No Words Needed. (The Economist)
Biography
Andrea Ucini is a self-taught illustrator, born and raised in Italy and currently living in the countryside of Hundested, Denmark. Inspired by contrasts and conflicts in arts, literature and politics—as well as daily life—Ucini approaches different points of view with a twist of humor. Ucini is forever searching for new combinations and turning points, catching (and hopefully, changing) his viewers’ attention or way of thinking, with limited artistic effects. His visual expression is pure, even minimalistic, and always seeking to turn complex concepts into strong visual solutions.
Read moreSelected clients
The New York Times, The Economist, The Guardian, Oprah Magazine, Rolling Stones Magazine, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal, The Sunday Time, The Time, Bentley Magazine, Travel & Leisure, Chicago Booth Review, Entrepreneur, Foreign Policy, The Guardian Weekly, Advertising Age, Dow Jones, Arte Magazine, University of Miami Medicine, Barron´s Magazine, Boston University, Handelsblatt, Chronicle of Higher Education, The National, Museum of Selfies, Calgary Theater, Mosaic Science, Reckitt Banckiser, Havas Milano, Desert Companion, LeMonde, UCLA Magazine, Montecristo Magazine, Nexus Magazine, Zetland, Einaudi, Obelisco Edition, Finans Magazine, Interni Magazine, Kiplinger, MIT, Zahori Books, Cell Magazine, Stanford University, 5ASH, Onward Magazine, 5280 Magazine, Action Patrimonie, BHF, Shopify, Calibre Magazine, Capital Magazine, Cassette Type, Millie Magazine, Meredith, Contently Job, Corriere della Sera, Dot Editorial, Europa Editorial, Endpoint, Helisyum, Folkeskolen Magazine, Foreign Policy, Il Foglio, L´Express France, LDS Living,, Magnolia Journal, Mind Magazine, Mother Jones, Newcastle University, Ohio Magazine, On Being, Outside Magazine, Brandeis Magazine, Cinema du Parc, Durham University, HEC Stories France, Rankin Books, TAKT, Die Zeit, Philosophie Magazine, Politiken, Cristianity Today Magazine, Sette7, Springer Nature, Berkeley Law Magazine, The Foundry, The Journal, The Pharmaceutical Journal, Quarto Group, Tuft Dental, University of New Hampshire, Virginia Tech, Weekend Avisen, Iscene Magazine, Wortees, The Wire, Wharton Magazine, The Markup, Texas Observer, Tempus Corporate, Rotary Magazine, Nuvo Magazine, ItalGas, New Scientist, Bompiani, Crain Magazine, Dartmouth Alumni, Carey Business, Penta Magazine, Edizioni Europa, and more…
Read moreAndrea Ucini in the Spotlight
The Journey of Words (Zahori Books)
Andrea Ucini / Is the world a riskier place? For The Fundrise
Andrea Ucini / How Arabia shaped human evolution (New Scientist)
Andrea Ucini / Wasted water dries up our land (Campagne against waste of water) Havas Milano-Finish
Andrea Ucini / The Gospel and the Gossip (Christianity Today)
“How to Die Well – a practical guide to death, dying and loss” (Royal London)
Andrea Ucini / Water waste has a huge weight (Finish/Havas Milano)
Andrea Ucini / How to spend a trillion dollars to fix climate change and end poverty. (New Scientist)
Andrea Ucini / When Should You Think Twice About Salary Negotiation? (Washington Street Journal)
Andrea Ucini / Digital Divide (Crain´s Cleveland Business)
America and climate change (The Economist)
Andrea Ucini / Who Will Go Nuclear Next (The Economist)
Andrea Ucini / How well will vaccines work? (The Economist)
Andrea Ucini / Hoe is a Feeling (TAKT)
Andrea Ucini / Society – DOWN FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT (Arte Magazin)
Andrea Ucini / Diario di un Caregiver (MIND magazine)
Andrea Ucini / Workplace and mental health (Finans Magazine)
Andrea Ucini / Technology and geopolitics (The Economist)
Andrea Ucini / It´s complicated (My job, My life – Die Zeit Special 2020-2021)
Andrea Ucini / The World’s Champion Ball-Bouncer by Patricia Highsmith (The Guardian Review)
Andrea Ucini / My job, My life (Die Zeit Special 2020-2021)
Andrea Ucini / The pandemic (The Economist)
Andrea Ucini / My job. My Life (Die Zeit Spezial 2020-21)
Andrea Ucini / My job, My life (Die Zeit Special 2020-2021)
Andrea Ucini / Stringer than Fatigue (Mind Magazine)
Andrea Ucini / Stan Deal on creating a safe environment for travelers (American Way Magazine)
Andrea Ucini / The role of the woman – Mein Job. Mein Leben (Die Zeit Spezial)
Andrea Ucini / The charity that was gone (Weekend Avisen)
Andrea Ucini / Streaming TV (Rolling Stone Magazine)
Andrea Ucini / Diary of a Caregiver (Mind Magazine)
Andrea Ucini / Where to Invest in 2001 (Kiplinger´s Magazine)
Andrea Ucini / No one should stand alone (Finans Magazine)
Andrea Ucini / Museum on Fire (Weekend Avisen)
Andrea Ucini / Into the green for Capital Magazine
Andrea Ucini / L’espoir, enfin. For L´Express France Cover Illustration
Be reborn with dance / Mind Magazine
Andrea Ucini / Nursing home on pills/ Weekend Avisren
Andrea Ucini / Study helps explain why motivation to learn declines with age /Cell Magazine/MIT)
Banks under pressure /Finans Magazine
Andrea Ucini / Who controls the conversation / The Economist)
Andrea Ucini / Middle-Class Clash /Wharton Magazine
Andrea Ucini / Creativity /Zetland
Andrea Ucini / Society Section / Impact magazine
Andrea Ucini / What We Dream When We Dream About Covid-19 (The New York Times)
Andrea Ucini / Crise and Ecological Transition / HEC Stories Cover Illustration
Andrea Ucini / Heating Behavior (Mind Magazine)
A rotten media culture (Weekend Avisen)
Andrea Ucini / The Tale of the Killer Whales /The Observer Magazine
Andrea Ucini / The perfect family / Zetland
2001 Space Odyssey Poster (Les Evades)
Andrea Ucini / Calculated Risk /VBG – Certo Magazine
Andrea Ucini / Diary of a Caregiver/ Mind Magazine
Andrea Ucini / Future of Agriculture / Zetland
Andrea Ucini / Interior Design of the Mind / Nuvo Magazine
Arm-wrestling (Weekend Avisen)
Andrea Ucini / The pandemic must have a cause / Weekend Avisen
Andrea Ucini / Our Best Shot / Oprah Magazine
Andrea Ucini / Too much of a Good Thing?/ Oprah Magazine
Andrea Ucini / Let There Be Light (Oprah Magazine)
A Separate Peace -Oprah Magazine
Andrea Ucini / Four Days to an OCD Cure? Oprah Magazine
Andrea Ucini / Wine Joins the 2020 Debate Over Privilege and Justice (The New York Times)
Andrea Ucini / Lockdown living (The Guardian)
Andrea Ucini / The next catastrophe (and how to survive it) Cover Illustration for The Economist
Adolescents,The Age of Recklessness For Mind Magazine
Andrea Ucini /Cover Illustration/ The Economist/Trade without trust
Andrea Ucini / For Some Black Americans, Therapy Is Gradually Losing Its Stigma (The Wall Street Journal)
Andrea Ucini / The colored truth (for Weekend Avisen)
Andrea Ucini / Neglected in Nursing Homes Cover Illustration/ The Texas Observer
Andrea Ucini / Diary of a Caregiver/Mind Magazine
Andrea Ucini / Nostalgia Looking for the lost time/ Mind Magazine
Andrea Ucini / The Next Catastrophe (and how to survive it) for The Economist
Andrea Ucini / How the trauma of the pandemic can inspire personal growth/ The Washington Post
Andrea Ucini / Working from Home (L´Express France)
Andrea Ucini / Cover Illustration/How to be creative in a crisis. The Guardian
Andrea Ucini / CLOSED DOORS, OPEN HEARTS- L´Express Magazine
Andrea Ucini / The Economist ‘The politics of pandemics’
Andrea Ucini / How bad will it get? (The Economist US edition)
Andrea Ucini / How can social media help people deal or not, with health problems? ( British Heart Foundation)
What the Quark? New Scientist Magazine
WHO ELSE IS COMING? (DIE ZEIT SPECIAL)
An interview with
Andrea Ucini
Illustrating the future
We work with the world's most brilliant and visionary creatives to bring the boldest concepts to life.
Can you recall the first time you realized you were going to be an illustrator? What were your earliest impressions?
It was when I was 6-years-old. I liked to draw chairs. I don´t know why but there was something special about chairs. I drew every chair I saw. Drawing was pure relaxation.
Who or what influenced your art when you were young?
I think my art has been greatly influenced by music. I remember that while playing the piano I was thinking of what it would be like if the song was a drawing.
I started to draw what the music suggested to me. Today music has become the metaphor of my artistic language.
Do you remember what your first artwork looked like? Do you still have it?
A chair and I unfortunately I threw it out!
Why did you choose illustration as your life’s work instead of, for example, filmmaking, law, or even medicine?
I honestly always imagined becoming a pianist or something that had to do with music until a few years ago. I graduated in classical piano and music composition at the Musical Academy of Florence.
I moved to Denmark a few years ago and my passion for design and color returned. Because the weather is mostly grey here in Denmark, I needed color more than sound.
Did you study art in school?
Not drawing. I’m self-taught.
Where does your inspiration come from; your impulse to make art? Do you have a source for your ideas?
Inspiration comes from anything that strikes me. There is nothing specific. It depends on the moment, the situation, the mood. At its essence, however, is a critical sense of the world we live in. Let’s say melancholy inspires me more than joy.
How would you describe the process of creating art?
It’s like bringing water from a gaseous state to a solid state resulting in ice.
Basically, ideas are abstract, not tangible, except in the mind’s eye. Finding ways to freeze an idea and make it visible in the real world is what I love about the process.
Do you have a favorite illustrator? What is it about that illustrator’s work you like?
Not one, in particular. I love the creative mind of Chrisoph Niemann, the style of Gary Taxali, the textures of Edel Rodriguez, the minimalism of Nora Bar, the atmosphere of Emiliano Ponzi, the humor of Brian Rea. I try to hold them near while speaking with my own voice which is sometimes difficult.
If you could do something else, other than creating art, what would it be?
I’d find another way to create art.
Do you have a favorite illustrator supply, a favorite method, or favorite location, where you like to create artwork?
Any place would be fine as long as there is silence and no one around me. Music would be my only company.
If you could give a viewer clues to understanding your art, what would you say?
I try to find metaphors that reflect everyday life. Then I add a little deception so an illustration’s content is not immediately understood.
Do you think illustration has the eye of the public or could public awareness of this field be improved upon?
I think that illustration is attracting more and more people.
Illustration can have a very strong impact. It’s a quick and intelligent way to describe what’s happening in our times.
Why does art matter to you? Why might it matter to the world?
I think art is the perfect mix of intelligence, naiveté, and senility. The world needs these things to change and become more beautiful. Everything revolves around money today. Art doesn’t.
If you could look back or forward a hundred years, do you think the life of an illustrator was or will be better than today?
I have three jobs, but I´m happy to make a contribution with my art. I hope I’m wrong, but I think in one hundred years, art will be seen as revolutionary: a form of propaganda. It’s happened in the past.
Ethical and moral ideals will be invaded by an unnecessary hunger for power. Something very important will be lost. We will need to rethink art. Fortunately, art will have yet another Renaissance.