Launch of new Dundee Delights collection by Louise Kirby

Dundee Delights is a new illustrated greeting cards collection by designer and illustrator Louise Kirby.  Launching on Friday 13th October by giving a fresh and positive image of the city.   Louise will place free cards around the city hoping that the finders will send them to friends and family locally and to the far corners of the globe.  Louise would love to hear of where they end up be it an Aunty in Australia who loved days at the ferry beach as a child, an old school or university friend in another city that you want to hello to, or invite your granny in Lochee for a coffee and cake.  To share where they end up either email Louise Kirby on hello@louisekirby.com or #DundeeDelights on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Louise Kirby Dundee Delights greetings cards celebrate some of the delicious delicacies and iconic places in and around Dundee.  Her designs have a fresh approach to the city whilst retaining the hand drawn qualities.  Designs include Broughty Ferry Beach + Castle, The Dundee Penguins, Dundee cakes, Frank Gehry’s Maggies Centre, Dundee Contemporary Arts and The McManus.  This collection is in the World Favourite Colour of Marrs Green and sunshine yellow to capture the positive direction the city is heading.  Dundee, the UK’s only UNESCO City of Design. 

The Dundee Delights collection is available to buy from her Etsy online shop, the Dundee Contemporary Art shop, Pretty Fly in Broughty Ferry and coming soon to Visit Scotland (located in the city square) and directly from Louise Kirby at the WASPS Open Studios on 28th & 29th October 2017, Makers for Maggies on 2nd December 2017.

Designs include:

Broughty Ferry Beach + Castle

Patterned sand looking over to Broughty Ferry castle with a happy sun shiny Dundee cake sky, evoking memories of days at the beach.

The Dundee Penguins

The characterful 5 bronze penguins by sculptor Angela Hunter that make people smile as they walk past and sometimes they have been known to adorn clothes and hats.

9 Dundee Cakes in the Bakers Shop –  available in sunshine yellow + marrs green

Local delicacy of the Dundee Cake, with the lovely pattern of the almonds on top.

Frank Gehry’s Maggies Centre

Maggies Centre designed by world renowned architect Frank Gehry here in the city which I believe is evidence of how good design changes peoples’ lives providing a place of calm, support, nurture and tranquility created within a purposeful space. Externally, I enjoy the shape and movement of the roof which I feel echoes the local landscape.

Dundee Contemporary Arts

Creative and cultural hub in Dundee with the curved face of different surfaces which is invites you in to the space which houses 2 cinemas, print studio, galleries and a bar and a restaurant.

The McManus

Dundee’s art gallery and museum in the fantastic gothic revival architecture, I love dramatic staircase and the detail in the architecture.  So many stories lye within this building I particularly love the ceramics, Dundee and the World exhibitions and the Tay whale.

Dundee Design Festival

West Ward Works
I would like to invite you to the Dundee Design Festival, from Thursday 26th – 28th May in West Ward Works.  I was commissioned to create a series of surface patterns to tell a contemporary Dundee design story.  All my designs are hand screen printed on wood and dispersed through gallery, can you spot them all?

Dundee, the UK’s only UNESCO City of Design is hosting the first Dundee Design Festival from the 25th – 28th May 2016.  The theme for the first Dundee Design Festival is “Place. Work. Folk. Design.” through it explores the potential of design to connect the city’s communities and improve our everyday lives.  This exhibition weaves together some of the great design stories currently emerging from the city, including new innovations in textiles, games design and design for health and wellbeing.

The event is FREE but you need to book ticketshttps://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dundee-design-festival-tickets-24394298002

There is a real mix of things in the exhibition so it allowed to use my design skills to create images that brought it all together to tell the story, things included: eeGeo 3d mapping, sonic pills, bullet proof vests, fashion + textiles, Hand of X, tools of makers, the changing landscape of the V&A coming.

Frank Gehry Maggies Centre Dundee

I have used the CMYK colour palette to make references to printing methods.  In the image above of Frank Gehry Maggies Centre.  Chosen not only as it represents a building designed by world renowned architect but because I believe it evidences how good design changes peoples’ lives providing a place of calm, support, nurture and tranquility created within a purposeful space. Externally, I enjoy the shape and movement of the roof which I feel echoes the local landscape.

Within the imagery and patterns there are deeper meanings, for instance the colourful pattern is cancer cells, the teacups and books to show support and lavender to give a sense of calm, the sky is a positive sunny yellow patten to show the positivity of space and support.

“It’s very difficult for people to go through experiences like this, and I wanted to create a building that would be calming and accommodating, and one that would be a fitting tribute to Maggie. I think it’s an inviting building, I think people will want to come inside and spend time there, and I really hope that in some small way it might contribute to a sense of rejuvenated vigour for moving forward and living life.”  Frank Gehry, (October,2003)

Let me know what you think of the designs in the show – can you find all 12 of them?

Pieces are for sale, please contact me directly for a price list.

You can keep up to date with my work on

Instagram – kirbyrecipes  https://www.instagram.com/kirbyrecipes/

Twitter – Kirbyrecipes https://twitter.com/KirbyRecipes

Facebook – LouiseKirbyDesign https://www.facebook.com/LouiseKirbyDesign/