Mick Champayne
Mick Champayne is a designer at Google on Doodles & Delight who moonlights as an illustrator. In a nutshell, she loves internet culture, navel-gazing about the future, and connecting people through visual storytelling and concept-driven design. From doodles to design, she's always scheming ways to inject a little personality and friendliness into anything she makes.
Hi Mick! Tell us about yourself - how did you get to where you are today and when did you first become interested in design and illustration?
Whooo boy that’s a great question! I like to joke that my life has been a series of happy accidents—saying “yes” and figuring it out as I go along 😂. I’ve been hooked on digital design since the early internet days, designing and coding my own MySpace and Geocities pages with an excessive use of GIFs and custom cursors. That led me to study interactive arts & media in college, back when UX was only offered as one class. I graduated into the recession and took the first job I could get: a junior art director at an ad agency. It was almost like portfolio school on the job, learning how art and copy work together, and the power of storytelling. Ultimately though I worried I was only making noise in the world and wanted to work on things that helped people, or at the very least made their lives easier. So, I started redirecting my career into what’s now known as experience or product design.
Designer and Illustrator Mick Champayne
“Design isn't simply about aesthetics; it's about evoking emotions and shaping experiences. Whether it's a doodle on a napkin, a billboard on the highway, or a digital product used by millions, every element you choose influences how users perceive and interact with your work.”
As for illustration, that was really born out of my frustration with my day job. Agency life is fun but it can also be high pressure, and you often don’t get a say on the project or client you’re working on. With illustration, I could be my own creative director and draw anything and everything I like (including, but not limited to: butts, boobs, farts, memes). It has been a great creative outlet and something just for me.
How would you describe your aesthetic and how has your design style changed over time?
This is so funny you ask! I’ve been working on creating a GenAI model of my illustration style, and playing around with prompt engineering. The key to getting good results is to do a bit of role-playing, or an exercise that I’ve jokingly referred to as “prompt power-posing,” like when you stand in front of the mirror in the bathroom making yourself big: writing positive affirmations about myself in third person (my therapist loves this for me).
“You are a clever and creative illustrator who excels at drawing witty visual puns. Your work is often funny, but it can also be thought-provoking. You are a master of the absurd, and you use your art to explore the strange and unexpected. Your work often uses butts, boobs, farts, and memes. You love to get a laugh out of people.”
As for my style changing over time, I don’t think it really has a whole lot, I’ve just gotten better? For background, I grew up on a steady diet of cartoons and dreamed of being a cartoonist when I grew up (big Chuck Jones Looney Tunes and Pink Panther fan). But I think maybe it’s closer to that Picasso napkin story, where he takes 30 seconds to draw something and charges an absurd amount? And he reasons it’s because he spent his whole life honing his artistic skill. I guess maybe I hope it’s more like that 😊
Are there particular themes you like to explore through your work?
More than anything else, I started drawing to make myself laugh. Design can be such a serious business sometimes that it’s nice to have a little break and not take myself so seriously. I'm interested in the idea that art, making art, and looking at art has a positive impact on your health and well-being. To keep it brief, drawing hasn’t always come easily to me, and I’ve only seriously picked it up in the past 7 or 8 years. Before that, I had a mental block that Art with a capital A needed to be serious or dripping with symbolism. But it took me a long time to learn there's a distinction between fine art and art that’s meaningful. The type of art that’s meaningful to me and resonates with me now is a lot more playful. I like work when I can tell that drawing something in particular made them happy. And it makes it so much more relatable and typically weird. Because humans are weird!
I’ve always been into internet culture and fascinated by memes—especially those with no context, just a weird juxtaposition of subjects in one frame that somehow makes someone laugh. When I first started, I’d take that really pixelated image and try to simplify and distill into what I thought was the funniest part while still being readable.
And just to circle back to that idea of Art with a capital A, a fun series I find myself constantly coming back to is what I call “Classical Fart,” reclaiming what a masterpiece means to me in a fun, light-hearted way.
You’re currently a Staff Designer at Google - what does a day on the job look like for you?
Oh that’s so hard! While my days can vary wildly at Google—some days are meetings heavy talking about the work, some days are spent heads down doing the work—it's easier to understand my role by looking at a typical quarter.
I’ve recently joined the Doodle & Delight Features team at Google—a creative group of artists, designers, and engineers who dream up and build features that add a little magic to Google products, bringing people together. My role is all about leading the design of impactful projects – typically one or two big ones each quarter. Currently, I'm super focused on developing frameworks to help us connect with users on a deeper level during those special moments, and ensure Google stays relevant in the cultural conversation. Just a typical week for me might involve brainstorming sessions, running design sprints, or pitching ideas to leadership.
But it does encourage me to be on top of my meme and cultural zeitgeist game; so everyday I journey down many a TikTok hole and Reddit threads for inspiration.
Throughout your career, you’ve worked with a variety of clients including McDonald’s, Audi, and KitchenAid - what’s your approach to creative collaboration with brand partners?
I’d say my approach has always been deeply rooted in connection and empathy. No matter if it’s design or illustration, the best collaborations I’ve had always center around people—not just the end user or audience, but the client too!
To kick off a project, I dive deep into understanding the brand: its values, the audience, and what makes them unique. It's a process of asking thoughtful questions, active listening, and immersing myself in their world. My agency background exposed me to a huge variety of clients and taught me that each partnership requires a tailored approach. Sometimes it's all about finding that perfect visual expression that just gets what they're about. Other days, I get to be their creative spark, nudging them just outside their comfort zone in a way that still feels authentic.
When it comes to working with a client, I’m such a sucker for open lines of communication, brainstorming sessions, and a willingness to experiment. By fostering a collaborative environment built on trust and a shared vision, we both become invested in the project's success, and we can send off our little project baby into the real world like proud parents.
You’re an incredible visual storyteller and infuse a lot of personality into your work. Can you walk us through your creative process?
Awww thank you, that really means a lot! 🥹 When it comes to my process, maybe it’s the designer in me, but I have to have some sort of brief, prompt, or jumping off point. A blank page terrifies me. Sometimes I’ll join in on those 30 day drawing challenges, or I’ll pick something from this running note of ideas I have in my phone of little brain farts I’ll have.
Most recently, I’ve been coming out of some mild burnout, and my illustration practice was suffering the most from it. A friend at work shared with me this app called Dudel Draw, and I honestly think I owe so much to it for helping get me out of my creative block. I’ll take whatever weird random blob it gives me and draw what inspires me on top of it. Once I get an idea, I like to borrow from improv and try to “Yes, and…” it by introducing something unexpected. For instance, if I see a crocodile in that blob shape, how can I plus it up? What if someone’s baiting him with a Croc®? Or a snail, but with a computer on its back, captioned “You’ve Got Snail”??
But ultimately, I think the most important part of my process has been establishing a daily drawing habit (as much as possible!). It’s helped me get my synapses firing, taught me to embrace failures, and built me up this big corpus of work I’m pretty proud of.
What’s your philosophy on the importance of having personal design projects in addition to your daily work?
Oh, it’s a complete necessity! Aside from the creative outlet part, over the years it’s helped me become a better storyteller. It’s taught me how to visualize and distill concepts quicker; communicate and socialize my ideas; and stay sharp and inspired—all of which has directly impacted my day job. Plus, it's a great way to meet other designers and make friends in the industry. It feels like this giant closed system that keeps connecting.
A more intangible feeling is that it’s gotten me a lot closer to a sense of creative freedom. I like to think of it as this giant closed-system loop. In side projects, you actually reveal a lot about your true self. And when you share those with the world, you often find people who can relate, and if you’re lucky you’ll score more commissions to “do your thing,” which leads back to more side projects. It’s a vicious (and rewarding) cycle.
What’s been one of the biggest career lessons you've learned so far?
Design isn't simply about aesthetics; it's about evoking emotions and shaping experiences. Whether it's a doodle on a napkin, a billboard on the highway, or a digital product used by millions, every element you choose influences how users perceive and interact with your work. I’ve learned that you have to tap into their psychology and figure out what makes them tick. What gets them excited? What makes them laugh? What problems do they have? By delving into psychology and understanding their motivations and desires, you’ll make work that not only looks great but also makes them feel something.
Where do you find creative inspiration? Do you have any favorite design resources?
My little corner of the internet has been a truly inspiring place. I follow a bunch of very talented illustrators and designers (mostly Instagram & Dribbble), so thankfully my algorithm serves up some great inspiration. And a side effect of drawing butts is some of that Baader Meinhof syndrome—you’ll start seeing them EVERYWHERE. And if you don’t see them, your friends will be SURE to send you any sort of butt-related content out there.
What advice would you give to artists and designers just starting out?
I used to think there was a right way to “Design” or be an “Artist” (with a capital A!!) — and I was doing it the wrong way. There are so many great designers and creatives out there, and it’s so hard not to get swept up in feelings of imposter syndrome and the pressure to be perfect! I wish I had an antidote for that, but maybe it’s just the creative person’s eternal plight? Either way, it’s taken me a long time to learn that there’s no one way to design, nor one way to “art.” How boring would it be if everybody thought the same thoughts or made the same things?
But it’s all about the journey, not the destination, man. What I’ve found that helps is 1) remembering we’re ALL feeling that way, and 2) forgetting any preconceived notions of what art or design should be, and embracing your own weirdness. When you design from that place, it naturally makes your work more interesting and engaging, which will connect with more people.
When you look to the future, what are you excited about?
Despite some initial hesitation/anxiety/cynicism, I’m going to say generative AI! Yes, I love the idea of it doing all of my boring grunt work, but more specifically I’ve been thinking a lot about generative AI in the context of collaboration and connection. I think we’re just at the beginning of understanding how we can use AI as a creative collaborator. I mentioned I’ve been training my own model on my illustration style, and while I’m “happy” with maybe 1 out of 20 or 30 images it makes (with low expectations!), I’m more excited about how it’s helping extend my imagination.
In terms of connection, I think genAI will also play an important role in how we share in a way that is much more authentic. Social platforms feel very individual and transactional right now: taking photos, sharing videos, getting likes. But I think genAI has the unique opportunity to turn these platforms into truly collective social experiences. I think it will be very fun to see how genAI can help not only empower people’s creative expression but make the way we connect with each other more meaningful and human.
Thank you for sharing with us Mick! To view more of Mick’s work, visit her website and follow her on Dribbble and Instagram.
Mick was nominated by Dribbble. All images courtesy of Mick Champayne.