When you’re working with a well-known brand, it can sometimes be difficult to navigate tradition, tight briefs, and creative freedom. But when a brand like Hermès reaches out, you know you’re in for an exciting experience. The brand often calls on artists to reimagine its heritage, rather than asking to replicate the brand we know and love, instead allowing creators the freedom to express their creative talents, vision and style.
Linda Merad, a French illustrator living in Paris, is one such artist. In 2025, she was asked to create illustrations for the brand’s Instagram account, resulting in a series of colourful, textured pieces filled with gorgeous homages to nature and playful characters – shoe kisses, human mushrooms and lithographic experiments. Hermès loved it so much that art director Rachel Cazadamont asked for more and wanted Linda to animate it using her signature lithographic aesthetic.
Linda was very excited about her first foray into animation. What started out as an idea for an Instagram animation quickly evolved into an entire digital campaign building a global universe on social media platforms and websites. Linda worked with art director Jérémy Givord to develop the visuals for the e-commerce platform, with Quentin Klein to animate her illustrations, and with composer Pascal Armand. “We only have a creative team of five people, and it’s really great to work with people who are very skilled in their field,” Linda explains. Despite the scale of the brand, the entire process felt intimate, almost studio-like in spirit.
With the theme “Venture Beyond” (Hermès’ theme this year), Linda drew inspiration from the French “l’appel du Large” (meaning “the call of the high sea”) and proposed a journey beyond the sea into an “upside-down world” where, Linda said, “the sea is the sky and the clouds are the earth.” In a surreal, strange and beautiful world, we are taken into uncharted territory where anything can happen. “We trace the birth and journey of the Hermès seahorse, which we named Hippolitho because of its encounters with Hermès products and fantastic animals, mainly birds and fish.”
You’ll see a seahorse wrapped in an Hermès scarf swimming with its ocean friends; a women’s watch plunged into this magical land; and an octopus-like creature walking (or swimming?) wearing multiple pairs of Hermès shoes, one for each leg. All are incorporated into Linda’s color-blocked style, created first with pen and India ink, scanned, and then sent to Quentin, who uses 3D software to bring the illustrations to life. Linda also scanned flat areas of lithographic ink so they could use the texture in the moving image.
When asked about her stylistic choices, Linda explained that the aesthetic of this project was entirely inspired by lithography, a practice she began experimenting with illustrations about four years ago. “I love it! Painting on stone feels almost like meditation, and my sense of control is quite shaken. I improvise, I have fun, and I paint without a specific plan,” she explains. “Accidents happen, and that’s what makes lithography so fascinating; you have to deal with randomness and unexpected movement.”
The style is refreshing and at odds with the refined precision we typically associate with luxury brands. “I found it to be quite radical compared to what you would expect from a luxury brand,” Linda said.
With a portfolio that includes The New York Times, The New Yorker, and brands such as Usonia Wines, Bantu Chocolate, and Roos & Roos fragrances, Linda is making a name for herself in the world of commercial partnerships. Since launching this campaign for Hermès, she has received many more invitations, for which she is deeply grateful. “I’m hoping to find a better balance between commissions and personal work, which is something I’ve kind of neglected due to lack of time,” she added. “But 2026 is looking very promising and I hope to be able to take on many more exciting and ambitious projects!”
