In addition to sketching and working on personal projects as part of my daily, between classes, ritual at the art building I also take some time to browse design related websites such as Computerlove, NTMY, k10k, The Ad Feed, and Netdiver. With all of this daily information to digest I’ve come to find more and more designers and illustrators out there that I’m absolutely envious of the work they produce. I thought I’d share a few of these folk and mention a thing or two about them.

I had seen an illustration by Karl Kwasny aka Monaux about a year ago and immediately saved it to my folder of photos that visually inspire me, although at the time I had no idea who actually was the artist. Somehow more recently I stumbled upon his website and I was struck by his illustrations. There’s something about his style that grabs me; his use of line and color is superb and his illustrations appear soft and full of fun things to look at.

Si Scott has some of the most stunning type treatments I have ever seen. Ever. The fluid text style he employs is quite mesmerizing. I don’t know what else to say about him other than his text based illustrations are hard to beat.

The only other designer I’ve run across that has type to match that of Si Scott is Marian Bantjes. Marian’s attention to detail and the complexity of her designs are absolutely stunning. From vectors to ballpoint pens, Marian’s calligraphic stylings are at the top of the list. Also, her work is avilable in tshirt form from Veer (all profits from the shirts go to American Red Cross and AIGA’s Disaster Relief fund).

Matthew Woodson runs his portfolio on his website called ghostco which has fantastic examples of his illustrative prowess. I’m not sure where I first encountered his work but I was immediately attracted to his bold figures with high contrast. I really enjoy the effect he achieves when he combines traditional media, such as india ink, with digital artistry. His images remind me of dreamlike thoughts and a feeling of longing.

Steven Harrington is another one of my current favorite artists/designers. His silkscreens are reminiscent of 60s and 70s design aesthetics, if for no other reason than the his color choices. I’m also enjoying the halftone he integrates with his screens instead of just going for solid splotches of color.

Another designer I’ve been watching as of late is Fiodor Sumkin; a designer from Belarus with a thing for type, illustration, and ballpoint pens. Fiodor’s typography takes heavy inspiration from 1960s era rock-posters, and his illustrations commonly involve imagery of the 70s and 80s. I find his style (somewhat nostalgic) is refreshing in this era of vectors, bitmaps, and bright shiny colors.

So those are my current favorite designers? Who’s are yours (not that anyone really reads this though)?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 7th, 2007 at 12:37 PM and is filed under Creativity, Design, Personal.