There’s no greater fixture in the calendar for Norwich City and Ipswich Town fans than the East Anglian derby! It’s a clash like no other with so much more at stake than just three points. It’s about pride, passion, heart and soul but most importantly it’s about winning the local bragging rights. To honour the occasion we’ve chosen a bold piece of artwork to feature on our matchday programme cover, portraying the fierce rivalry between the two teams.

The cover artwork is by Norwich-based graphic designer and illustrator Tim Biddle who has created a striking image of both clubs’ animal mascots, locking horns and going into battle. Tim has re-worked the piece from a previous submission he made to us for an art exhibition we hosted in Norwich two years ago. With its particular relevance to the local derby, it’s definitely worth showcasing again.

"I was honoured to be involved in this project and was excited to be able to create the imagery for such a competitive match between these two rival teams. For me, it made sense to feature the canary used in the Norwich badge and had great fun bringing this to life alongside Ipswich’s horse. My aim with this image was to depict the passion from both teams in the derby.
 

My process for creating this drawing started with countless small pencil sketches until I was happy with the composition and look. I then drew this piece out with ink and finally coloured and edited it digitally. I decided to use colours in keeping with both team’s badges but applied my own illustrative take on the animals."
 

Words by Cover Artist, Tim Biddle

To celebrate the artwork further we have released a limited edition run of prints, hand signed by the artist and available to buy now from our online shop.