Arrested Development Inspired Cards

My super talented illustrator friends created these fantastic cards inspired by the comedic classic, Arrested Development. Hopefully one of them can get a walk-on for the upcoming season. 

You can even print these too! Double the reward.

Jacqueline Wagner: 3D Illustration

I recently discovered Jacqueline Wagner, a designer based in London who specializes in 3D illustrations. I love the layers she achieves by working in 3D- the subject matter and colors are especially interesting too. Visit her site and blog for more beautiful work and an in depth look on her process.

Opzij: The Big Men's Issue

Concept, set design and photography for Dutch magazine Opzij

{Illustrations accompanied the findings of a big survey which discussed how men see themselves, women and their relationships}

Das Magazin: Leerkassetten

Illustration for the German monthly Das Magazin

{A short story about a man who – while being treated for a serious eye infection – records his thoughts and memories onto cassettes for his future wife. For some details of the set-making process}

Cycling

For an exhibition about Cycling in London

Olympic desktop wallpaper by Tabitha Emma

I recently discovered Tabitha Emma's site, full of lovely designs and whimsy illustrations. I am crazy about this desktop wallpaper which is very much in theme with this month.

Hop over to her blog to download different sizes!

signed. sealed. delivered.

I just finished mailing off my second-to-last batch of save the dates. I am very satisfied with how they turned out. A big thanks to illustrator Julia Kuo for drawing a juicy peach for the frontside. Here is a peek of the finished product!

On a side note, I have been a very bad blogger lately. I'm doing more pinning these days than blogging!

covers

Book covers rank among my top three favorite "pieces" of art. I've even purchased books that I have absolutely no interest in reading just so I can own the cover and/or frame it. And since I've been spending more and more time at Barnes & Noble lately, I wanted to take this time to document some of these works I find most captivating. Below I have covered a few different age ranges and styles with many more to come in the future.

Little Pea
Illustrated by Jen Corace

Back in 2007 when I was a 2nd year Grad student at SCAD, I was assigned to design a children's menu for a local Savannah soul restaurant. I thumbed through dozens of books in the kids section at B&N but this one, Little Pea, was my favorite. I'd seen Jen Corace's work before posted on various blogs, but never made the connection until then. I would've loved to read this one as a kid.

Via amazon.com:
The ink-and-watercolor illustrations are as spare as the text, featuring a small, yellow-green pea in a loving family. Each uncluttered page has plenty of white space. Picky eaters will enjoy the subtle humor of this topsy-turvy tale.

Buy it here.

~~~



The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: A Graphic Novel
Illustrated by Kevin Cornell

I probably would have still picked this one out even without seeing the film. The ornate details in the title image, the typeface, and the muted watercolors are enough to add it to my stack to read in a big, comfy B&N chair. F. Scott Fitzgerald dubbed his book to be "the funniest story ever written," so I take it illustrator/designer Kevin Cornell had a pretty fun time bringing to life such a neat story.

Buy it here. Side note: Cornell's site is fantastic.

~~~



How We Are Hungry
Designed by John Gall/ Illustrated by Daniel Chang

It looks like I hit the motherload of all book designers for this last one. I came across John Gall's work in The Book Cover Archive. (I guess you could technically say I cheated on this last one, but I couldn't pass up featuring it). Art Director Gall has hundreds of fantastic cover designs, but I admire this one the most- primarily because of the way the text is laid out. It looks like the clean layout of an old VW ad and, well, I kind of love that.

Buy it here. Also here is an interesting, yet dated, article on Gall and his work. Many of his covers you will most likely recognize.

a collection a day

Illustrator Lisa Congdon runs a charming, little blog called A Collection a Day. She photographs/sketches/paints a collection of some sort each and every day. Much like me when I was young, she enjoys arranging and organizing these collections. You can tell she is an artist simply by her layouts. Below are a few of my favorites.







I loved collecting the following when I was a kid: geodes, feathers, sand dollars, Susan B. Anthony coins, pictures of great white sharks, and can tabs.

What did you collect?

coffee talk with the bubble process

My pal Sean Higgins is part of the super talented illustration/screenprinting duo known as The Bubble Process. Here is their most recent work for Phoenix Coffee in Lakewood, OH. Soo sweet.

Facebook fan them too.

pretty little thieves

I was browsing some palettes on color collective recently, and came across a link to pretty little thieves. Illustrator Nancy Mungal has a charming collection of illustration and paper pieces.




Her etsy shop is quite nice too!

portrait of a young man

My good friend and former American Greetings co-worker Chris Hsu recently completed a portrait of my parents' new pup Beaux. Don't those doughy eyes just melt your heart?

And here is Nattie Gann's portrait that he created last year. What a peach.

missed connections

First and foremost, I absolutely love the idea behind this blog. There are numerous occasions when I've wondered "if I go to this particular coffee shop tonite, maybe I'll find exactly who I'm looking for." Missed Connections author/illustrator Sophie Blackall describes her blog rather well:

Messages in bottles, smoke signals, letters written in the sand; the modern equivalents are the funny, sad, beautiful, hopeful, hopeless, poetic posts on Missed Connections websites. Every day hundreds of strangers reach out to other strangers on the strength of a glance, a smile or a blue hat. Their messages have the lifespan of a butterfly. I'm trying to pin a few of them down.

I adore these:

Text: Can I buy you a drink? -Buffalo plaid jacket



Text: I am a nice, quiet guy, and I am about to have a missed connection with someone at my local laundromat when I go in a half hour to do my laundry. I'll probably be sitting in a corner reading, because I don't like to leave my laundry alone. Maybe you're there doing your laundry too?

And these are nice too:

Text: We were both swimming around 5-6 in astoria pool. we ended up walking the same direction in the park for a while but didn't talk. i wish i had said hi...so i figured i would on here. worth a shot.



Text: Green Hula Hoop in Tompkins Square Park Yesterday you had a bright green hula hoop around your waist and you were VERY cute. Hope you reply.

Thanks, Sophie, for all this hope and charm. You rock.

(oh, and here's her etsy shop)

wayne pate

Ever since Wayne Pate's design was featured on d*s wallpaper of the month back in March, I've been an avid follower of his work. I'm fond of his palettes and collage style, as well as his interesting use of linework in his compositions.

From Neublack.com:

2009 marks a tremendous year for Brooklyn based illustrator Wayne Pate. An almost relentless body of work has burst forth, from pieces for The Sartorialist to spots for the TV series Mad Men. His signature moire shades and elegant line work define a classic unadorned style. Earnest and expressive, Pate’s pieces represent some of this years best work in illustration.

kate nash's "birds"

I love her music- this song especially. The loose illustrations in this video are quite nice. Happy Thursday, friends.