Illustrator/Graphic Designer for Cute Pastel Accessories Brand (Logo + Character Illustrations)

About our brand: We are creating a new accessories brand launching with phone suction grip pads as our debut product, with plans to expand into phone cases and other everyday use products. The aesthetic is cute, girly, pastel, playful and collectible — think sticker books and charm collecting, but elevated and premium, not childish or cartoonish. ⚠️ STRICTLY NO AI — please read before applying This project requires 100% hand-drawn/hand-illustrated work by a human artist. No AI image generation (Midjourney, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, etc.) at any stage — not in your portfolio, not in concepts, not in final artwork. We want an illustrator who can genuinely interpret a creative brief, bring their own artistic style to it, and collaborate on revisions with real design judgement. Applications with AI-generated portfolio pieces or concepts will not be considered. What we need — Phase 1 Refine our wordmark/logo (we have a handwritten script starting point, open to your input) plus a simplified monogram mark and a core colour palette Design a set of original characters — think cute duck, starfish, martini glass, cherries, ocean wave, clouds, croissant type motifs — with your own personality/spin First round of concept sketches for grip pad pattern designs: minimum 5 distinct colour & character directions A short written rationale per concept (palette, motif idea, how it could extend to future products) Once we approve a direction: final, print-ready artwork files (vector/AI-software like Illustrator, or EPS, plus transparent PNG — "AI" here means Adobe Illustrator the software, not artificial intelligence) Reference materials will be shared with shortlisted applicants (mood boards, prior mockup rounds, what's worked/not worked with our manufacturer so far). Budget/Structure This is posted as a fixed-price project for Phase 1 (logo refinement + first round of concepts). We're looking to build an ongoing relationship with the right illustrator as we expand into more products, so please treat this as an audition for longer-term collaboration, not a one-off gig. To apply, please include: Portfolio examples of character/mascot illustration and/or brand identity work — hand-drawn/hand-illustrated only (pastel, playful, or lifestyle-brand style especially relevant) A note on your revision process — how you like to receive feedback and iterate Your estimated turnaround for the concept round described above A quick confirmation in your application that you do not use AI generation tools in your creative process