in a film where Nicholas talks about the project and the follow-up one.
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All image credits: © Nicholas Huggins