Fun football inspired illustration that was exhibited as part of a @guinness_ireland X @art_of_football event at @thebernardshaw last month! I was inspired by the mad and graceful ways footballers move their bodies 💥⚽️ Big thank you to @tenthmanhello for having me! #illustration #illustrator #irishillustration #irishillustrator #sportillustration #footballillustration #editorialillustration #artoffootball #footballart
It’s been a whole year since the Bad Bridget exhibition launched at the @ulsteramericanfolkpark ✨ Really proud to be a part of it, and thankful for the great feedback the illustrations are still getting, means a lot ❤️ Big big thank you to @billybillywoods for taking these photos! #illustration #illustrator #irishillustrator #irishillustration #museum #irishmuseum #heritagedesign #heritageillustration #historyillustration #irishdesign
We had another fantastic in-depth conversation with @fionaamcd Fiona shared her experience giving us insider knowledge of the illustration industry and how important the business side of it! Big thank you to @belfastdesignwk and the @theaoi for partnering with us to make this happen and to our venue partner @theamericanbarsailortown
🪩💖BANNER BADDIES 💖🪩
A special collaboration close to our hearts. Making a little surprise banner to celebrate @melcarroll_usfolk & Jeff’s wonderful wedding!
A collab the universe knew had to happen… so so lush to finally get to work together on such a unique piece. This has to be one of my favourite pieces to date and such a pleasure to work alongside @fionaamcd .
No two better women to get things sorted … 🤝🖤
A massive congratulations to Mel & Jeff on their fantastically camp wedding party! And big love to them and our friendships 💖
Swipe to see our local gorgeous queen @bluhydrangea_ upstaging the banner 💙💙💙
Friendly reminder that I’m taking part in a @illustratorsnorth In-depth talk in collaboration with @theaoi for @belfastdesignwk ! This Wednesday 7pm at @theamericanbarsailortown ✨ Tickets are limited and I’d really love to see some friendly faces in the crowd while I wax lyrical about illustration, and likely lots of other things. Yous know where to get the 🎟️🔗 I’m sure!
Some very fun posters from the last few months for @laverysbelfast & @pavilionbelfast ✨🎟️🎶🍻🪩 #illustration #illustrator #irishillustration #irishillustrator #posterdesign
Illustrators North x AOI: InDepth with Fiona McDonnell.
We’re back with another InDepth - this time with Belfast illustrator @fionaamcd and @belfastdesignwk
From bold commercial work to self-initiated projects, we’ll dig into how Fiona has built a distinctive style across advertising, branding, editorial and heritage. We’ll also explore the impact of DIY art movements, community, and carving out your own path in the industry.
Stick around after for questions, chats, and a chance to connect.
Fiona McDonnell is a Belfast-based illustrator blending comic book energy with contemporary design. Alongside her client work, she’s deeply involved in artist collectives, exhibition curation, queer underground club nights, and the Irish music scene, and regularly speaks and facilitates with universities and cultural organisations. Grabs your tickets, link in bio!
I appreciate how this time of year often means I get the chance to practice celtic knots and to be inspired by tradtional styles, like when working on the Paddy’s Day poster for @laverysbelfast ! I also designed a seanfhocail inspired t-shirt that is available to purchase on their website ☘️✨ Thanks as always to Lavery’s for giving me creative freedom and hope everyone enjoyed their Paddy’s Day week! #irishillustration #irishillustrator #posterdesign #irishdesign #paddysday
Merch drop just in time for Paddy’s ☘️
Time is a good storyteller and since 1854 our bar has seen it all.
Designed by our incredibly talented @fionaamcd these tops are heavy and boxy with a relaxed, easy fit.
Grab your An Scéalaí t-shirt from the link in bio
We’re already pumping here so make sure to get yourselves down before it’s completely full ☘️
Big thanks also to @carillionprint for the unreal prints
This is one of those commissions that I kept putting off posting about because I wanted to take my own photos of the work in situ and then time just keeps going and suddenly it’s years later. 💀 Thankfully @storiesatsort had some nice snaps of this project they asked me to work on with @outofofficebrewing ! The brief was to create a hero illustration and collection of illustrations that could be used alongside the beautiful branding created by Sort Design, through packaging, merchandise, bar space, and social media. I went with the idea of creating a series of characters at an office party, with each one reflecting a different stereotype and fun ‘if you know you know’ references. Basically The Office tv show with a more aesthetic branding. It was really fun to work on and I love any chance to create characters and layer them all together in scenes like this, and to see it be used in so many different ways. You can spot the characters while sipping a pint at the Out Of Office brewery in the @ulstersportsclub 📈✨🗂️ Thank you as well to @usfolkillustrate for getting me such a fun commission! #irishillustration #irishillustrator #drinksbranding #brandingillustration #brewery
At the end of last year I was commissioned by @actnowcampaigns to illustrate and design a beer mat for their latest campaign. The goal was to encourage discussion in pubs around the ongoing crisis of violence against women in the North of Ireland. I wanted the illustration to be initially intriguing but when you realise what it’s in relation to, the details hold deeper meaning. You can find them in some of Belfast’s finest bars (inc but not just in!) : @ulstersportsclub@boundarytaproom and the @sunflowerpub ! Me and my friends talk about this issue very often. When I think about the stories I’ve heard, and more often than not the lack of consequence to this kind of violence, it’s hard to not loose hope. But this campaign and the people involved lifted my spirits 🩷 #illustration #illustrator #irishillustration #irishillustrator #belfastbar
2025 you were a mixed bag but generally just grateful as always that I made it another year in the freelance illustration biz. I also got to work on lots of genuinely enjoyable projects, so to all my clients; thank you SO MUCH!!! 🩷🩷 My resolution for 2026 is to keep pushing my personal work and just make more weird art generally. Athbhliain faoi mhaise daoibh!! #illustration #illustrator #irishillustration #irishillustrator
