Please email me at:
mail@francescociccolella.com
Agent (North America):
ella@purplerainillustrators.com
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© Lisa Edi
© David Payr
© Adobe
© David Payr
I’m Francesco Ciccolella, a conceptual illustrator and visual storyteller based in Vienna. I translate ideas into images—partnering with media, brands, and publishers to create work that’s both playful and thoughtful.
My illustrations have appeared in publications like The New York Times, Die ZEIT, The Guardian, The New Yorker, and Der Spiegel. I've created book covers for publishers including HarperCollins, Planeta, and Hanser, and collaborated with brands like Apple, Google, and the International Olympic Committee.
My visual language explores the space between word and image. I’m interested in the economy of form, the power of visual metaphor, and finding humor in unexpected places. I try to distill complex ideas into simple, striking imagery and aim to say more with less.
My work has been recognized by institutions including the Society of Illustrators in New York, American Illustration and the Art Directors Club of Germany. Recent publications include Between The Lines (2023), an autobiographical visual essay, and Wien (2021), a perennial calendar.
I was born in Salzburg with Italian roots, studied graphic design at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, and have been working independently since 2016. I balance commissioned projects with self-initiated work, always looking for stories that need a visual voice.
Editorial & Publishing:
The New York Times, Die ZEIT, The Guardian, Der Spiegel, The Economist, TIME, The New Yorker, The Financial Times, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Wired, Fast Company, The Boston Globe, Welt am Sonntag, Inc Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Monocle, Los Angeles Times, Focus, Corriere Della Sera, The Observer, Courrier International, Handelsblatt, de Volkskrant, MIT Technology Review, Johns Hopkins Health Review, Barron’s, Psychologie Heute, Brummell, Der Standard, The Wall Street Journal, WirtschaftsWoche, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hanser, Rizzoli Libri, Planeta, Oxford University Press
Brands & Institutional:
Apple, IBM, International Olympic Commitee, Invesco, Google, Pfizer, Lufthansa, JINS, Diakonie Deutschland, Miles&More, Bank of America, SNCF, City of Parma, American Airlines, Deutsches Bundesministerium für Gesundheit, Café Prückel, Wien Museum, Bene, Unicancer, Groupama, Austrian Science Fund, Museum of Applied Arts Vienna, Biennale Archiv Austria, University of Applied Arts Vienna
Talk / Adobe Create Now
2024, Vienna, Austria
Talk / University Of Applied Arts Vienna / Institute of Design
2022, Vienna, Austria
Talk / University Of The Arts London / Camberwell College Of Arts
2022, Virtual
Workshop / Das Politische und das Private / START / Kunsthalle Wien
2016, Vienna, Austria
PUBLICATIONS
Between The Lines
2023, Verlag für moderne Kunst
ISBN 978-3-99153-049-7
Wien (Calendar)
2021, Pool Publishing
ISBN 978-3-903572-61-4
Mark Twain: Aus den Erinnerungen von Adam und Eva
Written by Andreas Thalmayr alias Hans Magnus Enzensberger
2019, Hanser
ISBN 978-3-446-26246-1
Like Boiling Ice (Solo)
2025, L44 Space, Sofia, BGL
Musik im Fokus
2023, Langenzersdorf Museum, AT
Power in numbers
2021, Gallery Nucleus, Portland, US
Oasis
2021, Palais – Galerie, Neuchâtel, CH
Modern Love (Solo)
2018, Sergeant Paper Gallery, Paris, FR
Hope to Nope: Graphics and Politics 2008-18
2018, Design Museum London, UK
Alternate Realities (Solo)
2017, Vienna Design Week, T/abor, AT
At first sight. Young illustration from Vienna
2015, Wien Museum, AT
BMKOES Federal Ministry Republic of Austria 2023
Project Grant
Society of Illustrators 2022
Illustrators 65, Silver Medal
American Illustration 2022
AI 41, Chosen Winner
American Illustration 2021
AI 40, Chosen Winner
American Illustration 2020
AI 39, Chosen Winner
SND Awards 2019
Award of Excellence, Illustration
American Illustration 2019
AI 38, Chosen Winner
ADC New York 2018
Merit Award, Illustration
ADC Germany 2018
Bronze Winner, Cover
American Illustration 2018
AI 37, Selected Winner
iF Design Award 2018
Discipline Communication
CCA Award 2018
Bronze Winner, Illustration
Red Dot Award 2017
Best of the best, Illustration
ADC Germany 2017
Auszeichnung, Illustration
American Illustration 2017
AI 36, Chosen Winner
CCA Award 2017
Bronze Winner, Illustration
Joseph Binder Award 2016
Bronze Winner, Illustration
3x3 Magazine Show 2015
Honorable Mention
Podcast
The Future Is How, 2025
By Frederik G. Pferdt
Podcast
Vienna Design Hour, 2025
By Stephan Göschl
Podcast
Ohne den Hype, 2024
By Sven Saro
Interview
Les Nouveaux Riches, 2023
By Daniel Lichterwaldt
Interview
Vienna Intl., 2023
By Robert Seydel
Smarter Minimalist
art – Das Kunstmagazin, 2022
By Almuth Spiegler
Interview
Creatiview, 2020
By Sam Asplen
Interview
AI-AP Design Arts Daily, 2020
By Peggy Roalf
Visão poética
Revista Decor, 2018
By Adriane Oliveira
Il design della post-verità
TGCOM, 2017
By Mila Cataldo
Feature
Alternate Realities
Creativeboom, 2017
By Katy Cowan
Vienna Design Week 2017
Domus, 2017
By Elisabetta Carboni and Bruno Melis
Feature
Illustrations about the Perception of Reality and Facts
Fubiz, 2017
By Costanza Spina
Gestaltete Stadt: Vienna Design Week 2017
Die Presse, 2017
By Norbert Philipp
Feature
Wie man Schwäche so stark wie farbenprächtig inszeniert
Page Online, 2017
By Sabine Danek
Feature
Conceptual Illustrations that get political
Creativeboom, 2016
By Katy Cowan
Article
Der zugespitzte Zeichenstift
Die Presse, 2015
By Norbert Philipp
Feature
Il concettualismo viennese di Francesco Ciccolella
Picame, 2015
By Bruno Depetris