Sam Gilbey is a freelance illustrator, graphic designer and art director. He has created graphics and illustrations, designed websites, and/or provided art direction for many well-known clients and brands, including Sony, Weetabix, The University of Manchester, MTV, O2, The BBC, Cadbury, Tiger Aspect Productions, Foster's and Motorola. He has worked with several respected design agencies including LBi, Preloaded, CMW Interacitve and AIS London.



A meticulous graphic designer, Sam loves to create in a wide range of styles, whether that's a cleanly designed, flexible template for a large scale accessible website, or letting loose on an experimental microsite. But rather than being restricted to the web, he also designs for print, and has created logos and branding solutions. Creativity drives him, not the medium.

Sam's unique illustrations have appeared in numerous publications, both on and offline all over the globe, from magazines such as Computer Arts and Official Playstation Magazine, to several books, exhibitions and comics. His observational, colourful and distinct painterly style often draws upon, and celebrates popular culture, whether that's movies, videogames, and/or the occassional large robot. A television project with Tiger Aspect Productions is also in the pipeline.

Sam has also written, designed and illustrated dozens of articles for numerous creative industry magazines over the last few years. These include Computer Arts, Advanced Photoshop, Web Designer and Official Corel Painter Magazine, on everything from Photoshop, Painter and Illustrator software, to what inspires and motivates some of the top individuals and studios working in the creative industry today.

From 2003, Sam was first music editor, then senior editor for Pixelsurgeon, the popular design and art news portal, until the site finally closed in late 2007 (more info here). He reviewed dozens of albums, movies and videogames for the site, and interviewed a number of musicians, movie directors and comedians, including Roots Manuva, Nitin Sawhney, The Cinematic Orchestra, Edgar Wright and Dave Gorman. He was also a key contributor to the popular Audiosurgeon podcasts, and sourced and edited the music. Following the closure of Pixelsurgeon, Sam was invited to post news at popular creative industry site, Computerlove.

He spoke alongside Pixelsurgeon's Jason Arber and Richard May at Semi Permanent London in 2005, took part in the WIWP Remixed exhibition in 2005, and had his work shown at BD4D Mannheim in 2004. His Shaun of the Dead illustration appeared in IDW's official graphic novel adaptation of the movie, and director Edgar Wright has a canvas of both that and Sam's Hot Fuzz piece in his office.

Sam lives in Bedford, England, with his fiancée and videogame consoles.

e: hello sam
t: +44 (0) 7929 789592

“I've hired Sam to work on several MTV projects. His work is of an extremely high standard and he's a breeze to work with. Everything has always been delivered to time and budget. Additionally he is a creative super power - hand him over a brief and he will come up with ideas that make you go wow.”
Julie Allen
Senior Digital Producer
MTV Networks

"Sam has worked with me at both Archibald Ingall Stretton and LBi. He is a personable, highly skilled and reliable designer. Always willing to go the extra mile, you can be sure his work is top quality. I would definitely recommend him.”
Marie Brittain
Digital Traffic Manager
AIS London

“Sam is a very strong interactive designer with good art design skills as well as good technical/interface architecture knowledge. He is also very pro-active and can be briefed and left alone to get on with things. He's also got a good eye for detail and is a pleasure to work with."
David Smith
Head of Interactive
CMW Interactive

“I really enjoyed working with Sam, and wouldn't hesitate to use him again. A great illustrator and communicator.”
Evan Grant
Director
Seeper

“Sam is an incredibly talented designer and illustrator who always works hard and delivers amazing results. He's also a very knowledgeable individual with a great sense of humour and has been an irreplaceable asset on every job we've shared.”
Jason Arber
Director and Head of Production
Wyld Stallyons

“I have worked with Sam on a couple of occasions while at Preloaded and LBi and wold certainly recommend him to anyone who want a job done on time and to a great standard. Sam is great at getting to grips with a project right away and putting in 100% into getting it bang on brief and delivered on time. Sam is also incredibly funny and friendly and great to have around.”
Esther Cunliffe
Senior Producer
Proximity London

“Sam's reliable and extremely personable to work with. He's a very talented illustrator who I'd certainly recommend if you want to add that extra level of detail to the project.”
Kevin Coffey
Art Director
Imagination

"Working with Sam has always been a joy. He's immensely talented, creative and committed to his work, plus he comes with a contagious passion for pushing the boundaries of any creative project he's involved in.”
Alex Amelines
Freelance Animator & Illustrator
Amelines.com