5 questions with phil wheeler

Phil Wheeler is based in the southern Spanish city of Cádiz. He was lured away from the bright lights of London by the promise of sun, sea, and salchichón, which he enjoys whenever his busy schedule allows. Working mainly as an illustrator, he is also a long-term collaborator with web design company bigfig, who produced the Flash animations for this project. He has recently completed projects for Adidas, Pepsi, and IBM, among others, but always tries to seek out time for his own projects. Phil is represented in North America by Anna Goodson Management.

phil wheeler

01. Describe the concept(s) behind your interpretation of Select Flavor.

PW: Taking my cue from the slogan, I set out to depict a place where you might indeed expect everything. The idea was to create a place with loose or multiple perspectives, yet which included numerous tactile elements: water, rock, sky, night and day. With some "hidden" imagery and a few unlikely characters I hoped to create a place of possibility — where things aren't exactly as they seem.

02. Give a brief sketch of the creative process you used to realize your Select artwork.

PW: The concept left the door open to all kinds of possibilities. I had lots of ideas about what to include, so I had to eliminate things and work out what might interact well together. Traditional Chinese landscapes were a big inspiration for the setting. Once the place was sketched I could think about the treatment, which I wanted to keep in touch with a nightlife/club feel, so it's got high contrasts and a bit of a fizzy element. The covers were made last, so they are the result of further tweaks and experiments.

03. If you could set up a studio anywhere, what location would you choose, and why?

PW: Somewhere perched on the edge of a mountain or cliff, overlooking water/sea, surrounded by sculptural foliage (possibly tropical). And not too far from a city — for the best of both worlds.

04. Who or what inspires you to make art?

PW: It's really about people: all the weird and wonderful things they do, make, and dream up — but in particular the things, objects, and places they design. Music inspires me and keeps me going on those all-nighters. My five-year-old amazes me with her prolific production of art. I can't think of a better thing to do with my time, particularly when someone pays me!

05. What other projects are you working on-or dreaming about working on-right now?

PW: Recently I finished a project where I supplied storyboards and vector illustrations for Adidas to use in an animation and in-store installation, which I am very excited about. There are those lingering dreams about getting a line of t-shirts out there. As a rule, I like to be involved in projects that get great visuals and artwork into places or onto objects where they haven't been before.