I recently came cross Andy Gilmore’s work via Breed, and I must say I find it truly captivating. A curious case of disciplinary cross-over between music and design (as Andy is a musician as well as a practising designer) yielding eye-popping results in the form of these geometric illustrations. They are simple but yet deceivingly complex, and surely palatable with most forms of visual language and communication – hinting at mainstream appeal which is far flung from the source of the art. Don’t just take my word for it, check out his website.
Polish Poster (dot com)
Somehow I just recently came across the alternate reality of PolishPoster.com where I discovered folks like Mieczyslaw Gorowski, Jacek Rudzki, Jakub Erol, Joanna Gorska, Jerzy Skakun, Mieczyslaw Wasilewski, and so many more.
Of course, the whole polish graphic design thing is one of those fascinating curios in an american history of graphic design class because you ooooh and ahhhhh and start losing your shit over this fantastically graphic work which doesn’t feel obligated to use such oft-abused tropes such as photography or overtly visual semblance to the literal content of the subject at hand.
Music Graphics
In light of the release of Tony Wilson’s memorial and the new England football team shirt, you will have no doubt seen Peter Saville’s name lately rearing to the surface of design journals and the blogosphere. So I thought I should dig through some of my archives to re-educate myself with some of the work which propelled him to fame and notoriety. Namely the work which Saville produced for the sector which every designer would love to prostitute themselves for – the music industry.
ASYL
Naoki Sato made a name for himself in the 90′s as the art director at WIRED Japan. From there he formed the design studio ASYL. Personally, I am most attracted to the compelling editorial work. Over the years ASYL has widen their scope of work. Now they touch everything from graphic design, planning, art direction and even events. Most studios become diluted by such growth, yet they maintain great integrity in their taste and typography. Today, Sato directs the studio alongside Kohei Nakazawa and Yoko Tani. Take some time to browse through their vast archive of work.
Craig Redman
I don’t remember how exactly I stumbled upon Craig Redman’s website but I was stunned by his colorful made of patterns portraits!
Visiting his website, I discovered the work of this Australian born working in New York artist was very varied : from illustrations to type, trough art direction, editorial design, window display, patterns, etc.
Gerd Arntz
A truly prolific designer, Gerd Arntz was an incredible designer. His hallmark work were his symbols of industry, demographics, politics and economy titled Isotype. You can browse the entirety of his genius at this web archive, (boy it’s been a while since I’ve used that term).
Emily Forgot
Performing graphic wonders since 2004, Emily Alston rocks it steady in 2010. Check out her Cargo.
Hug™ Profile: Rob Alexander
Rob Alexander is an extremely talented, and insanely humble designer based in Framingham, MA. I had the pleasure to work with him for about year at Tank Design where he was the Design Director. Anyone who has crossed paths with this man knows how rare and special he is. I am proud to profile him and his work here on GraphicHug™.
Irwin Tobias Matutina
Director / Illustrator / Photographer. Irwin touches everything with a little bit of class and a little bit of sass. Check out his growing body of work.
The 90′s Are Back
Anton Jeludkov has got to be on the forefront of a serious formal revival, but it would be unjust to say that this young man’s work is purely revivalist. Yes, there is much formal influence by the likes of Neville Brody and Jonathan Barnbrook, but the young Jeludkov is harnessing a real force that pisses old guys off. I strongly commend this type of courage in the midst of such a starkly classic graphic environment.
Hot Girls And Lyrics
Jordan Sach is another bright young lad from the UK who has been crafting some goodness with music and typography. Take a look at his explorations on his flickr profile. There is some raw gold in there. Nice1.
Johannes Breyer
Swiss typographic mastery cannot be beat. There is such a strong base that is harnessed at such a young age. It is hard not to be jealous. Johannes Breyer is living up to that legacy for sure. Check his work out.
Music Philosophy
Ricardo Toledo is a designer in London who took on a very ambitious project designing philosophical posters from various song lyrics. The gist of the project is to take a line from a band and typographically interpret that band’s given philosophy. Chris Farley really understood the Beatles.