Mother Volcano

Mother Volcano is an independent illustration and creative studio based in Porto, Portugal, founded in 2013 by illustrator and designer Eduardo Barbosa. Its work combines hand-drawn and vector illustration with visual storytelling, helping brands, educational organisations and scientific institutions communicate through characters, images and interactive experiences.

The practice spans commercial and editorial illustration, brand illustration systems, iconography, information design and creative direction. Its projects range from individual editorial images to coordinated visual worlds that extend across websites, print, packaging and digital interfaces. Character design and narrative environments are recurring elements, alongside an interest in making technical or complex subjects accessible through visual communication.

Illustration across brands and interactive experiences

For coding education platform Ubbu, Mother Volcano developed a STEAM visual universe with characters and modular puzzle games. Its work for Siemens included illustrations and an isometric game world for CityGuard, an interactive cybersecurity training experience. These projects connect illustration with interfaces and learning activities, giving visual storytelling a functional role within the experience.

Commercial commissions include Sony Mobile France campaigns, Syllabs’ illustration system for linguistic technology, Noocity’s urban farming illustration universe and Uniplaces’ mascots, icons and modular cityscapes. A YouTube commission through Rehabstudio translated a customer journey into a large-scale mural and companion digital assets. The portfolio also includes editorial illustrations for Grammarly and work for biomedical institutions.

An evolving creative practice

Mother Volcano initially operated as a multidisciplinary studio team. In 2019, Barbosa shifted its operating model to an independent creative direction and freelance illustration practice while continuing to use the Mother Volcano name and website. He now works with specialist collaborators according to project needs.

The studio’s animation work complements its illustration practice through motion assets, vector animation direction and collaborations with animation partners. Across its commercial, educational and scientific projects, Mother Volcano continues to centre its work on illustrated storytelling and carefully constructed visual systems.