Have you ever wondered how our designs come to life? In our new series, ‘The Glow Up’, we’re going to be showcasing the journey some of our products have taken from starting sketch to finished product.

Of course, the incredible designers we have the pleasure of working with each have their own process. So, the idea of this series is to introduce our designers and their ways of working.

For the first instalment of the series, we’re talking to Lucy Jenn, a Graphic Designer & Illustrator based in London. Lucy has been designing pins for Punky Pins since 2019, We when asked her to describe her Punky Pins design process in three words, she chose:

“Messy, Silly, PUNS!”

“When I start a Punky Pins collection, I’m usually given a short brief of the theme (e.g. a Vegan collection, a Halloween Collection etc.)

I then get out my notebook and just write down everything that comes to mind, almost like word association, I like to get in as much puns and wordplay as I can as I feel like those are always such fun designs! Plus wordplay can really help influence the visuals. My brother is a great writer, so sometimes if I’m stuck I bounce ideas off of him.

I pick the strongest ideas from my notes (usually 5-8 for a collection) and then start making quick pencil sketches of how I think they could work as a pin design, they’re usually really scruffy but it’s just a visual note for me so I remember where to start once I move to my computer!

I then start designing in Adobe Illustrator - sometimes ideas that work on paper as a sketch don’t always work great on screen, so this is where I experiment a bit to get the design just right! Before you know it the finished product is sitting in front of you - the designs always look good on screen, but seeing them in my hands as pins is always way more exciting!”

We’re so excited to share a little insight into the world of design with our Punky Pins community. Stay tuned for more coming soon!