Jo Davies

As a commercial illustrator Jo Davies has worked across the field of creative practice in publishing, decorative illustration, advertising and design and has been shortlisted for recognised awards such as the Best of British Illustration (UK) 3×3 magazine (USA) and gained recognition in Korea. She is also a published children’s book author and illustrator.

With Derek Brazell, projects manager for the Association of Illustrators, Jo is co-author of Making Great Illustration, Understanding Illustration and Becoming a Successful Illustrator, all published by Bloomsbury in the UK, USA and China. Her professional credentials include being a trained ethics advisor for the Association of Illustrators where she was a member of the board of directors for 5 years and editor in chief of the Journal for 8 years.

Jo has held high profile roles in Higher Education for over 20 years, including as an external examiner at BA and MA level in the UK, Hong Kong and China. She currently holds an honorary position as Visiting Professor at the University of Plymouth and is joint programme manager for the BA in Visual Communication at University College Isle of Man. Her research into illustration has included being the academic lead of Varoomlab a research project directed by the Association of Illustrators and involving key academic institutions in the UK and USA that culminated in international conferences and the publication of research journals for which she was editor in chief.

At the Book Arsenal Festival, Jo Davis will conduct a workshop and a lecture dedicated to illustration activity together with Derek Brazell.