Kate Prior finds inspiration in colour, protest and propaganda for our IWD brief

Today It’s Nice That celebrates International Women’s Day, and as part of our coverage we commissioned London-based illustrator Kate Prior to create an image that would provide a strong message to headline the homepage. “When I was approached, I just thought: ‘I’d love to do this’,” says Kate. “It’s an important chance to really celebrate female artists and creativity.”

Kate sought inspiration by following a number of themes. “I looked at slogans and imagery, particularly the hand-made signs of the suffragette movement, and then at propaganda art – which is an ongoing interest of mine,” she explains. “I was also drawn to the colour red and explored ideas of noise – really shouting about a cause (although it can be quite hard to convey sound in an image).”

The final design, a clutch of defiantly raised fists clenching an International Women’s Day banner, was developed over the course of a weekend. “I started by selecting a bold colour palette, making sure I had a good bank of vibrant colours. From there I went to work on the banner, getting the type right, before starting to plan out where the hands would appear,” says Kate of her process. “From then on in it was about collaging everything and establishing a hierarchy of depth.”

Kate will be treating IWD2017 as “business as usual. I try to stick up for myself and I really feel that things are moving forward,” she says. “I think it’s good to create design that doesn’t look like a woman has made it. Maybe I’ll be drawing a machine gun or monster truck or something…”