10 Questions with Fortunate Joaquin
Fortunate Joaquin is the pseudonym of Jonathan Utracik, a London-based illustrator, designer and animator whose work is characterised by playful concepts, vivid colour and strong composition. His distinctive take on visual storytelling can be found across editorial, retail spaces, and the music industry with clients that include The New York Times, The Guardian, The Economist, Barrons and Les Echoes. Continuing our series of interviews with Beneficial Shock! contributors, here Jonathan discusses his creative process and reveals a few of his favoured film picks.
Could you define the approach or philosophy of your work?
Sharp compositions, mid-century textbooks, mediterranean sunshine and visual storytelling. I’ve come from a background of working as a creative in advertising, where it was drummed into me that the concept is as important as style. So I begin all work making sure it’s underpinned with a solid idea. No matter the deadline, I’d always rather spend more time thinking about the idea, and considering the possible ways of bringing it to life, than working on the final execution. I think simplicity and reduction in detail is always part of my process too. Once I’m getting close to finishing something, I find myself stripping it back. It’s not that my work is minimal; I just want it to be as clear as possible.
Illustrated logo created for French newspaper Les Echos
Which piece of work or project have you learned the most from and why?
Working on any of the editorial pieces with super tight deadlines I’ve had over the past year have taught me how to streamline my process and technique to produce satisfactory results in the time I have. You start to try to work out how you can communicate the same message with a simpler idea.
What skills do you think are needed of a good art director and how does it help to improve your work?
I think good art directors, whether hiring illustrators, photographers, or any other creatives, should be able to communicate their ideas clearly, and not be afraid to make decisions. Anyone can say “I’ll know it’s good when I see it” - a good art director should already know, and be able to articulate their thoughts. That said, they also need to be flexible, and give the commissioned creative some room for freedom and allow them to answer the brief in their own voice. What’s the point in hiring a specific artist if you’re going to make them produce something that’s not inherently ‘them’?
Above: Seductive Scent
How important is research to your work and why does it matter?
Very important. I think having as broad a scope of the world as possible is essential to any creative, and you’ve got to be continually consuming movies, books, fine art, low-brow content, the latest TV series, vintage TV series, basically everything. Understanding the context of where you are in the world and what’s happening around you is crucial to staying relevant. And that doesn’t just happen online. Whilst everything is theoretically on the cloud somewhere, you’ll never find it. Moments of inspiration happen for me often when I’m in a museum or leafing through a completely unrelated book.
Which illustrator alive or dead do you most admire and why?
Strictly speaking, he’s not an illustrator, and I don’t know if he’d appreciate being called that - but the artist Patrick Caulfield is still a massive influence to my work. I discovered him at school, and love the graphic simplicity he reduces the world to. His flat colours, black lines, his approach to scenes of everyday life, and that general feeling of late-mid century pop art, I think have probably inspired me more than most.
What is one part of your working process that you do well, something you could improve and something you wish you never had to do again?
What I do well: simplifying a visual. Something I could improve: being more confident with the final visual. Just before delivery is usually a panicked period where I’ll adjust line widths, colour palettes etc, before inevitably returning to what I began with. Something I wish I never had to do again: my tax return.
Above: Monobloc Chairs
What is your favorite film poster and what film do you wish you could have done the poster for?
Like probably almost every other designer in the world, the Vertigo poster by Saul Bass is probably up there. I’m sure it’s not what the movie-marketing departments of today would be looking for, but it’s a great thing to look at. I love drawing anything mediterranean or mythological inspired - Jason and the Argonauts would have been a dream.
What film do you recommend to others most often and why?
Boots Riley's film Sorry to Bother You (2018) - not only a wild, incredibly entertaining movie, but I find it comes up in conversation often, as its themes around big corporate greed, class and dehumanisation of labour become more relevant with every passing day.
What object from a film do you wish you could own and why?
Hoverboard from Back to the Future II. It’s nearly 2026, WHERE’S MY HOVERBOARD?
The great film critic Roger Ebert described film as an 'empathy machine' suggesting it is a way for us to connect fully with lives and experiences of others that we will never ourselves live. With this in mind, what film have you watched that has had the greatest impact on you emotionally and tell us why if you can?
I think Charlotte Well’s Aftersun (2022) comes to mind. Incredibly poignant movie, that manages to tell such a heartbreaking story with surprisingly little in the way of actually ‘dark’ moments. All set against the backdrop of a 90s resort that makes me nostalgic for childhood holidays. We happened to see it during a time when we were navigating a loss which echoed the movie a little too closely, which has given it such an added weight.
Above: Spread for the Journeys and Destinations issue (Beneficial Shock!)
Jonathan illustrated the piece 'Trips Through Time: An Abridged History of Psychedelics Onscreen' in the Journeys and Destinations issue.
See more of Jonathan's work at www.fortunatejoaquin.com
