In the early part of 2025 I had completed my first novel and the manuscript was in production with an independent publisher. For a story set in my home region of Dumfries and Galloway, in south west Scotland, I was keen to find a local designer or illustrator to create the cover. In my mind I was thinking about something a little like those evocative railway posters from the 1930s. I began casting around and soon found someone living nearby with a developing interest in book illustration. She immediately understood what I was looking for, but felt she couldn’t provide it. Fortunately she kindly pointed me to someone who could. That person is Louisa Birdsall, whose story is recounted below in her own words.
When contacted about the idea for the book cover, Louisa was immediately enthusiastic and soon began reading the novel, immersing herself in the setting, the characters, and storyline. I suggested to her some of the elements I thought could be in the design. She offered a series of colour palettes from which to choose. Over a period of weeks, peppered with back and forth discussions and tweaks, the final version emerged. Shown to friends and family it was instantly popular. The publisher was delighted too. When the book was released on the world in June 2025, there was widespread praise for the bright and quirky design. To celebrate, Louisa had some posters made, which we both signed. I have a framed one in the room where I do most of my writing. It spurs me on, as I work on what I am hoping will be the second volume in a Nithsdale trilogy – with Louisa designing all the covers of course!
Throughout this whole process I have gained insights into how a young designer and illustrator, based in rural Scotland, goes about establishing their practice and develops it into a freelance business that is sustainable over time. Along with so many others in this series of interviews, Louisa spells out the requirements of resilience, persistence, and building self-confidence, along with creativity, skill and technique. It’s an inspiring story. I am struck most of all however by Louisa’s insightful advice to others who would tread the path of the creative freelancer, and one which applies in so many fields: connect with like-minded people.
Can you tell me a bit about where you grew up and went to school – were there any particular artistic influences on you at that time?
I grew up in a small village by the sea on the Solway coast. It’s a very quiet and tranquil place, where not very much happens other than the odd cow on the loose. I went to a very small primary school where there were only four of us in the year group, followed by Dalbeattie High School, where I began to think about art in a more serious way. From a young age I loved to draw and create things with my hands and imagination. I found I had a passion for art and also found subjects such as English and Maths really hard, later finding out I am dyslexic and discalculate. Looking back, this explains a lot about how I was drawn to visual subjects such as art, photography, and graphic design.
I spent a lot of my time as a child in nature, playing on the beach or in the fields, so much of what I drew and still draw is influenced by the nature I grew up surrounded by. My dad encouraged me to see art as an option as he made a fabulous career as a cartoonist. He shows me that being creative can be a career. I have my dad to thank for getting me to where I am now with my own freelance business.
After school, what made you choose Grayʼs College of Art in Aberdeen?
During school I really enjoyed art as a subject to study and focused on pursuing my passion. Most universities want certain English qualifications even for creative subjects, which I knew would be difficult for me. Even though at the time of applying I didn’t have these qualifications I decided to apply to a few universities. Grayʼs School of Art invited me to show my portfolio and I was fortunate to receive a conditional offer. I achieved the required condition and off I went to uni in a big new city, far away from home. Such an adventure!
What sort of work (styles, media, subject matter) did you do at Grayʼs and at what stage did you begin to share the work beyond your immediate friends and family?
At Grayʼs I studied Communication Design which was a brilliant course as it covers graphic design, photography and illustration. It was a great opportunity to explore so many different types of media and create work with the freedom to learn and trial new methods and media, to see how things might turn out. I love photography, especially working in the dark room, but I knew this wasn’t something I wanted to explore as a career. The mix of both illustration and graphic design captured my interest in visual psychology and creativity. Illustration allowed so much imagination and experimentation. Graphic design was so interesting to learn about and would keep piquing my interest throughout my studies. By 4th year we had to decide what we wanted our full degree title to be. Communication design with graphic design, or photography with illustration. In the end I realised it really wasn’t hard to pick. I’ve always loved illustrating and felt I could use the background knowledge I had gained in graphic design to help aid my illustration career. So I went for Communication Design with Illustration. It wasnʼt easy, but pursuing my passions is something I always wanted to do and so I put a lot of work into my final year. My hard work paid off and I graduated with a first class degree, one of my proudest achievements.
I began sharing my work on social media during university, to try to get my work out there. From there my social media grew to be what I have now. I like to use social media as a way to show my portfolio of work and what I can do. I also love how you can see a development of work through the years just by scrolling down the page.
What were your early breakthroughs after graduating?
Straight after uni I got a job creating the illustrations for the Christmas advert of the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. I was approached by the STV team to create the illustrations for the advert and I worked closely with an animator who brought it to life. I drew many different scenes and the dog character in lots and lots of different positions. I felt so out of my depth and was suffering from imposter syndrome, but it was an amazing experience, and with the support of the team I worked with from STV, it helped me to grow in confidence with my work. In my first year after graduating I also successfully applied to take part in Spring Fling, the Dumfries and Galloway annual open studios event. This was really quite intimidating to do as it involves standing with your artwork on display waiting for members of the public to come to view it. That felt very personal, and scary to be so vulnerable. But from there, things have been growing, more commissions and more work going out into the world and Iʼve now done four Spring Flings.
Can you explain how you set up your freelance business and describe some of the commissions you have been awarded?
It was a slow process setting up a freelance business, it took time to get my name known, and for people to start recommending me to other clients. The first thing that really got my business started was taking part in Spring Fling. It was a great opportunity to showcase my work and led to my first few shop stockists, and some small commissions. At first, most of the commissions were logo designs, dog portraits and house illustrations. I really love working with clients on these personal projects. The second big commercial commission after working with STV for the SSPCA was from Developing Young Workforce, where I was asked to create a large illustration to highlight Dumfries and Galloway’s diverse environment and to celebrate working and living in the area. And of course I was so delighted to be asked to create the front cover of Epiphanies and Robberies. I still canʼt believe itʼs in Waterstones!
A particularly impressive commission was for the design components in the Tall Ships event in Aberdeen in 2025. How did that come about, what was involved and how did you feel about it all?
This was an amazing opportunity, I was very lucky to be approached by a brilliant creative studio called SetForth, owned by Steve Reid. He had actually kept my business card from my degree show and thought of my work when this brief came to him. He then presented my work to the client and brought me on board with the event. I was extremely nervous to be involved in such a massive project. But everyone was so lovely and I gained confidence quickly. It was a great thing to work on as I love all water sports, including sailing, and grew up in a coastal village, so have a great passion for the sea. It was lovely to have the challenge of working to a branding guide created by SetForth and to create all the illustrations asked for by the council. Then it felt amazing to start seeing the Tall Ships work going up around the city, as well as seeing it being mentioned on the national news. I didn’t really know what the illustrations would be used for, so it was always a pleasant surprise to walk around a corner and see them in situ. Some were massive, on the sides of buildings, and some were smaller, on posters and leaflets.
You take your work to craft fairs and other events. What sort of material do you show there and how do people react to it? Do you have a sense of being part of a wider community of creatives who operate in a similar way to you?
I enjoy taking part in craft fairs and artist events, as freelancing can be very lonely. Itʼs an opportunity to meet other artists and crafters as well as getting to chat to customers. I sell cards, prints, bookmarks, keyrings and original artwork. I try to keep all my work as eco as possible, so I use 100% recycled paper for my cards and prints, all packing is recyclable and my keyrings are made from sustainable wood. Some of my favourite events have been with Tea Green in places such as the National Portrait Gallery and the Burrell Collection. I also loved Upland Made in Easterbook Hall, in Dumfries. And of course, thereʼs my local event in Colvend where I did my first ever market. All the lovely neighbours and locals supported me from the start and still continue to, which means the world to me. Since taking part in more markets, I have a sense of community within the creative industry – gaining connections with others and having the opportunity to chat with people in the same career.
So where do you go from here? Where would you like to be in, say, five years from now? Any new developments on the horizon?
The fun thing with freelance illustration is you never really know what is coming next. I want to focus on growing my business and getting my work into more shops and further afield. But I would also love to do children’s books. I also really enjoy working with commercial projects so it would be great to do more projects like the TV ad and the Tall Ships work.
And finally – what advice would you give to a creative arts young person still at school and hoping to take their talents and ambitions further?
I would say, keep at it, there are so many lovely amazing people out there who appreciate what we do, who will help in any way they can. People who want to help you pursue your career. The creative industry is a very wide community of different practices, you just need to find the one which feels like you. I would also say, try to get your work out there as much as possible, even if it’s just something like Instagram, and most of all – connect with like-minded people.
Photo credits: Louisa Birdsall
To find out more about Louisa’s work and to connect with her, see:
Instagram @louisabirdsall_designs
Facebook @Louisa birdsall designs
Email louisabirdsalldesigns@gmail.com
Behance https://www.behance.net/louisabirdsall
Website https://www.louisabirdsalldesigns.com
For more interviews with creative and inspiring people in Dumfries and Galloway, please look here – https://davidgrahamclark.net/interviews/
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