Our fourth #ThroughTheEyesOf feature with Ace&Tate with Francesca Jane Allen

Here at It’s Nice That we spend an awful lot of time talking about, thinking about and writing about creatives but ultimately we don’t get too many chances to really see what goes on in their day-to-day working lives…until now. Our new collaboration with super-cool eyewear brand Ace & Tate – who believe in great design and ultimate customer choice – is taking us inside the studios, and inside the minds, of a host of some of our favourite creatives.

Over a six-week period, our #ThroughtheEyesOf project will give us an unparalleled insight into how six creatives see the world and how that impacts the way they create work. All six will be producing a bespoke poster themed loosely around “Graduation," and we’ll be getting up close and personal with their progress over on their Instagram accounts before the final pieces are unveiled at an exhibition later this summer.

Next up is photographer Francesca Jane Allen…

Could you sum up what you do in a single sentence?

I take photos of cute girls having fun. 

What do you mainly use Instagram for?

My Instagram has become a work tool now. Instagram featured my account and I now have over 70,000 followers so I feel less comfortable posting anything personal. I actually have a private Instagram account too where I post pictures of really normal stuff like dogs and my boyfriend and my feet. 

When and where did you graduate from? What are your memories of that?  

I graduated about a month ago from London College of Communication, although I didn’t actually attend graduation… I guess my memories are still pretty fresh. I remember finding the first two years really hard. I was making work I didn’t care about to try and fit in with the schools aesthetic but outside of Uni I was making work I really loved. For the final show in third year I displayed a huge wall collage entitled ‘GIRLS! GIRLS! GIRLS!’ of all the work I’d hidden from my tutors for so long. I received a terrible grade but you win some you lose some. 

How do you feel about opening up your creative process in this way?

I’ve found it quite difficult to show it in photos; I don’t really have a lengthy process because I very rarely plan shoots anywhere else than in my head. I just turn up and see what I’m interested in within that moment. 

Give us a clue what we can expect from your artwork?

Something a little more tangible, but nothing too surprising.