I designed the book festival artwork with Felixstowe’s identity in mind. Having explored the pier and the promenade in recent years, I decided it would be great to make the port the focus this year.
Felixstowe has an important global connection, with thousands of goods being imported and exported at the docks. The huge container ships can be seen for miles, bringing in their brightly coloured shipping containers to be further distributed.
I wanted to tie in the docks with the book festival. I imagined having the containers appear as colourful books being offloaded and opened. The idea was to make it feel like a welcoming invite to the festival. Putting flags on some of the spines linked the intentional and global aspect of Felixstowe and the book festival.
My artwork is inspired by all things Art Deco. I love looking at old travel posters, and so much of Felixstowe’s rich culture of tourism is centred on the booming Art Deco era of the 1920s and 30s when coastal towns really had their hey day. Beyond the Art Deco era, Felixstowe has managed to thrive as a place of both industry but also fun and creativity!
