Clever Multilayered Illustrations

By Alice Yoo on July 4, 2011

Crisis Communication

Aad Goudappel is an award-winning illustrator whose work will remind you of some of our favorite creatives like Noma Bar or Alessandro Gottardo. Just recently, two of his pieces were selected for the annual edition of 3×3 Magazine, a publication devoted to the art of contemporary illustration. (Their mission is to spotlight the best international artists working today and encourage a new focus on the use of illustration by the advertising and design communities.)

We reached out to Goudappel to congratulate him on being selected again (this was his second year) and we got to ask him what that kind of acknowledgment means to him. “I feel honored and proud that my work is recognized in competitions like the 3×3 annual,” he told us. “I think the work selected in the annual is very high quality, it's a very good overview of the great artwork done in illustration.”

Goudappel's success didn't come overnight, rather, he's been a freelance illustrator for over ten years. “I started while I was studying at the Willem de Kooning Academy of art in Rotterdam and later at the Art Institute of Boston,” he says. “Actually I've always been working quite secretly, hidden away, not doing any self-promotion getting my clients through the occasional website visitor. Last year, Chares Hively from 3×3 Magzine invited me for the spotlight section of the magazine. He asked me if I had any awards to add to my profile which I hadn't. He encouraged me to enter competitions, which I did. My work has been awarded in four shows since, 3×3 2010, Luerzers Archive 200 Best Illustrators Worldwide, Communication Arts Illustration Annual 2011 and now 3×3 Illustration Annual 2011.”

What we love most about Goudappel's clever illustrations is how the story develops after you look at them for awhile. Take a look at one of his illustrations and then read the title underneath and you'll understand just what we mean. “Although, at first sight, my illustrations appear very simple, they usually contain several intellectual or emotional layers,” he says. “I hope people see that and it gets them thinking about the subjects.”

Audit Committee