Marc Martin is an illustrator and graphic designer in Melbourne, Australia whose work seems very much to be influenced by the art of printmaking since it is made up of flat, 2D shapes that are textured with the effect of splattered ink. His work has been commissioned for several noteworthy clients such as Uppercase’s book, Work/Life 2, Wired Magazine UK, and he was once a guest for a whole week on The Design Files.
Kevin Poveda is an illustrator, graphic designer, and photographer in Puerto Rico who is currently creating some pretty interesting work under the pseudonym The One Bird Flock (TOBF). These unique portraits of mysterious and almost ghostly women are made up almost entirely of dark shadows, textural specks, and nearly all pastel colors.
Stefan Sagmeister is a legendary Austrian graphic designer whose work often veers on the side of contemporary art. For the 10 year anniversary of his exploration of “happiness”, Stefan is putting on an exhibition at the ICA in Philadelphia called “The Happy Show”. This show includes works in various types of media and explores the topic of happiness on many levels – today’s series of images happens to spell out a special message. In an interview with UK-based magazine Dazed & Confused, Stefan says, “I do believe that I can train my mind in the very same way I can train my body. By and large, the longer and harder I train, the better the results. Having said this, I do think it is impossible to reach permanent happiness.”
Kustaa Saksi is an artist and graphic designer based in the Netherlands who creates psychedelic visuals for many different kinds of interactive media advertisements as well as promotional materials for clients such as Sony Playstation, Nissan, and the Finnish Smart Post system in Helsinki. His work is made up of bright, neon colors and insane patterns that make up strange vivid landscapes.
Studio Sessions is a new music feature where artists, designers, and photographers share a playlist of music they enjoy listening to while they work. Today’s playlist is by Kate Miss, an inspiring graphic designer, jewelry designer, and photographer living in Los Angeles. If you’d like to share your own mix via 8tracks please do let me know and I’ll give you all the details!
Here’s what Kate has to say about her mix: “I am obsessed with music – both listening and making, and I put together mixes often to suit my different moods and needs. I’m a semi-new full-time freelancer, working from home, so I’m constantly seeking ways to stay productive. I can’t stand silence in really any situation, so it’s not surprising that music is my biggest aid. I have albums and particular artists that really do the trick, and while they all don’t have an exact theme, a common one is music that’s upbeat and pumps me up. This mix is for productivity and that’s a bit open ended – I’ve done a lot of different things while listening to this mix lately – designing, jewelry making, cleaning, home improvement-ing, you name it. I hope it inspires you to get down to business as well!” – Kate Miss
Track List: 1. Wolf (Bonus Track) – First Aid Kit / 2. Stone Rollin – Raphael Saadiq / 3. Diet Mountain Dew – Lana Del Rey / 4. Logical Song – Supertramp / 5. The Next Messiah – Jenny Lewis / 6. Golden Years – David Bowie / 7. Month of May – Arcade Fire / 8. Limbo – Kimbra / 9. Save Me – Aretha Franklin / 10. Crash Years – The New Pornographers / 11. In My Eyes – Robyn / 12. I’m Waiting for the Man – The Velvet Underground / 13. Faberge Falls for Shuggie – Of Montreal / 14. Raspberry Beret - Prince / 15. Rip It Up – Orange Juice / 16. Method Man & Buddha Monk (PLO remix) – Ratatat / 17. Mind – Talking Heads / 18. Ritual Union – Little Dragon / 19. Maggie May – Rod Stewart / 20. Better Things To Do – Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings / 21. Smoke and Mirrors – Gotye / 22. Behind the Stars – Pantha Du Prince
Holy wow, I’m impressed! Today’s feature is all about thinking outside the box. Since certain groups of people seem to read the same blogs and visit the same type of sites, at times it can feel like a lot of the same projects are being remade over and over by different people because of the sharing and swapping of inspiration. Here’s someone who’s fresh thinking is giving people a whole new way of thinking about typography.
Dominique Falla is a creative director from Byron Bay, Australia who combines digital creations with analogue output in a really amazing and stunning way. First she draws out the lettering by hand, then she scans it and redraws it in Adobe Illustrator before remaking the whole thing for a third time using pins and hundreds upon hundreds of meters of string (as you can probably imagine!). The result is a gorgeous display of interweaving rainbows that make up a big beautiful typographical message. Incredible, no?
Earlier this week I used chalk letterer Dana Tanamachi as an example of someone whose creative career exploded when she discovered her niche. Easier said than done, right? The truth is that finding your niche isn’t so much a matter of luck – it’s about finding something you love to do, getting good at it, and then finding ways to make it invaluably your own. Today’s feature is about an artist whose niche was greatly informed and therefore enhanced by years of study in another related field, then refined using contemporary technologies and current trends as subject matter.
Joe Murtagh is an imaginative artist in Liverpool, UK whose high-energy work is a contemporary combination of the digital and the traditional. Having started out as a figurative painter and sculptor first, his digital reproductions of pop culture influences still retain elements of his roots in the fine arts which ultimately helps to enhance an otherwise sometimes quite flat-looking mode of creation. Joe arms himself with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop in order to create these dynamic, lively, and dreamy portraits of celebrities that are a perfect compliment to a magazine article.
P.S. Don’t forget to participate in our first ever contest! All you have to do is redesign the little water droplet on our main page. You could have your design, name, and link displayed at the top of The Flood long-term and win all sorts of creative prizes at the same time! Click here to learn more.
