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Berta Vallo Sees The Stories Hiding Inside Your Kitchen Drawer
Berta Vallo's illustration work emphasizes the importance of storytelling and human connection through densely populated and colorful compositions. For brand strategy, this highlights the value of creating rich narratives and relatable experiences in visual branding, which can resonate deeply with audiences and foster a sense of belonging. Brands can leverage such storytelling to enhance their identity and connect more authentically with consumers.
Creative Boom: Inspiration Illustration Berta Vallo sees the stories hiding inside your kitchen drawer The Budapest-born, CSM-trained illustrator turns clutter into vivid, densely populated worlds you could get lost in for hours. Written By: Ayla Angelos 7 April 2026 All Nighter More is always more is a principle Berta Vallo likes to live by in her illustrations. That means: pack the frame, let it spill over the edges and give every character a personality. It's a commitment that results from exceptional skill and patience, for the colourful stage alone can take several days to complete.
But one look at her work and you immediately understand why she spends hours doing what she does. Berta grew up in Budapest, studied Graphic Communication Design at Central Saint Martins, and spent most of her 20s in London. She first interned at Kristjana S Williams Studio, then signed to illustration agency Pocko, and steadily built a client list that now includes Bloomberg, Rolling Stone, Little White Lies and Die Zeit.
She returned to Budapest a few years ago, to a city she describes as "marked by political turmoil", and the tension of that particular move – leaving, returning, belonging nowhere and everywhere at once – runs like a thread through her portfolio. "Spending the majority of my young adulthood as an immigrant in London, then returning to my hometown has been central to my journey as an illustrator," she says.
"Creating work that reflects my experiences between these two cities remains fundamental to my practice – though I always approach it with a touch of humour." Balaton If You Love Me, Pay Me, Die Zeit We’re Not Lazy, We Just Work Differently, Die Zeit Her inspirations read like one of the most eclectic mood boards, which she reels off as: "People watching, old storefront typography, Victorian engravings, bold colours, the graphic design and illustration of Eastern European state socialism, the material culture of 90s childhood nostalgia, social documentary photography, 60s American literature, British New Wave cinema, and anything shaped like
an animal but not actually one." The last one comes up more than once, like in the animal-shaped trinkets lurking in nearly every corner of every composition, or other creatures watching the activities of her characters with all-seeing eyes. Berta's all-time favourite piece, Lunch, is a self-initiated work depicting a woman – presumably the artist herself in the thick of freelance life – surrounded by the objects she's accumulated. A Furby, leopard-print notepad, avocado stickers, a bubble cube candle, to name a few.
She describes it as something that "examines childhood nostalgia and the construction of female identity in the throes of late-stage capitalism", as well as a reflection on being a freelance illustrator and the narratives these objects impose on our daily lives. The composition is gloriously overstuffed, with cats, packaging and pattern upon pattern. Yet it never feels like too much; instead, it gives off the aura of a lived-in kitchen on a Tuesday afternoon.
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The article discusses the significance of storytelling in branding, which is important but not groundbreaking, making it moderately impactful and relevant for brand strategy professionals.