Meet 23-year-old Australian it girl Poppy Campbell. The mastermind behind the design graphics for all the big brands; from Djerf Avenue to Frankies Bikinis, the impressive illustrations that have been catching your eye all over the web, all are the work of Miss. Campbell herself. What started as Poppy’s Instagram account for seemingly random creative constructions has grown into a full-blown bad-ass business.
After dipping her toes into the world of graphic design in high school, Poppy came to realize that photoshop and step-by-step tutorials were not enough to satisfy. “I decided to pursue film and went on to study screen arts at university. After the first semester, I decided to revisit graphic design and added that course to my degree! Occasionally I would post designs I created in my spare time but I think the turning point was when I made a green retro design featuring Sami Miro. I made it in about 20 minutes, decided to make a stamp (now my logo) to complete the design and posted it. I’m forever grateful that the next day Sami had posted the image and that’s how I gained some followers and commissions”. And the rest is history.
“The first ‘job’ I did was creating some images for Djerf Avenue which is insane as I love Matilda and everything she does… I think once I posted a few commissions it pretty much snowballed through word of mouth and exposure on Instagram. I’m so incredibly grateful for every message, comment, like and repost, I wouldn’t be where I am without them.”
The idea-generating process for Poppy always starts on Pinterest; creating boards to collage with inspiration, colors, general experimentation, etc. Poppy says that “by nature, I don’t tend to do much planning, I just jump straight into creating – still not sure whether this is a weakness or a strength.” Either way, we over at Sheesh Magazine think she’s doing just great. When it comes to designs for Instagram, Poppy will start by cropping and cutting out all the elements of the image she hopes to include. Then she arranges the composition and tops it all off with the background, graphics, texts, and textures. “I mostly use Photoshop, my favorite program by far! Also Illustrator for logo design, graphics, etc. and After Effects for any designs with movement or animation.”
As much as Poppy loves the creative process, the final product has its payoff. “Creating my signature style has been so fun and so cool to receive messages from people inspired by my stuff. I love the collaborative nature of graphic design, meeting so many amazing, creative people (even if it is only online)”.
Speaking of collaboration, Poppy blueprints the designs and has cooperated with the absolute best of the best. Two of her favorite images she has created have been within the realm of fashion design; “I loved the Frankies Bikinis x Surfrider sweat set I designed, the retro vibe reflects my style. Working with Frankies bikinis was so fun and exciting – again, it was one of my first jobs which I am so thankful for. Frankies quality is top tier so seeing something I made merged with their garments was so special. Proceeds from the sales went to the Surfrider Foundation and I loved seeing the whole crew wearing the sweat sets when cleaning up the beaches in LA! More recently I did some work for Australian brand Harper Lu – I designed some prints for their stunning sets which I’m so in love with!”
With all the projects Poppy has in the world, she strives diligently to keep things fun and fresh, always collecting inspiration and working outside of the box. “I find inspiration from all over the internet, mostly Pinterest and Instagram – I love looking through old movie posters and vintage magazines too… I would describe my style to be retro, nostalgic and bright – I take a lot of inspiration from the early 2000s. Whilst this is my signature style I still love a simple, classic style – it just isn’t my go-to”.
Through her colorful collages and picture-perfect visuals Poppy wants nothing more than to inspire others and help shift perspective; shake things up. “When I edit images I try to change the vibe completely, design can repurpose and give life to a whole new concept!” Poppy would love to do some work for her fave musicians: anything from Ariana Grande to Frank Ocean, or some bigger fashion brands like Marc Jacobs or Nike. And having her designs featured in a magazine like Vogue, Pop Mag or Dazed would be an absolute dream come true. Recently after working on some poster designs for a music video, Poppy has been hoping to get into some more set design work; maybe more music videos or even feature films! But that’s not all, Poppy has even more big plans for the future. “Lots of exciting things are coming up! Some more work with Frankies Bikinis and more work with musical artists. Can’t reveal too much but keep an eye out on my social media soon!”
Check out @bypoppy_ on Instagram or bypoppy.com on the web to stay tuned on all things by poppy!
