Barney Ibbotson & Stanley Chow on friendship, big breaks and keeping egos in check

Barney Ibbotson and Stanley Chow both grew up in Manchester, and went to the same school where they became life-long friends. They’ve followed similar paths, both pursuing a career in art and design. Barney is currently in his 10th year as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer. His work focuses on line, detail and colour, and he’s worked for people like the BBC, Electronic Arts and Penguin, creating murals, album covers, animation, window graphics, children’s books, and more. Stan began his career in fashion illustration, working for magazines like Just Seventeen and Sugar. In 2007, his art was spotted by Meg and Jack White of The White Stripes and that’s when his career really took off. Today, much of Stan’s work is portraiture with him specialising in images of celebrities from the worlds of music, media and sport. And his clients include The New Yorker, Wired magazine and Saatchi and Saatchi.