MEET CHRISSIE ABBOTT, Q&A WITH H+ ROSTER ARTIST

We’re excited to introduce H+ Creative’s newest artist, Chrissie Abbott, whose work transforms collage, animation, and design into vibrant, immersive visual worlds. Her style combines playful experimentation with refined craftsmanship, turning ideas and stories into striking, memorable experiences.

Chrissie Abbott has collaborated with leading brands and cultural platforms including adidas Originals, Levi’s, PUMA, Nike, Vans, and The New York Times. Her projects highlight a unique ability to merge narrative, texture, and color, creating visuals that feel both contemporary and imaginative.

In our conversation, Chrissie shared her approach to multidisciplinary design, how she draws inspiration from fashion, music, and culture, and her commitment to pushing the boundaries of visual storytelling:

H+: Your work blends psychedelic visuals, collage, and animation. How do you decide which techniques or materials to use for a particular project?

Chrissie Abbott: I think if it’s a commercial project it really depends on the brief. I really love experimenting with moving image and animation so that tends to work it’s way into many of my projects in some form. A lot of my commercial work tends to be digital so in my personal work I love making hand cut collages, working with different materials, experimenting with paint, found images, photocopies and print-making.

H+: Many of your illustrations draw on 70s aesthetics, bold colors, and unconventional typography. What draws you to these visual references, and how do you make them feel contemporary?

Chrissie Abbott: Something about that era just really speaks to me, it’s like a warm, nostalgic hug. I was a child of the 80’s so the overspill of references came via my parents- their taste in music, vinyl collection, movies and even interior design and home-wares. I think references are like making a soup, as much as I’m influenced by the past I’m also curious about the future and am highly impacted by what’s going on in contemporary culture. I think colour palette plays a huge role in my work and that can really determine the whole energy and whether something feels current or fits into a certain world.

H+: Your portfolio includes both commercial collaborations (like Adidas and Levi’s) and personal projects. How do you balance your own creative voice with the expectations of brands?

Chrissie Abbott: I think thats a really interesting question and something i think about a lot. On one hand I began my career working in a design studio- and in that you really are providing a service and solving through design and storytelling. I think I always try and bear that in mind when answering a brief, but I try to interpret things through my own visual lens. But ultimately collaboration is so key in these things, I try and see myself as a filter, so the brand is translated perhaps in an unexpected way that still feels authentic and true, but also true to myself. That’s the aim anyway!

H+: Transformation and identity often appear as themes in your work. How do you approach telling a story or conveying a concept through your visual style?

Chrissie Abbott: I think collage lends itself so well to conceptual storytelling; you are combining different pieces to create something new and each element tells it’s own part of a story. I use typography and words often as a starting point and try and build organically from that place, from something literal into maybe something more abstract and open to interpretation.

H+: Mixed media and experimentation are central to your process. How do you cultivate creativity and keep your work fresh across different mediums?

Chrissie Abbott: I try and just keep making things as much as possible, I think just being out in the world is so important, conversations with people, noticing little details can often spark inspiration in unexpected ways. I think experimenting with animation and building compositions that move has been a process that I’ve found really inspiring- again because some outcomes are unexpected and I find a lot of joy in that.

H+: Your work draws from psychedelic and nostalgic visuals. Do you ever imagine alternate realities or parallel worlds while creating, and how does that influence your art?

Chrissie Abbott: Yes it influences me hugely. Art for me is a form of escapism and endless possibility. I love the metaphysical ideology that many universes can exist at the same time, that time is a concept, that nothing is linear. I find it very soothing, and depicting those worlds is a real ongoing source of inspiration.

For more information on Chrissie Abbott, visit her portfolio page!