Alex Ram’s blocky characters are an ode to spending quality time with yourself and others

Alex Ram’s illustration style has grown a lot since he was last on It’s Nice That seven years ago. He’s still interested in exaggerated bodies with large feet and hands – through this style, he learned a bit more about the knowledge of human anatomy; “where this arm should go, how a wrist would look holding something”, but don’t expect ultra-realism from Alex. He’s maximising his strengths by turning his characters into geometric figures that look like they’ve materialised from a hand-drawn version of Minecraft. Alex’s focus is not now on anatomy, but the activities that humans engage in.

Moving away from prioritising mood over topic, Alex illustrates the acts of gardening, charging an electric vehicle or simply going to shops, now achieved through flatter, blocky shapes that allow him to make marks that feel more “intentional and direct”, creating people out of modulations rather than stringing together anatomically correct poses. Starting with pencil sketches then moving them onto a lightbox to go over with fine liner, Alex finishes off the illustrations with digital colour, finding a charming middle ground between vector work and his trusty hand drawn approach. After all, he’s drawing human stories, so he makes sure to have an evident analogue touch.

Alex has worked with The New York Times on its massively popular Wordle series, so how does one begin to illustrate the simple grid of Wordle? “The brief was fairly open to begin with and things started with a few suggested concepts, which were then narrowed down to one which would run across five illustrations,” says Alex. “The only requirements were to have the number of that day’s Wordle in the same position in the centre, so the composition had to work around and incorporate that, and for the five illustrations to tell a continuous story.” The final concept featured friends foraging for lunch with numbers incorporated into the mushrooms they were picking. Another illustration shows a couple potting plants and another shows a group eating dinner together. There’s a lovely quality to these drawings that bake Wordle into daily life, mirroring how we play the game on the bus to work or competitively with friends.

These drawings are slightly autobiographical, as most of Alex’s inspirations are drawn from trips to the coast, growing vegetables, cooking and walking along the beach, experiences that lend a sense of personal satisfaction to the illustrations, and give off a wholesome mood. “Life is often fast paced or stressful, with work, relationships, social media, and so the moments where you can slow down and focus on what’s in front of you are really helpful in keeping a balance in life,” says Alex, “and that’s the message I’m often sharing in my work.”