Current Projects, PR and Past Work

Drop me an email if you have anything press or PR related: 21andsensory@gmail.com I’m always keen to get involved in new opportunities.

I am open to paid freelance work and commissions so feel free to drop me an email should you want me to work on something. (I will have a look at requests on a case-by-case basis and get back to you!)

Under no circumstance may you reproduce, publish or distribute elsewhere, in any medium, any of my images for commercial purposes, without proper and prior written permission from me.

Currently working on:

Sensory Street: (More info in research project section, scroll down this page)

The team have been successfully awarded the below grants:

‘We have acquired new funding from Durham University to develop an online training tool for businesses. This co-designed training for managers and employees, will provide information and practical advice on making spaces more sensory-inclusive for autistic people! We have partnered with Autistica for this project, and as always the wonderful Emily is our designer extraordinaire! We will also be collaborating with autism community consultants and businesses. We can’t wait to update you on the progress!’ (August 2023)

Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Website

‘We are excited to announce that we have been successfully awarded a new grant – the Research England Participatory Research Fund through the University of Reading. This funding will be used to develop an evidence-based, co-produced guide to make supermarkets more accessible for autistic shoppers. The guide will be expertly designed by our team member Emily @21andsensory.

We will soon be recruiting autism community consultants to work on this project with us – so watch this space and follow us on social media for updates on this exciting project!’ (Jan 19th, 2023) Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Website

Personal work (ongoing):

Producing my own 21andsensory Podcast which go live monthly
Illustrations for my Instagram page
I create my own 21andsensory Gifs and Stickers that can be used on Instagram (e.g. on Instagram Stories) and TikTok. Just search ’21andsensory’ wherever you get your Gifs to see my collection or have a look at them all here: Giphy.com/21andsensory (they have had over 260 million views!)
And more exciting projects….

Research Projects: Sensory Street

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‘Sensory Street’ a University of Oxford research project exploring the lives of autistic people with sensory processing difficulties using creative and immersive experiences.
Dr Catherine Manning (Experimental Psychology, Oxford) Project team: Dr Brett Heasman (UCL), Becky Lyddon (Sensory Spectacle), Emily (21andsensory), Catherine Woolley (Research & Engagement officer, Oxford Uni), Dr Keren McLennan (Postdoc Researcher, Uni of Reading) and Jessica Starns (Founder of @DyspraxicMe). See below and more info here
Why not follow along with the project here: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Website
Sensory Street Branding: I created the logo for the Oxford Uni Sensory Street Project
Voiceover on project videos of the exhibition space here

Sensory Street co-author of published research paper:

“It Is a Big Spider Web of Things”: Sensory Experiences of Autistic Adults in Public Spaces’
Authors: Keren MacLennan, Catherine Woolley, Emily @21andsensory, Brett Heasman, Jess Starns, Becky George, and Catherine Manning.

Further Sensory Street projects:

In 2023 the team was successfully awarded a new grant – the Research England Participatory Research Fund through the University of Reading. This funding will be used to develop an evidence-based, co-produced guide to make supermarkets more accessible for autistic shoppers.
The sensory-inclusive sensory supermarket e-guide launched on Tuesday 23rd April, 2024. It was co-produced with members of the autism community and based on research conducted at the Universities of Reading and Oxford. It contains information and simple tips to support autistic shoppers and employees, and is designed for anyone who works for supermarkets. Read the e-guide here

The future!

New Durham University impact funding (Aug 2023): We have acquired new funding from Durham University to develop an online training tool for businesses. This co-designed training for managers and employees will provide information and practical advice on making spaces more sensory-inclusive for autistic people! We are working with Autistica, who are partnering with us on this project, as well as community consultants and businesses.

Triple A, University of Durham:

I was on the Advisory Group for a Durham University project called ‘Triple A’ (which stands for Attention, Arousal and Anxiety) and I was a Panel member on the Triple A ESRC Festival of Social Science Webinar (November 2021)
You can find out more about the project and team behind it here

Client work:

I have worked with clients such as the BBC, BBC Bitesize, Airbnb, Royal College of Psychiatrists, Autistica, Jessica Kingsley Publishers and Tiimo to name a few!

EnterTech Brand Identity:

I was approached by Milly Moss, founder of EnterTech which is a new non-profit innovative digital inclusion project working with neurodiverse women, girls and non-binary people to bridge the gap in digital capacity. I was responsible for creating the brand identity including the logo design, colour palette and digital style. EnterTech ensure equitable access to employment opportunities and create an environment where their unique talents can flourish. They offer comprehensive resources and personalised learning experiences for individuals seeking to enhance their tech skills.
Read the blog post documenting more about my design process here.

A series of illustrations commissioned by the BBC:

I was commissioned by the BBC to create a series of images for their Instagram account providing tips on how to be more accessible on social media (November 2020). Also I was a guest on 1800 Seconds on Autism (BBC / BBC Sounds) (December 2020)
I was commissioned to create two illustrations and two TikTok videos for BBC Bitesize in June 2021. One on summer holidays here and one on sensory struggles in schools here

Autistica, World Autism Acceptance Month:

I worked with Autistica within WAAW (2024) to highlight how important and also rewarding it is for autistic people to get involved in autism research. See my illustration here.

Book Illustrator, Jessica Kingsley Publishers:

I am the illustrator for ‘The Autistic Friendly Cookbook’ by Lydia Wilkins, which was published on the 21st November 2022 by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
The book encompasses 100 different recipes, some of which have been collated from Autistic individuals from all over the world. Find out more information here.
Metro UK article about The Autism Friendly Cookbook written by Lydia Wilkins (I am mentioned!)

Royal College of Psychiatrists:

I was commissioned to create a front cover design for the Royal College of Psychiatrists membership magazine, Insight. You can see my magazine cover based on navigating neurodivergence here. (July 2022)
Talk at The Royal College of Psychiatrists in London (May 2023). I attended the Royal College of Psychiatrists at their London HQ and gave a talk about my front cover design (Issue 20, Summer 2022) at a new exhibition they have launched to celebrate the cover art of their RCPsych Insight magazine. The exhibition, at their London headquarters, is open to members from the start of May.

I worked with Tiimo (The Visual Daily Planner app: tiimoapp.com)

I created a set of sensory icons in my signature style that users of the app can now use in their daily schedules! See the icons here

I’ve been interviewed in articles here:

My London News ‘I didn’t tell the people I work with I am autistic because of how I thought I’d be treated’ (April 2022, World Autism Acceptance Day)
Journal Magazine ‘Navigating Neurodiversity with 21andsensory’ (April 2022, World Autism Acceptance Day)
The National Autistic Society: Stories from the Spectrum: Emily
By Jenna Gensic from www.learnfromautistics.com here: ‘Autism Interview #130: Emily on diagnosis and Sensory Processing Disorder’
By Victoria Ellen (Actually Aspling) on actuallyaspling.wordpress.com here: Interview with 21andSensory!
By Lydia Wilkins here: ‘The Daily Sensory Things That Are Hard To Handle 21 & Sensory on diagnosis, adaptations and positivity’

I’ve given talks for:

St Andrew’s University, Disabled Students Network (October 2022): Talk on ‘Accommodating your Sensory Self’ with Q&A with students afterwards.
Autistica Research Festival (July 2022): I presented alongside Dr Keren MacLennan in the ‘Sensory experiences and processing’ session, on the Sensory Street Oxford University project and was on a Q&A session after the presentation. You can watch the session here.
The South West Clinical Excellence Network (CEN) team in Autism, NHS (April 2022, Virtual)
Triple A Project: Panel member on the Triple A ESRC Festival of Social Science Webinar (November 2021)
The Royal College of Psychiatrists (May 2023): I attended the Royal College of Psychiatrists at their London HQ and gave a talk about my front cover design (Issue 20, Summer 2022) at a new exhibition they have launched to celebrate the cover art of their RCPsych Insight magazine. The exhibition, at their London headquarters, is open to members from the start of May.

I’ve featured as a guest on these podcasts:

I really love being invited to being a guest on podcasts and I am also available for speaking opportunities. Please do bear in mind that I keep my identity anonymous online (nobody knows what I look like – which usually means if we are recording something I’ll just pop my video ‘off’ before we start!)

I have collaborated with:

Takiwatanga Autism Support Services got in touch in with me (in late 2021) to ask if they could use my graphics in their digital book with Essex Family Forum called ‘Supporting your Neurodiverse Child’ which is for parents, written by parents from Send The Right Message alongside professionals from across health, education and social care.
Dan from The Aspie World on an illustration based on one of his YouTube Videos
Cura Project: Instagram post

I have worked with:

Becky from Sensory Spectacle on design and sensory-related work: www.sensoryspectacle.co.uk
Teaching Autism Rebrand 2021: Many thanks to Nikki for reaching out to me to rebrand her company! teachingautism.co.uk You can see the rebrand here too: Instagram | Facebook

I was named as one of Twinkl’s Top Autism Bloggers in 2020: