Gemma O’Brien is an Australian artist and designer working across typography, illustration, calligraphy, murals and large-scale public art. Known for a bold, highly crafted approach, her work combines traditional hand-painted techniques with contemporary art and design, spanning typographic illustration, pattern, commercial commissions, exhibitions and site-specific installations.

Her work crosses music, fashion, culture and technology, with clients including NASA, Apple, Google, Adobe, Adidas, Audi, Qantas, Seafolly, Cult Beauty, The New York Times, Oprah Magazine, Troye Sivan, Angus & Julia Stone, John Legend, Jack Johnson, Lewis Capaldi, The Marías and others.

Gemma began her career as a letterpress typesetter while studying Design at UNSW in Sydney, where she was scouted by a German type foundry to speak at her first international design conference at age 21. She went on to gain experience in film and television at Animal Logic and Fuel VFX, working across title sequences, custom lettering and motion graphics. While at Animal Logic, she directed and designed a title sequence for the iconic Australian children’s television program Play School, which aired from 2011 to 2025.

Alongside her commercial work, Gemma maintains a contemporary painting practice focused on large-scale, hand-painted installations. Meticulously painted by hand over days or weeks, these works draw on traditions of sign painting, typography and contemporary painting. The practice began during an artist residency at Fremantle Arts Centre in 2012 and developed through eight years exhibiting with Sydney’s China Heights Gallery.

Her large-scale typographic paintings and installations have since appeared internationally, from the United States and Sweden to Shanghai, including commissions for Google, Nike’s Serena Williams Building and Tiffany & Co. in Sydney and Shanghai. Her work has been exhibited at the Museum of Arts and Design in Atlanta and Sweden’s Fashion and Textile Museum, while a public artwork displayed in Times Square, New York, is held in the permanent collection of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. She is currently developing a new solo exhibition with Single Piece for 2027.

An award-winning designer and international speaker, Gemma has delivered more than 50 talks around the world on creativity, art and design. Her work has been recognised by the Art Directors Club, Type Directors Club and Communication Arts, among others.

Gemma recently undertook a Master of Science at Goldsmiths, University of London, with research focused on intuition and flow in real-world artists. Her goal is to incorporate this research into the next chapter of her practice, sharing insights that bring together more than 15 years of professional experience with scientific research from neuroscience, psychology and aesthetics, and helping shape future generations of creative practitioners.

Gemma is represented in Australia by Witness, in the UK by Grand Matter, in the US by Levine/Leavitt, and internationally for speaking by Chartwell Speakers.