Experiences that made me Hannibal Knowles

LondonInsightsPeople

December 20, 2024

In this series, we ask Imagination talent all about the experiences that have made them who they are. This month we spoke to Hannibal Knowles, 2D Designer from our London studio.

A bit about me…

I spend a lot of time in my mind palace (thought I’d get the obligatory Hannibal reference over with).

Outside my mind palace, I can often be found bricking jump shots on a basketball court, sweating my way round one of London’s parks or riding one of my many cobbled-together bikes. If I have to be trapped indoors, I get a lot of joy from drawing with a good old pen and paper.

The creative experience that influenced me the most…

I am going to cop out and give two answers.

One is a talk I went to by Aidan Zamiri about his Caprisongs video project for FKA Twigs. It was a penny-drop moment about imperfection in the creative process and how retaining a sense of authentic fun is so key to brilliant creative outcomes. He has been in the ascendancy since then – recently directing the music video for Guess by Charli xcx feat. Billie Eilish. On his Instagram, he shares fascinating elements of his process which are a constant inspiration to make good work!

The second is a year-long experiment I did with my friend called Poster Pong. Every two weeks one of us would make an A3 poster from a randomly generated 3-word brief. We’d get a few copies printed and post them to the other one’s house. No digital spoilers before the printed finals arrived.

My industry hero is…

People that push typography in amazing ways. A few honourable shoutouts:

Anthony Burrill

Paula Scher

Mat Voyce

The piece of work I’m most proud of…

The content and reaction states for the Home Run Derby X Tour 2024.

Big animated type for one of my favourite sports and a brief to ‘make it look cool’. It was the dream job.

The piece of work that makes me cringe…

Drawing a frog and a snake for my friend who was making an educational game. It was the first time I had used Illustrator. I butchered them but he was patient, gave me some really great guidance and we got to a place where they were usable! I have a lot to thank him for…

Most things I do make me cringe though!

The experience I wish I had created…

IRL: Disney World. I haven’t been since I was 10 but every element of the experience is incredible.

Online: Max Cooper’s Symphony in Acid in collaboration with Ksawery Komputery. It’s transfixing. They both are continuously pushing the boundaries of what is possible with digital art.