Mcbess (pseudonym of Matthieu Bessudo) first came to my attention through Kitsune Noir's super Desktop Wallpaper Project.
He creates wonderfully busy illustrations that stylistically remind me of the early Popeye cartoons but have so much going on in each picture that you are just drawn in to the surreal world that spills from Mcbess' mind on to his pad.
Check out more of his fantastic illustrations here.
I like this fellows work a lot. Raymond Biesinger is a self-taught illustrator from Edmonton, Canada. His images are minimal, often using only one or two colours.
On his info page, Beisinger talks of using "pens, computers, inks, acrylics, photos, rubber stamps, photocopiers, printers, blades, typewriters and Letraset" to help create his work.
This hands on approach coupled with his unique, self taught minimal style creates a wonderfully dark feel to his illustrations. See more of his work here.
I have long been a purveyor of fine facial hair. To sport a beard is to have joined a society of the hirsute. Exchanging a fraternal glance with another beard wearer is a life affirming thing.
This once exclusive club has now been opened up to all by Magma with their Beard Cap. It is a woolly balaclava that gives the wearer the privilege of modeling a fine plumage on their very own boat.
Choose from the straight moustache with short beard (above) or the handlebar moustache with long beard, both styles available in blonde or brown. Purchase from Magma.
Patrick Leger's work has been featured on a ton of design blogs recently, gaining the attention for the fantastic vintage style he has crafted for his illustration work.
I really like his use of minimal, washed-out colours, it gives the work a real feel of 60's comic strip illustrations.
As mentioned on Made In England, a lot of designers are choosing a vintage look for their work at the moment, which is possibly a reaction to the "too perfect results of using a computer". An interesting point.
See more of Patrick's work at his site. You can buy a print of After The Heist here.
Burst Of Beaden is the pseudonym of Jon Klassen, an illustrator and designer who comes from Niagra Falls (exciting to come from there).
The thing that I really like about Waterfall is how Klassen has managed to create a very distant and eerie feel with such a simple illustration.
There are many other beautiful illustrations to be found of the Burst Of Beaden site. A couple more of my favourites are Beach House and Dayton, Ohio 1903. You can buy a print of Waterfall here.
Great combination of beards and birds going on here. Kind of puts me in mind of the sort of creature Roald Dahl would have created; two parts hilarious, one part horrifying!
You can see more of Marc Johns work at his site, his blog and on Flickr. You can buy a print of Beard Bird here.
I've just seen this on Swiss Miss, it looks fabulous. It's called ABC 3d and was designed by Marion Batille. A great Christmas present for the designer in your life. Buy it here.
This splendid poster was designed and printed by Revenge Is Sweet, a Franco-Australian duo who live and work in London.
I stumbled across it while perusing the site of London screen printing facility Print Club, a print shop that I would very much like to get my hands dirty at.
The 'Kill Me Softly' series numbers three in total, and I've chosen number three as my favourite, but have a look at one and two and make up your own mind.
All three posters are available to buy from the Print Club shop. There is also some other magnificent work on the Revenge Is Sweet site, none more so than the 'Love & Hate' poster.
This is fantastic, a real life version of Photoshop.
The advertisement was put together by Bates 141. See how they made it here.
I'm a sucker for post-apocalyptic films. I realise they are a bit shit, but every time I see a trailer for the latest end of the world epic I know there is no point in resisting, even though the feeling of disappointment that I felt after watching the last effort from the genre will undoubtedly not have worn off.
Anyhow, Denis Oliver's 'Dreamspace Reloaded #39' puts me in mind of The Day After Tomorrow, post New York being hit by the huge tsunami. The lack of colour lends an immediacy to the image, as though the only way of documenting the demise of NYC was to reproduce and distribute the information using a Xerox machine.
The race for the White House comes to its conclusion tomorrow with polling stations opening across America. If Barack Obama doesn't make it in as the forty-fourth president it wont be through any lack of effort on the graphic design front.
Above is Ron English's amazing 'Abraham Obama' portrait. And below we have Shepard Fairey's 'Hope' poster. This was available from the official Obama store and has reached an almost iconic status, which has seen the design reinterperated dozens of times.
Another couple of Fairey's efforts.
The poster below was designed by Scott Hansen, the man behind ISO50 and this, like Fairey's 'Hope' poster, was also created as an official part of the Obama campaign. Follow Scott's process of producing the print here.
'Fields Of Hope' and 'Obeyma' both by Felix Sockwell, which can be found at designforobama.org along with an abundance of other designs promoting the Democrat candidate.
Super Obama (wearyourbeer.com)
Here are a few more posters (left - changethethought.com, middle and right - Cody Hudson and MAC, both of which can be found at upperplaygroundstore.com).
Some of the artwork in action on the street.
And if that isn't enough for you, you can even support him while eating your breakfast!
I like this water colour a lot! See more of Chris Appelhans work at his site and buy a print of Bad Unicorn here.
Much is written about the quality of artwork that London Underground has historically produced, and rightly so. An excellent range of advertising and design has been created over its 145 year history.
I believe though, that present LU work doesn't receive the praise that it deserves.
For example, the posters currently used to promote the ongoing improvements being carried out on the Underground; the juxtaposition of the famous simplification of the Underground line (used on the tube map) with a life like illustration of an engineer, results in an imaginative, witty and informative advert.
I think that this campaign is well considered and (illustratively at least) skillfully executed. The featured poster (above) and this piece in particular really deserve to be added to TfL's vault of good design, so that they can be celebrated in the future along with the past greats.
When I think of the Victorians I imagine stern people, too busy being industrious and ruling the world for pratical jokes. That is until I happened upon this monument.
It is a large and impressive statue that sits to the south of St. James Park, just behind the Prime Ministers house on Downing Street. You would expect it to be emblazoned with titles in the manner of Lord or Duke, names like Nelson or Horatio suffixed with a double-barrled surname.
But no, all that is written on the statue is Clive! Yes, just Clive.
Now Clive is one of those names isn't it? One of those names that only a certain kind of person has. One of those names, like Dean or Barry, that could never be associated with grand deeds or heroic bravery.
So I figured it had to be the Victorians having a laugh. An out of character joke that juxtaposed a magnificent monument with a joke name. Sadly not.
My curiosity got the better of me, and I did a little bit of research. It turns out that it is in fact a tribute to Major-General Robert Clive, a soldier who helped colonise India back in the 1700's.
Now, while it is nice to learn new things and broaden your understanding, I will never again be able to walk past this cenotaph and snigger to myself about it being named Clive. And that makes me a little bit sad :(
You have only yourself to blame I hear you cry. Yes, that is true, but I had a partner in this crime of over-education, and maybe this is a conundrum of the modern age that we must all consider; do Wikipedia and Google et al. provide us with too much easily accessible information? Was it more fun to live in ignorance in the past and more rewarding to have to put a bit of work into researching our inquiries?
Answers on a postcard please.
