Bear

A decade of worldbuilding, character design and making users smile.

• Illustration system

• Brand illustration

• Marketing illustration

• Creative Direction

Services

Year

2015 - Present

Fun fact: I started working with Bear two months before my son was born back in 2015. For over a decade I've helped build a whole world around Bear for users to step into. From product illustrations and marketing campaigns to wallpapers, character assets and artwork for Apple's App Store. Bear has grown and evolved a lot over the years and I feel lucky to have grown alongside the big, adorable fluffball.

The Evolution of Bear

Bear 2015

Bear 2026

Bear has changed a lot since 2015! As the product grew, the character grew with it. Over the years I've refined Bear's shape, personality and visual language, creating a character that can adapt to all kinds of stories and situations while still always feeling like Bear.

↟ Bear’s New Look ᨒ

In 2018, I set out to expand Bear from a handful of illustrations into a fully realised visual world. I explored a more hand-drawn approach that could bring warmth, personality and emotion to Bear, while retaining the simplicity at the heart of the product.

Thumbnails

I started with lots of thumbnail exploration, looking for ways to bring more fun and worldbuilding into the product. It was a chance to push Bear’s playful, excitable nature and build out the character’s personality even further.

Inside Bear

𖧧 Bear x Apple ಄

Apple has always been Bear's home, and getting to expand that world through the App Store and Apple events has been a real highlight of my career.

Process

Working on artwork for Apple comes with its own set of challenges. There’s lots to consider, from colour and accessibility to tight safe areas and moveable assets that Apple can adjust as needed. It’s taken plenty of trial and error to refine the process.

Final Artwork

✽ Marketing ♒︎

Over the past decade, I’ve created countless marketing illustrations for Bear across social and beyond. It’s been a great opportunity to put the illustration system to work, consistently expanding the world of Bear and finding new stories to tell. A real highlight has been seeing how the Bear community engages with the work.

Illustration System

I built a flexible system of characters and assets for use across social and promotional work, with plenty of poses and product-related elements to play with. It also gave me space to expand Bear’s personality and the wider world around the character.

Custom Socials

Building on the system, I’ve created lots of custom illustrations for events, announcements and yearly celebrations. A personal favourite is our annual Chinese New Year post, inspired by that year’s Chinese zodiac, it’s always a blast to play with!

✽ Wallpapers♒︎

Over the past decade, I’ve created more than 20 wallpapers for Bear, each with its own theme and story. It’s one of my proudest accomplishments, and I’ve loved watching Bear explore the world through these illustrations.