Naja Conrad-Hansen is a designer and artist who lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark. She was born in Copenhagen to a Finnish mother and Danish father, and has lived everywhere from Finland to Greece and Egypt. Coming from an artistic family, it was natural for her to choose an artistic path.
Graduating from Danmarks Design School (KADK) in 2003 with a MA in Visual Communication and a background in fine art, she started her profession as a freelance designer and artist. Her practice embraces illustration, painting, graphic design, art direction, and making silk-screen prints — and definitely more.
Her illustration style is fundamentally about "finding some untouched areas of the mind and stimulating the eye and imagination." She has worked on projects ranging from Max Mara to the solid perfume Filth, as well as an award-winning children's book. Her works have been included in a wide variety of fashion and graphic magazines and books. She also designs print and pattern designs for different clothing labels including limited edition prints for her own brand Meannorth.
She was nominated and selected for "200 Best Illustrators Worldwide" 2007/2008 and again in 2009/2010 by Lürzer's Archive. Full CV →
Greatest inspirations or influences?
Inspiration comes equally from the worlds of fashion, hardcore music, and traditional art and design — and from my own general observation of the world. I like to feel free, and I think I can feel a bit of freedom from the normal everyday world when I work.
Favorite artists?
Too many to mention — but here are a few:
Favorite cultural city?
Calcutta.
Favorite websites or blogs?
Oh, I'm a big-time surfer — I have millions. But I have to admit that YouTube has gotten a lot of my time lately.
What would be a dream project?
I can't say there is only one project that would be a dream. I believe that things happen when you are ready, and I always want to make something new and different when I've finished a project. But my dream is to touch someone who sees my work and hopefully inspire people. And the ultimate dream would be to make something as beautiful as John Lennon's song Imagine — as a picture, of course. If that happened I would never lift a pen again.
You may say I'm a dreamer…
lalalaaa… but I'm not the only one.
