Illustrators North x AOI: InDepth with Fiona McDonnell

At Invisible Building, illustration and visual identity are central to how we help brands feel distinctive and human. Hearing Fiona McDonnell talk through a career built on a strong visual point of view — across advertising, branding, editorial and heritage — is directly useful to the work we do with clients who need more than a generic look.

The conversation also touches on something we care about: how DIY movements, collectives, and community shape creative practice. That's a lens we bring to client work too — the best brands aren't built in isolation, they're built in dialogue with a scene.

Supporting Belfast Design Week and the local illustration community is part of how we stay connected to the city's creative fabric, and how we keep finding the collaborators and perspectives that make our client work better.

Illustrators North play host to a live talk featuring illustrator Fiona McDonnell for Belfast Design Week, 7:00–9:00 PM at The American Bar.

The conversation will explore Fiona's career, from commercial illustration to self-initiated projects — looking at how she has built a distinctive visual style and sustained a creative practice across advertising, branding, editorial and heritage work. It will also dig into the role of DIY art movements and community in shaping a creative career.

Following the talk, there will be time to ask questions, mingle, and connect.

Fiona McDonnell is a freelance illustrator from Belfast. Her work blends classic comic book and contemporary design influences to create bold, distinctive imagery. She has worked with a wide range of commercial and private clients, specialising in advertising, branding, editorial and heritage projects. Alongside her illustration practice, Fiona is actively involved in artist collectives, exhibition curation, queer underground club nights, and the Irish music scene — also working as a speaker and facilitator, collaborating with universities, Belfast Design Week, Visual Artists Ireland and Poster House NYC.

About Illustrators North and the AOI: Illustrators North has a vision to build a community of thriving illustrators in Northern Ireland, co-founded by award-winning illustrators Ashwin Chacko and Clive McFarland. The event is supported by the Association of Illustrators, the professional body for illustrators and animators in the UK and beyond.