Burrill’s predilection for bold typography would in part explain his passion for letterpress and wood type. This method, whereby prints are made from paper pressed onto a raised and inked surface rather than a plate, goes back to Gutenburg and before that Chinese printing innovation.

Setting the type and spacing by hand is clearly a very tactile activity. Working with single 3D letters also seems to make language more material, we appreciate letters not simply for what they’re seeking to communicate but for their form, the particularities of various fonts and combinations thereof. Burrill has collaborated with the Adams of Rye printshop since 2004 to great effect. Letterpress prints evoke the human touch. Not just through the handcrafted process, the odd smudge or tiny imperfections in the way ink is drawn off the printing bed also reminds us that the resulting prints, posters or pamphlets are imbued with human contact.

In January 2021 Burrill realised a commission to create the large-scale mural ‘YOU & ME and ME & YOU’ in Leeds. His original letterpress design was digitally mapped to fit a six-storey industrial gable wall – Burrill contends that the computer is now so well assimilated that it can be treated as one tool among many in a designer’s kit – and during the Covid lockdown entrancingly hand-painted by a crack team. International recognition for this impressive artwork was obviously welcome but Burrill seemingly treasured the collaborative nature of the project as well as an opportunity to site such a timely and community spirited work in the city where he first studied visual communications.

Something else we learnt from his Leeds mural project, witnessing folk reacting to and interacting with his work delights Burrill, “It’s great to start 2022 on a hopeful note collaborating with BUILDHOLLYWOOD. I love seeing my work on the street being noticed by people as part of their day. I hope my street poster provides a moment of reflection and plants a positive thought. Those small ideas that we can all too readily dismiss can sometimes lead to huge leaps.”

This latest BUILDHOLLYWOOD Your Space Or Mine project will afford plenty of opportunities for connecting both with the fabulously striking design and the encouraging, uplifting sentiment it conveys.

‘Every Idea Is A Useful Idea’ appears in Burrill’s 2020 publication Work Hard And Be Nice To People, a book of inspirational aphorisms and practical advice: “Work on as many ideas as you can. Even the weak ones will act as a springboard into a new way of thinking. Don’t edit yourself, let the ideas flow out. Use ideas as a pathway, let them act as signal markers on your path to a great idea.”

As a poster on the streets of the UK the work is an invocation to be persistent, to overcome obstacles and self-doubt. In the face of worldly pressures we all have those moments when we say, ‘What is it that I do? Is it worthwhile?’ Burrill’s answer, “I think you’ve just got to be brave and put work out there that you believe in. […] We’re all a work in progress, get conversations going, talk to as many people as possible, build relationships, bring people along with you.” Amen to that.