RITZENHOFF Designer Collection · 2013–2018 · Illustration · Product Design
RITZENHOFF Designer Collection — Illustrated Product Design by Ian David Marsden
From 2013 to 2018, I created original designs for the RITZENHOFF Designer Collection, working across decorated glassware, ceramics and collectible household objects as part of the official RITZENHOFF Designer Family.
The projects brought illustration into three-dimensional production: drawings had to work on curved surfaces, within defined print areas and as part of objects designed to be handled, used, displayed and collected.
KitchenFarm · Coffee Love · Weizenbier Glass · Pet Shop · Illustration · Surface Design · Consumer Products
Illustration on Objects
A drawing changes when it has to live on a physical object
RITZENHOFF is known for inviting illustrators, artists and designers to reinterpret everyday objects as collectible design. For me, that meant thinking beyond the flat page from the beginning.
Form
Artwork has to respect the shape of the object. A tall beer glass, a cappuccino cup and a ceramic storage vessel each present a different drawing surface.
Placement
The illustration must remain readable as the object turns, taking account of seams, handles, curvature and practical decoration areas.
Production
Finished drawings have to translate into reproducible artwork suitable for the materials, printing methods and manufacturing process.
Character
Even within production constraints, the finished object still needs humour, personality and a reason to be chosen from a shelf or kept as a collectible.
Selected Designs
KitchenFarm
A family of illustrated ceramic kitchen objects including the Salt Pig, Sugarbird and two Herb Jars.
The KitchenFarm pieces treated functional storage objects as characters. Rather than placing a detached motif onto a generic container, the illustration and the physical form work together: pig, bird, cow and rabbit identities are tied to what the objects actually are.
Coffee Love
Two cups, two characters
The Coffee Love designs use character and line to give a relatively small cappuccino cup its own personality.
Because the artwork wraps around a curved object, the composition has to work as the cup is turned rather than relying on one fixed front-facing view.
Weizenbier Collection
The Viking beer glass
For the Weizenbier collection, I created a Viking-themed illustration for a tall wheat-beer glass together with coordinated coasters.
The elongated glass format called for a more vertical composition, while the coaster provided a second surface on which the visual idea could continue.
The finished object in the round
Video view of the finished RITZENHOFF Viking glass, showing how the illustration sits on the physical form.
Product Design Archive
Series and original item numbers
These products are no longer current catalogue items. I have retained the original product names and RITZENHOFF references because collectors and people researching older designer editions still search for them.
KitchenFarm
- Salt Pig — #3050003
- Sugarbird — #3060003
- Large Herb Jar / Cow — #3040003
- Small Herb Jar / Rabbit — #3030003
Coffee Love
- Cappuccino Cup Man — #3300005
- Cappuccino Cup Lady — #3300006
Pet Shop
Cat Bowl — #3120004
Weizenbier
Viking Glass with coasters — #1020180
Professional Context
Illustration that has to survive manufacturing
The RITZENHOFF work sits somewhere between illustration, graphic design and product design. The drawings still needed personality, but they also had to become accurate production artwork for manufactured objects.
That practical side of illustration has appeared throughout my career: packaging, products, campaigns, printed materials, characters, signage and other applications where the image eventually has to exist somewhere beyond the drawing itself.
I worked with RITZENHOFF over several years as part of a wider career collaborating with German and Swiss companies as well as international clients.
Illustration & Product Graphics
Illustration for Products, Packaging & Applied Design
I work with companies and design teams on original illustration for products, packaging, campaigns, characters and applied visual communication.
If you have a product, format or production constraint already defined, send me the basic specifications together with the brief.
Extended Archive
More RITZENHOFF Designs by Ian David Marsden
A broader visual archive of products and artwork from my RITZENHOFF Designer Collection work. The products are historical editions and are no longer part of the current RITZENHOFF catalogue.
