Graphic Design

Pete McAllen

Illustration of a person standing in a white space surrounded by dense trees with small colorful birds scattered throughout.

You’ll find me murmuring to myself, often without words.

I come from a background of songwriting, performance and music production. While art directing new album covers, I rediscovered a passion for design, which led to studying at Cambridge School of Art.

My work began to diversify during an early research project when I discovered the work of New York's Push Pin Studio. I loved how the studio embraced multiple forms of design and illustration. Since then, I have designed branding projects (including a live brief for the Police and Crime Commissioner in Cambridgeshire) and worked on several freelance projects in print, motion graphics and album cover design.

My approach leans towards an illustrative style, with my final major project focusing fully on mixed media illustration.


Introvert or Extrovert? Exploring the inner worlds of an introvert (Molly) and an extrovert (Zia) who both perform as musicians on stage. This project explores and challenges the assumptions of what a performer is really like.

Grappling with an “on stage” industry, whether this be through content creation for social media or live music, the project explores, through personal experience, what it is like to associate with both moments of extroversion and deep introversion.

The illustrations and storytelling challenge the perception that most performers are extroverts and crave the limelight. In this thoughtful, expressive and warm pair of booklets, the characters provide honest insight into issues such as performance anxiety, touring loneliness and the delight of creativity, from the studio to the stage.

Illustration of a crowd at a concert, holding up phones to capture the performance.
Illustration of cityscape with diverse buildings on the right and a small, solitary figure on the left, set against a white background.
A person with glasses, wrapped in a colorful, patterned blanket, sits relaxed on a chair against a plain white background.
A whimsical illustration of a gramophone playing colorful, swirling music notes and symbols, with a person joyfully dancing nearby.
Illustration of a diverse crowd of people with different hairstyles and expressions, drawn in a whimsical style on a white background.
Colorful abstract figures dancing energetically against a black background, with varied poses and vibrant clothing.
A person in a pink shirt walks on a line resembling a sound wave against a white background.
Being vulnerable through songs leads to a one-ness and a love for the people. Introducing Molly, an introverted performer. Alone time to recharge. Turn it up louder! I don’t care about tinnitus. Can you hear them singing? They were chanting the words of my songs and I could see the excitement in their faces. It was a moment of elation, a high that I’ve been chasing. I am invigorated by the mob. My senses are heightened by the crowd and they are intoxicated by me. I mask these emotions so I don’t have to contemplate my inner world.