Designers I Admire – A Short List

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Designs I admire

Designs I admire – Johnathan Barnbrook

Today I would like to talk about some of my favorite designers that are helping change the world through design thinking. Here is a preview of some of the work and please scroll down for the links to their sites so you can judge for yourself. Check out Jonathan Barnbrook’s site for a plethora of resources, typography examples and other inspirational stuff. Johnathan Barnbrook site

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Photo Essay

Photo Essay

Nagi Noda

Don’t let the typo in the black letter title on the homepage deter you – this “neue-pop” artist has a distinct Asian perspective that will delight.

Illustration titled Biotech

I luv Nicholas Blechman’s illustrative, iconic style – his web site is a great example of a clean, direct and Uber-creative site. Nicholas Bleckman

The Carpetalogue by M & M Paris

M/M Paris

Check out this gallery show – they keep good company, as you will see.

The Best Explaination of The Grid that I have Ever Heard

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Image of a GridThis two-part video series from Before and After Magazine is one of the best explanations I have ever found about the benefits and purpose of using a grid. It is simple to understand, yet it explains very clearly how the eye views layout space. I use it as an introduction to the class I teach at the Art Institute of California – San Diego on Grid Systems.

Part One

Part Two

Daily Monsters as a Creative Exercise

I posted about the work of Stephan Butcher a while ago –see post below. I bought the iphone app he created called Daily Monsters and decided to play around with it and post my results. I think it is a good way to stretch your creative muscles. Here is what I do: I create some parts using the app, then I go into Photoshop and rearrange them, scale them, draw on them and sometimes add other simple icons from other sources. Then I try to turn them into a little story. You can find the downloadable app at http://www.dailymonsters.com

Dream Date by Lindsey BakerDrama King - Everyone knows one.rad-dude

Mole Mode :: Drawsigner: An illustrative design blog showcasing the creative work of Von Glitschka

Mole Mode by von Glitschka

After a tiff with my significant other, about interrupting me with the same questions that could easily be discovered by doing a little research, I coincidentally came upon this article from one of my favorite illustrators: Von Glitschka — it’s about going into what he calls mole mode and why it’s important–check it out.HERE IS A LINK TO THE ORIGINAL POST:

Mole Mode :: Drawsigner: An illustrative design blog showcasing the creative work of Von Glitschka.

Ed Emberly – Children’s Book Illustrator

I wish I knew about Ed Emberly when I was growing up. My parents thought art class was frivolous (sorry Mom and Dad but it’s true) and I kind of had to find my own way. But if I had been introduced to Ed and his books I am sure I would have spent much more time drawing than watching TV.

In any case it’s not too late — you may think I’m crazy but following a few of methods for creativity could go a long way to help one think more creatively — many experts in non-creative are currently agree – but more post on that later. In the meantime watch this video and see what you think.

Seymour Chwast

Seymour Chwast by Chwast

Seymour Chwast by Chwast

“I’m doing my report on Seymour Chast” says Jackie. “It’s Chwast!”(pronounced: Quast) says Lindsey Baker to her class. “Oh yeah I like that guy Shwast – he’s a great illustrator!” says Matt. “It’s Chwast!” “It’s pronounced Quast!” says Baker. Everyone laughs – this went on for twenty minutes the other day in my Design team 1 class.

However you pronounce it Seymour Chwast is one of the most inspiring illustrators of political satire since the 1960’s and his work still resonates with younger designers and illustrators. Here is a screenshot of his website and a couple of covers of the publication called the Nose.

He was one of the original creators of  Pushpin Studios along with Milton Glaser and a band of notable designers from NYC. They turned the world of graphic design on its ear with their innovative and eclectic styles.  For more examples of their work just google the Pushpin Group or Pushpin Almanac and you will find a plethora of information and examples of the work.

I created a course called the Pushpin Graphic remix where my students work in creative teams and select one issue from the original Pushpin publication and then do their own take on the theme. I will be posting some of the work with their permission a the end of the quater but for now here are a few of the covers that Chwast did for a more recent publication called “the Nose” he uses the same format as the original Pushpin Graphic- take a look.

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This issue takes a look at the death penalty

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Truth or Lies – the description reads: “Some tell the truth – everyone lies.”

Paul Davis – American Illustrator

Moleskine Presents Paul Davis

Paul Davis was one of the most inspiring instructors I had the good fortune to study with at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Here is one of his notebooks presented originally by Moleskine sketchbooks. Scroll down a bit to watch the video – it is a great example of the range of work this wonderful man has produced.

Paul Davis

cat illustration

My inspiration for “The Cat”

I recently traveled to Key West, Florida and on the journey I wrote a poem that I decided might make a nice illustrated children’s book. It started out as a silly little poem about how one of my three cats showed up one day and decided to move in. The two resident cats didn’t take to kindly to him at first and let him know about it.  It suddenly dawned on me  that there was a bit more to it after all. I think it is a good message for children (and for adults too) about judging someone you don’t know too harshly and/or too quickly. It also tells that you get a lot more from sharing than you do by being territorial. I will save the rest of the story for when I finish the book and the illustrations. I have been working on other projects lately and therefore feel a bit rusty in my illustration skills. Luckily, I randomly came across this work by Stefan Butcher on lynda.com:

His website is: http://www.dailymonster.com/. I like the idea and the discipline of doing something everyday. He creates a new monster drawing every day and I am hoping that if I start to fill my sketchpad with illustrations every day, some wonderful ideas will emerge that I can use in the book.

I also admire his clean yet strong minimalist approach to illustration, in a world where so many are shooting for hyper-realistic computer driven styles.  I’ll let you know what happens…and post some of the work to get some feedback.