handmade career.

Posted on Tuesday, February 28, 2012 by Natalie

Chances are you’ve already seen this amazing chalk drawn cover for The Oprah Magazine’s February 2012 issue floating around the internet and newsstands, but I thought it would be pretty cool to delve deeper into the story behind the work and share a little more work by this inspiring artist today.

Dana Tanamachi is a graphic designer and, of course, a custom chalk letterer living in Brooklyn, New York. Interestingly enough, she got her start after college designing custom Broadway show posters at Spotco and then went on to work under Louise Fili, Ltd., a designer of restaurant and food packaging, just like another hand-lettering hero of mine, Jessica Hische. Dana has carved out such a wonderful niche for herself with this amazing chalk art talent of hers, that it now supports her full-time. How awesome is that?

See more work and a timelapse video below…

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design > colorblocked kingdom.

Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2012 by Natalie

I think it’s so amazing to see, after decades of graphic design history, how artists and designers are coming up with more and more ways to use basic geometric shapes and primary colors to create exceptional and yet still very contemporary pieces of work. It just goes to show how even the simplest of elements can make incredible artwork when they’re used well.

Patrick Hruby is an illustrative graphic designer in Los Angeles who graduated at the top of his class at the Art Center College of Design in 2010 and now works as a freelancer for clients such as Blik, Urban Outfitters, and Ammo Books. His work is very geometric and often uses only primary and sometimes secondary colors and their shades. He was also chosen as one of HOW Magazine’s “16 Inspiring Young Creatives” in their January/February 2012 issue.

See more work below…

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design > dream up a new life.

Posted on Monday, February 13, 2012 by Natalie

Welcome back! A few changes have been made over the past week to our layout and you’ll soon be seeing a small shift in the quality of our content, too. Who best to usher in this new chapter than by featuring someone who decided to start over with their own chapter, too?

Kate Thomas is the founder and designer behind Little Things Studio, a design shop that is all about celebrating the joy and beauty found in the seemingly insignificant things in life. Kate went through 27 years of life without realizing that she was someone who could create beautiful things. She went to college to get a Public Relations degree and spent a few years writing sales promotions for a mid-sized bank. In 2007, she was really beginning to realize that this was not what she wanted to do nor was it what she was meant to do…

See more work and read the rest of the story below…

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art/design > graphic passions.

Posted on Saturday, January 28, 2012 by Natalie

Victor Melendez is a talented illustrator who was born in Mexico City. He studied electrical engineering for two years before realizing that his true passion lies in creating art and so he went on to move to Seattle and receive a BFA in Graphic Design. Good thing he did, because his awesome graphic illustrations have landed him some pretty cool commissions for Starbucks. I was able to find his work because he is a frequent collaborator on the awesome illustration blog, Ten Paces and Draw. See more of Victor’s work below…

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design > we can live forever.

Posted on Monday, January 23, 2012 by Natalie

Matthew Kavan Brooks is an award-winning graphic designer (and officially my new favorite) in the United Kingdom whose amazing work combines typography, collage, graphic design, illustration, and fine art. In my opinion, the beauty of the following images pretty much speak for themselves, so go see more work below…

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art/design > my cross to bear.

Posted on Thursday, December 8, 2011 by Natalie

Nubby Twiglet is a fantastic graphic designer in Portland, Oregon who is a master at infusing her good taste in typography and fashion imagery into everything she creates. After a three year hiatus from art, during a time when she was busy working for design clients of the likes of Nike, Forever 21, American Eagle, and more, she has finally returned to the game with striking collages of elegant type, bold motifs, and a limited color palette, all pasted on wood cut-outs in her favorite shape: a cross. Her new show, My Cross to Bear, opened on Dec. 1st at the Sequential Art Gallery in Portland. See more work below…

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art > kaleidoscope trance.

Posted on Thursday, November 24, 2011 by Natalie

Simon Page is a graphic designer in London who believes that “good design excites,” and this philosophy isn’t hard at all to spot in his work. In his bio, he states, “Creating work that genuinely stimulates people’s emotions is something I constantly aim for as a designer.” Combining bright colors and solid geometric shapes and patterns with a twist, I’d say he hit it right on target. See more work below…