Jane Foster: Quiet Joy in Colour

Your work feels instantly familiar — bold, graphic and quietly joyful. How would you describe your visual language today?

Simple, naive with a childlike quality. 

You often draw inspiration from mid-century design and children's books. What continues to resonate with you from that period?

I think the clean lines and simple aesthetics evoke a feeling of calm in me and remind me of a period in my childhood when I was happy. My mum loved mid-century design and furniture. We didn't have much money growing up, but my parents always bought good design to last. I remember a Scandinavian sofa and a desk from Heals. She also bought us bold-coloured duvet covers from Habitat, loved modern art, and Marimekko fabrics.

Colour plays a central role in your work. How do you approach building palettes that feel calm, balanced and optimistic?

I often work in monochrome first, then experiment with adding one or two colours to see if the balance and proportions work. I love the phrase 'To complicate is simple, to simplify is complicated… Everyone is able to complicate. Only a few can simplify.'

Many of your illustrations celebrate everyday objects and routines. What draws you to the familiar and the ordinary?

Routine, order and the comfort of familiarity are important to me and help me to stay calm in what can often be a complicated, stressful world. I try to add a touch of kindness and tenderness to my work, even if it's not always obvious. 

My head is often very busy with lots of ideas, so creating simple, uncluttered illustrations can often help me to get a good balance!

Simplicity is central to both your work and Lagom's ethos. How do you recognise when a design feels 'just right'?

There is a gut instinct when it feels right, and if it doesn't, there's a jarring. I'm exactly the same with music, I love certain keys and not others!

When designing for paper goods, how important is tactility and the physical experience of the object?

It's very important - the quality of the paper, the thickness, texture and colour can make or break a design. This also applies to what envelopes are chosen, too!

Can you talk us through your process — from first ideas to the finished piece?

I always draw by hand onto an A3 piece of smooth paper using a 2B pencil. When I'm happy with my design, I then trace the image with a fine line black 0.38 Muji pen onto a new piece of paper using my A3-size light box. I have a steady hand, so I am able to draw quite accurately on this scale. I think it stems from years of playing the violin and pulling a straight bow across the strings!

I'm not someone who spends a great deal of time sketching - once I have an idea in my head, it can easily be translated onto paper. It's usually the thinking about what to draw first that takes the most time!

My fine line illustration is then scanned into the computer at high resolution before it is coloured digitally. It is only then, at this stage, that I can fully see if the illustration has worked or not. If not, the whole process starts again! It's quite a labour-intensive process, but it's the one I like most. I've never had the desire to draw digitally despite knowing it would be quicker. I love the actual process of feeling the pen on paper.

Editing seems to be an important part of your practice. What role does restraint play in your creative decisions?

It is a huge factor if I'm creating a design to screen print as each colour needs a separate screen. I often screen print in one of two colours. 

Time can sometimes be a restraint too for a commission - some jobs cannot take months if there is a few weeks deadline.

How does working across books, stationery and products influence the way you think about illustration?

How a product is to be used and for whom is vital before I start illustrating. 

If a children's book, for example, is to be sold in many countries, then the illustrations have to appeal to children in many countries. It's important that I include diversity in my books, where all children can see themselves somewhere. I'll often also choose animals that are instantly recognisable too.

With children's book illustration, the shape and size of the page are crucial to the illustrations I create for it. If the book is for a baby, there will be lots of black-and-white, thick, bold lines and high contrast, which I know babies relate to well. 

If I were, for example, to create a design for a mug, I'd need to create a visual mock-up of how the item will look held in one's hand. I'll physically wrap the design on paper around the mug and view it from all angles to check that the placement is just right. I love creating physical 'mock-ups' to see if a design works or not. 

What do you hope people feel when they spend time with a piece from the Jane Foster × Lagom Design collection?

I hope my designs bring a little bit of joy and tenderness. I also hope that they can tell that I care about what I create.