Meet Steph Ramplin – MAF 2025 Ident Designer
5th June 2025
Since 2019 MAF has welcomed designers, animators and artists with an association with the festival to design the look of the event, which takes place from the 12-17 November in venue and then 18-30 November online. A tradition started by Frida Ramirez through to Kristian Duffy last year.
This year we welcome Steph Ramplin, who festival fans will remember from her fantastic talk at MAF 2025 where she discussed her process and how she comes up with such fantastic images. Her work his colourful, bright and packed full of cheeky details that make you grin every time you see them. For our 11th edition we wanted something that was as cool and lively as the festival itself, and Steph really delivered!
We caught up with Steph to find out more.
Your work tends to straddle the world of bold graphic design and fun animation, what influences your visual style?
I started out as a graphic designer so I think I naturally approach animation from a design perspective. I guess I don’t take myself too seriously and this definitely comes across in my animation style – I just really enjoy making people laugh. I’d say my influences are a mash-up of Pingu, the Sims, Wallace & Gromit and an extremely slanty tree that has been distorted by the wind on Clevedon seafront.
There’s a cheeky humour throughout everything you do too, what are your influences outside of graphics and animation?
In terms of humour, I really love anything kitschy and absurd, so I’m a big fan of Twin Peaks, Little Shop of Horrors and any of the classic Steve Martin films. John Water’s Pink Flamingos also had a big influence on me – I LOVE Divine! Buster Keaton is also a great reference – I love the way he uses his body to tell visual gags and his comic timing is impeccable.
Would you describe yourself as an animator, designer, graphic artist?
I’d actually describe myself as an illustrator first, animator second, although I work mostly in animation these days. I’m a self-taught animator so I gradually started incorporating animation into my work over time. I’ve still got so much to learn and I’m excited to see where I go next with my animation style.
You work in CGI for the majority of your work – is all your work digital or do you sketch before entering the world of 3D?
Yes I always sketch out my work in 2D in Procreate before I start working in 3D. A big part of my visual style in 3D is me trying to replicate the expressive lines and marks that I do by hand, and sometimes I even mix the two. I really enjoy the playing wit the juxtaposition between 2D and 3D worlds, and it’s very important for me to always start with a hand-drawn sketch. I always want there to be a feeling of the human touch within my animation, even if it is made on a computer.
Aside from MAF you’ve worked for some huge companies, Apple, Costa Coffee, Amazon, Nickelodeon. When working with such big names, do you find it difficult or easy to maintain your own voice?
It’s been a dream-come-true to be able to be able to work on some of these campaigns. I’m quite fortunate in that people often come to me for my animation/illustration style, so it’s very easy for me to maintain my voice. Obviously sometimes I have to work with colour palettes and brand assets that I wouldn’t normally use in my personal work, but that’s all part of challenge.
Tell us about your design approach to the MAF poster for 2025, as a UoM alumni you must have fond memories of the city?
I have so many fond memories of my time in Manchester (mostly being late for lectures). I love people-watching, so riding to around on the tram or the Magic Bus would often be the perfect opportunity to look out the window and take in the City’s vibe. I wanted to use the tram as the focal point of my animation as it felt like a place where lots of people come together, and also pays homage to Manchester’s industrial heritage. I had some of Lowry’s work in mind when approaching the brief – I love the complexity in his work, and the way his captures individual personalities within a big crowd – this was something I really wanted to do with my piece.
What can we expect from your upcoming ident film for the festival?
Expect lots of different characters, some cats, a few dogs, and tram with a mind of its own.
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