Heart, an illustration agency that has weathered three decades of industry changes, is marking its 30th anniversary with a unique publication that reveals how artist-led business models can thrive where traditional approaches fail. The agency, founded by illustrator Darrel Rees in the 1990s, has released "What Happened," a 134-page hardcover book featuring contributions from 34 of its represented artists. Each artist illustrated a significant event from each year of Heart's existence, creating a subjective timeline that blends historical milestones with personal experiences. The project demonstrates how Rees's unusual decision to remain a practicing illustrator while running the agency continues to shape its identity and success.
The origins of Heart trace back to Big Orange, a studio collective where Rees worked with nine other illustrators in early 1990s London. Big Orange was known for warehouse parties, exhibitions, and what the agency describes as "a generally irreverent attitude to the practice of illustration." When Rees launched Heart in 1994, seven of the ten Big Orange members joined him, bringing with them a shared philosophy that challenged how creative representation typically worked. Their goal was straightforward but revolutionary at the time: create an agency where artists could present themselves to clients on their own terms, with fair representation and honest, even-handed conversations.
The anniversary book "What Happened" showcases this philosophy in action through its unconventional structure. Instead of a corporate marketing piece, the book presents 34 distinct artistic responses to what mattered over the past three decades. Some artists chose to illustrate major historical events like the fall of the Berlin Wall, the rise of the internet, and climate protests. Others depicted deeply personal moments such as the birth of a child, a move to a new city, or a personal loss that shaped their creative practice. Each year is accompanied by three historical facts, a deliberate choice the agency describes as a way to "accentuate the positive" rather than catalog every tragedy.
What sets Heart apart from traditional agencies is its leadership structure, which remains rooted in creative practice rather than pure business management. The agency is run by four people who all come from illustration or graphic design backgrounds: Rees himself, Amanda Mason who manages the New York office, Jenny Bull who runs the London operation, and Helen Osborne who oversees both locations. None of them are career agents who learned the business by selling other people's work. Instead, they are creative practitioners who understand the work because they've done it themselves, giving them insight into the rhythms and challenges of maintaining a sustainable creative career.
This structural difference helps explain Heart's remarkable longevity in an industry where agencies regularly fold and representation often feels transactional. Some artists have been with Heart since its founding in 1994, while others joined recently, indicating a retention rate that defies industry norms. An agency run by practicing creatives understands the need to balance commissioned work with personal projects, recognizes when certain jobs aren't worth taking despite good pay, and acknowledges that artistic development rarely follows a linear path. The agency describes the bond between its artists as one of "friendship and respect," a radical proposition in an industry where competition typically trumps collaboration.
For creative professionals navigating their own careers, Heart's three-decade run offers a powerful reminder about sustainable business practices. The most durable creative businesses aren't built on aggressive growth strategies or slick marketing positioning. Instead, they're built on mutual respect, honest dealing, and the belief that good work speaks for itself. The level of trust evident in "What Happened"—where artists contributed work to a collective project without knowing exactly how it would be used—takes decades to build and cannot be manufactured through branding exercises. Thirty years of success suggests that Heart's artist-first approach might be onto something that the broader creative industry would do well to study.
