Ffion goes through the looking glass
A DESIGNER from Abercynon has been explaining how she got her inspiration for the Royal Mint’s new commemorative £5 crown.
The coin celebrates 150 years of Through the Looking-Glass, the sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and has been designed by artist Ffion Gwillim.
The 24-year-old designer has immortalised Alice and her friends in Wonderland for the first time on an official UK coin.
Ffion said: “It is such a huge honour to design the official Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass commemorative coin.
“As a designer at the Royal Mint, it is the ultimate achievement, and this project was particularly exciting for me as I grew up with these stories – they evoke fantastic childhood memories for me and so many others – and I’ve loved every minute.”
Taking inspiration from Sir John Tenniel’s illustrations for the treasured Through the Looking-Glass tale, which was first published 150 years ago, the coin features Tweedledum and Tweedledee.
Ffion also designed the official Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland coin, featuring Alice and the Cheshire Cat, which launched last month alongside the original illustrations at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Available in gold, silver and a special colour edition, the latest design uses traditional minting techniques and innovative design technology to capture Alice’s meeting with Tweedledum and Tweedledee alongside the inscription “Through the LookingGlass”.
The design is one of the most detailed coins produced by the 1,100-year-old Royal Mint.
The youngest in-house designer at The Royal Mint, Ffion joined the Original Makers, based in Llantrisant, in 2020 following three-years at the University of South Wales studying graphic communication.
As with all coins produced by The Royal Mint, Ffion’s designs were submitted to an independent body, The Royal Mint Advisory Committee, before being shared with the Chancellor and the Queen.
As well as earning her the top honour of designing the two-coin series, Ffion has wowed The Royal Mint’s product design lead Lee Jones since joining the team.
Lee Jones said: “Making something original when using existing illustrations is a task, however Ffion provided us with great compositions and a fantastically inventive logotype that breaths fresh air into Alice’s Wonderland.”
Collectors can purchase the second coin, celebrating Through the Looking Glass, on a commemorative £5 crown from The Royal Mint.
Ffion explained what attracted her to the project: “It was a privilege to celebrate such a widely beloved story and have the opportunity to help evoke childhood memories for all generations. It was an exciting project to be a part of, and I really enjoyed revisiting Lewis Carroll’s bizarre adventures in his books.”
Asked how she approached the design, Ffion added: “I took on lots of research and selected the images that portrayed the strongest representation of Alice and other characters in Wonderland – what tells the story, in other words. The next step in the process involved reviewing the images as a team each morning, which meant we were able to continuously improve and shortlist the images before creating the final designs.
“I wanted to make creative use of typography that was both unique to us and hinted at the elegance of calligraphy from the Victorian era. I particularly liked including the ligatures – especially joining the letters like a game of snake and ladders, which was really befitting of the subject.”
She added: “The themes are pretty much set by Lewis Carroll so it was more about portraying a narrative in the design and actively engaging people with the story.
“Coins are a very different compositional challenge than a rectangular page; we also have to consider that metal has no fixed area of light or shade as you move a coin about.
“Another welcome challenge was ensuring I brought a freshness to the original illustrations, which makes you think differently compared with generating a design entirely from scratch,” Ffion said.
“I really enjoyed it. The creative process is great because you will always learn something about a new subject and how to overcome the same challenges next time. It’s great to be part of the Alice story – like The Royal Mint, she is very much part of our culture.
“I was very aware of them and enjoyed learning and discovering more as part of the project.
As for the final product, Ffion said: “I’m really proud to have done this as I’m relatively new to the team, so it’s exciting for me to see one of my first designs come to life.”