HATCH
Hatch is the creative alter ego of London-based artist and illustrator Dave Smith, an artist known for building entire universes out of bold linework, packed environments, and a cast of eccentric, iconic characters. His instantly recognisable style blurs the line between comic book energy and contemporary art cool, creating compositions that are equal parts chaos and control, curiosity and commentary.
Working under the moniker Hatch, Dave Smith has carved out a space in the UK illustration scene that’s entirely his own. His work is dense, loud, and incredibly detailed the kind of visuals that pull you in and dare you to stay a little longer. From oversized murals to fine art prints, zines to brand collaborations, Hatch’s art is a dynamic visual playground.
What sets Hatch apart is his ability to balance maximalism with precision. His characters, creatures, people, machines, and hybrid forms interact with objects and symbols drawn from both urban life and personal mythology. The result is a world that feels weirdly familiar and totally new. A single piece might reveal something different every time you look: a protest, a dance party, a cosmic joke.
Whether it’s inspired by the messy beauty of city living or the oddities lurking in the everyday, Hatch’s work thrives on density. There’s no empty space, everything is happening, all at once. That visual noise becomes his signature language: graphic, playful, and bursting with narrative fragments. It’s art that doesn’t whisper. It yells, in the best way.
Beyond illustration, Hatch has a strong track record of working on murals, public artworks, and commercial commissions, always bringing his unmistakable aesthetic to new contexts. From walls in East London to collabs with indie brands and cultural institutions, his work adapts while staying authentic. His illustrations have appeared in galleries, design festivals, community projects, and creative spaces that celebrate bold visual storytelling.
His process is part instinct, part architectural. Sketchbooks full of ideas get translated into layered compositions where every mark matters, but there’s still room for spontaneity and surprise. That balance between structure and chaos is what keeps Hatch’s world alive, evolving, and endlessly compelling.
More than just an illustrator, Hatch is a builder of visual ecosystems. His practice is about creating immersive experiences, drawn cities and imagined narratives that reflect back the complexity of the world around us. He doesn’t just make images. He makes entire systems of meaning, all delivered with style, humour, and a heavy black outline.
In a landscape where so much visual culture can feel disposable, Hatch’s work invites deeper looking. It rewards patience, play, and interpretation. It’s a practice grounded in obsession with detail, with storytelling, with mark-making and a desire to make sense of the world through drawing.
For Hatch, art isn’t about perfection. It’s about energy. And every line he draws brings us closer to a world that feels messier, funnier, and more alive than the one we know.
Creative Debuts have commissioned and showcased Hatch many times over the years. Including here for adidas
