Born and raised in Jerusalem, Noa Snir is an illustrator, a colour enthusiast and a printmaker.

Noa Snir is an illustrator, a colour enthusiast and a printmaker. Born and raised in Jerusalem, she is currently living and working in Berlin.   In her work, she uses colour and humour to create playful, relatable imagery.  She works across a wide array of media, including editorial illustration, book illustration, branding and advertising.

Although most of her commercial work is computer-based, she loves analogue techniques and is an enthusiastic print-maker and ceramicist. She has worked with Google, Meta, The New York Times, Nobrow and many others. 

Now let's start with a common illo ritual - Noa's fabulous answers to our Q&A....

What would you say is your best piece of work/collaboration to date, and why?

My recent work for the Jewish Museum is one of my favourite pieces of work in recent years. It is a series of large-scale posters inspired by quotes from the Babylonian Talmud (which is the primary source of Jewish religious law) regarding sex. I found the texts themselves much funnier and juicier than one might expect, especially in the context or orthodox religion. I was given great creative freedom to visually interpret the texts as I pleased, and had the privilege of bumping ideas back and forth with a group of bright, talented, knowledgeable curators. It was a pleasure to work on this series. Seeing my artwork come to life in on a very high-end production level and watching people react to it in the museum space was a delight.

Where do you like to go to be inspired, or how do you find your inspiration?

I find a lot of inspiration in vintage children's books, mid-century aesthetics and seventies vinyl covers. I like to draw from folk art, religious art and art brut. When I need to find inspiration I like to go to a bookstore, a flea market or a museum.

Is there anything you'd say you would be a good advocate for?

Please elaborate if so. I think anything to do with migration and motherhood would be right up my alley. Both are experiences that have shaped up my life tremendously.

If you have done paid commissions prior to joining the agency, what would you say is something that clients repeatedly come to you for (up to now)?

For a long time, I did a monthly illustration for a health-tech company and I think what they liked about my work was that I managed to find playful, engaging ways to tackle their very medical, scientific dry texts. I also illustrated a lot for Design Playground, a blog by Wix.com and I think they liked my colorful, humorous approach. That was a collaboration I truly enjoyed, as the subject matter (articles about design) was relatable for me. I like it when my own interests align with the subject matter; I think it always makes for an even better collaboration.

How would you describe your style?

Playful, optimistic, happy, quirky, colourful, detailed, flat. I think it's quite apparent that what I enjoy drawing is human interaction, and I think the foundation of my illustration work is basically my love for and faith in humanity.

Please give a scenario of a project that would mean the world to you, if you were offered it - something that connects to something meaningful to you.

I love old fairy-tales and would love the chance to give my own modern twist to those types of stories. My MA graduation project was an illustrated version of Cinderella, as told orally by Moroccan women for generations. I like to treat fairly-tales as stories not strictly for kids but for curious adults. That's quite niche in today's market but that's how they were originally intended! Also, I'd love to get into kids' illustration not necessarily from a books angle but in terms of products for kids: paperware, textiles, puzzles, toys, printed kitchenware etc. A long time. ago I made an illustrated kids' menu for a big coffee-chain and I really loved thinking up little details and games: 

Are you working on any personal projects you can share with us?

Not at the moment. For a long time I've had the idea to make a modern-day homage to Frans Masereel's "The City", but I just don't find the time to get back into linocut. I also want to create a concertina/leporello book about the underground train in Berlin and the diversity of people riding it (I have a small storyline to go along with it).

Finally, if you were to illustrate a book related to a real life person, who would that be?

For a long time I've been toying with the idea of creating a children's book about Isabelle Eberhardt. She was a swiss explorer and writer, a cross-dresser, and generally a very unusual character. I'm not sure her life story is really suitable for kids, it would need a lot of adaptation while still doing justice to her complex identity and life, but I think she's a really fascinating figure in history that hardly anyone seems to know about.  Maybe it doesn't have to be for kids (I've thought about illustrating her diaries).  Also, I wouldn't mind illustrating a children's book about Björk! Although I gotta say, I feel like the market for biographies for children got saturated in recent years and I would rather invest my creative energy in going in a different direction.

If you’d like more info, please contact: [email protected]

At illo agency, we pride ourselves in representing a collation of global illustrators, distinctly diverse in creativity and uniquely celebrated by like-minded clients across a range of commercial markets.