Can you tell us more about you and what you do?

I’m a freelance illustrator based in the lovely creative city of Bristol, UK. I love creating comforting and playful characters and artworks, inspired by nostalgia, girlhood, and the little joys in life.

Every artwork tells a story. What inspired your cover design, what narrative or message are you conveying through your cover design, and can you share the creative process that led to its final form?

For this design, I was inspired by the nostalgia of sticker collecting and scrapbooking, two very comforting and crafty hobbies I’ve carried with me from childhood to my 20s! I wanted to celebrate the very wholesome joy of decorating possessions to make them feel like your own - a journal is one of the most special and meaningful objects we can own, so what better way to design one than to cover it with stickers!

The design includes lots of my favourite icons and symbols that often pop up in my work—a clover and the number 7 for good luck, a field of tulips for Spring and new beginnings, a rainy umbrella for resilience and getting through the hard days, and in general, lots of playful and dreamy motifs to help spark imagination! I imagine each of these ‘stickers’ as companions or little creative aids while you use the journal, there to inspire, comfort, and help get you lost in your own thoughts.

In terms of my creative process, everything always starts in my sketchbook, jotting down motifs, words, and themes that resonate with me and feel relevant at that moment in time, and represent the feeling I want to carry along with the project. From there, I create a series of sketches, choose my favourites, and then digitally draw the black linework and add colour, to bring it all to life!

How does creativity connect to self-expression for you?

Creativity is how I connect with the world and with myself. Illustrating and writing have always been safe, intuitive ways for me to process whatever I’m feeling - a lovely quiet space where I can work things out in my own time. I always come away from creating feeling more like myself. I’m also very nostalgic and I'm always looking for meaning in the little things, and feeling deeply connected to so many aspects of the world. And creativity is the perfect channel for that sentimentality - it lets me live with depth, capturing what matters most and expressing feelings that might otherwise be hard to share! I think this really channels through my work and gives it authenticity, and helps others connect to it in a real way too.

How do you define your individuality as an artist, and in what ways does this uniqueness manifest in your creations?

At first glance, my artist style is defined by the selective colour palettes I use, the characters I return to again and again, and the words I write. Most of the phrases I use come straight from my journals or my notes app, or occasionally I’ll use lyrics from a favourite song if they really speak to me. A huge part of my art process is always creating something that feels incredibly authentic to me and where I am at that stage in life, and I hope that translates. I always want my work to feel honest, and like a soft kind of encouragement to keep on going - uplifting, but never in a way that feels forced or overly “positive.” I’d like to think my work is defined by that quiet sense of comfort and acceptance.

In your perspective, what role does creativity play in empowering individuals and communities, and how have you witnessed this power in action?

I think creativity makes space for imagination, emotion, and identity, things that aren’t always easy to express or even access in everyday life. Illustration especially feels like such a powerful and magical tool because you quite literally have the ability to invent whole new worlds and characters, to build a reality from scratch, one that can offer comfort and resonance in ways people might not find in ‘real life’. Through sharing my work online, I’ve been really lucky to directly witness how art can comfort, inspire, and help people feel seen in so many ways. Even just a kind DM from someone who connected with one of my artworks reminds me how deeply powerful art can be.

I think we as humans often feel alone in our experiences and we feel like we’re weird or broken. But when you create something authentic, and it resonates with even just one person, it’s an incredibly real and beautiful reminder that we’re never alone. Nothing we feel is totally isolated or new, someone out there will always understand at least one part of what you’re going through.

Have you faced any challenges in maintaining your individuality in your work, especially in the face of trends or external expectations? How did you overcome them?

There’s always pressure to create what’s trending, and sometimes trends do genuinely overlap with my style, which can be great—but I’ve learned to pause and check in with myself first. Is this something I actually connect to? Or am I making it because I feel like I should? I never ever want to make work just to fit into an algorithm—it’s very unfulfilling and dare I say boring!!! I have found that a lot of my work has ended up going ‘viral’, but I never make it with the intention of trying to reach a lot of people, and honestly, a lot of my favourite pieces are the ones that don’t get as many ‘likes’. You can’t ever define your worth from external validation—it sounds cheesy but it really does have to come from within, otherwise you won’t ever feel truly connected to your creativity.

I’ve also turned down projects that didn’t feel like me, even if they were tempting on paper. Maintaining a creative career and still holding onto authenticity is really hard sometimes, but when I do feel overwhelmed by it, I take a step back from the internet and make things just for myself. Reconnecting with what’s at the heart of my work, the storytelling, softness, and nostalgia, always brings me back home.

What advice would you give to emerging artists who are trying to find and express their individuality through their work?

Follow what you love, whatever excites or inspires you, even if it feels niche! Make what feels natural to you, not what’s popular. And never start making something immediately after scrolling online. It’s so easy to get tangled up in what other people are doing and compare yourself, and you’ll end up making work that doesn’t fully have your heart. Instead, switch off, give yourself some space, and create from a place that’s yours. It takes a long time to find your style but it will find you over time, I promise! Just keep going and writing and dreaming and creating.

What’s the one thing you want to accomplish this year?

I’m working on a few dream projects this year, and while I can’t share the details just yet, I’m really excited about what’s coming. Overall, I want to keep growing in my craft, creating artwork that feels special and thoughtful. I want to keep creating things that bring joy, comfort, and warmth to the world, and see where these new projects take me!

Where can we see more of your work?

You can find more of my work at rosie-pink.com and on Instagram at @hellorosiepink. I share personal illustrations, new projects, and lots of behind-the-scenes bits!