He's an illustrator and graphic artist with extensive experience of creating work for the editorial, advertising and design industries. Nike, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, BBC, Foot Locker and Apple have all called for his talent and services. As a huge hip hop fan, you can see how Dale's style of illustration over the years has developed. Quite simply another reason we're utterly addicted to his work.

Based out of East London, Dale Edwin Murray has been a professional illustrator for over 15 years. His style is instantly recognisable and given the opportunity it's work we'd use for just about everything. For this week showcase we caught up with one of the industries finest.

 

CK: First things first, who do you support?

DEM: I moved to London from the Midlands about 25 years ago so I keep an eye on how Coventry City are doing but my London club of choice is Spurs.

CK: What do you think of their kit this season?

DEM: Spurs never really go crazy with their kits and you can’t really go wrong with the classic all white. The blue goalkeeper kit in particular appeals to me because it also reminds me of Coventry Sky Blues!

Shop ALL Tottenham Hotspur football shirts here.

 

 

CK: Are there any other kits that stand out for you at the moment?

DEM: I’m always a big fan of Japan’s national kits. The Nigo one from 2022 was great and I love the current women’s away shirt. 

CK: What's your earliest footballing memory?

DEM: One of my earliest footballing memories is watching Sunday League games with my Dad and one particular game where a keeper jumped to punch clear a corner and instead punched his defender clean in the face!

 

 

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CK: You've worked with some giants of such a diverse group of industries. But do you have a standout project?

DEM: I have a project out at the moment for Mercedes-Benz which is really cool - an album cover for a real vinyl record of hip hop-inspired tracks that mention Mercedes-Benz, which they produced and corresponding large posters which are currently everywhere on the Paris Metro underground stations. They were also kind enough to send me the actual record which takes pride of place in my vinyl collection!

 

 

CK: Wow, OK. Well, we NEED that! Is there a particular person or scene you love to illustrate?

DEM: I am a massive hip hop fan and have been creating and selling hip hop-inspired artwork for many years. I was fortunate enough to be commissioned this year to create 2 officially licensed Notorious B.I.G. prints for New York ComicCon. I’m also a recovering sneaker addict so shoes often make their way into my work. I was fortunate enough to illustrate some pieces for FOOTLOCKER which are displayed in-store all over Europe. 

 

CK: That's awesome. We have a few sneaker heads at Cult Kits, so you're in good company. What's been the most challenging piece you've worked on?

DEM: I was commissioned by Liverpool Football club to illustrate their first NFT project which was a very cool experience and absolutely tons of work! It took me about 3 months of solid work to create portraits and assets for the first team and manager which generated about 10,000 different image permutations. Once the project was finished I also got to go to Anfield and watch a game and see the work in the stadium which was awesome.

 

 

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CK: That's amazing and got to be one of the first NFT's for a football club as well. Do you get a lot of requests for private commissions from people as well?

DEM: I get tons of requests for private commissions every day. Unfortunately most people either want them for free or for loose change so I have to politely decline most of the time!

 

 

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CK: Can you tell us what you're working on at the moment?

DEM: At the moment I’m working on a book cover for a Hollywood actor, a t-shirt design for a production agency as well as organising a personal exhibition of my hip hop artwork. 

CK: where can people follow your work and get in touch?

DEM: They can follow me on Instagram at @demillustration, check out my portfolio at daleedwinmurray.com and buy my work from hiphopheads.co.uk .