August 2011

You are currently browsing the monthly archive for August 2011.

Peak 21

Peak 21 hails from the south-west of Poland, in Wrocław. Keeping in the Polish tradition, they do some very nice work. I’m a fan of their bold, geometric and minimal style.

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Cuba Expo 70 Stamps

expo 70

Fresh stamps from our good friend Wes, this time from Cuba commemorating the 1970 World Expo in Osaka, Japan.

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Outliers, Vol. I: Iceland

Chicago based film collective Scenic has launched a new film project on Kickstarter.com featuring photographers Tim Navis (LA), Kim Holtermand (Denmark), and electronic composer Deru. The group will create a series of short films at various locations throughout Iceland, inspired by moments of discovery and chance occurrence. Tim’s sun-drenched SoCal landscapes and Kim’s cold, architectural abstractions provide the visual foundation, and fans of their work can imagine how exciting a collaboration between the two will be. The end result, a beautifully packaged box set of the film and companion soundtrack, will be released to backers of the project as a physical artifact of the unique and awe-inspiring experience.

To learn more about this project, please visit the Kickstarter page.

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Andrew Woodhead

Andrew Woodhead

Graphic designer Andrew Woodhead takes from his Parisian surroundings by consistently managing to make each typographic project truly elegant. Whether it is a logo or a full typeface, there is a running theme of experimentation and sophisticated stylistic choices that create Andrew’s cohesive style. Designing type & typography for companies big and small, Andrew is sure to be one to watch in the world of design.
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Matthew Hollister

Matthew Hollister

Numbers sure are powerful, and it’s evident in this print by Seattle based illustrator Matthew Hollister. This print, created for the Chicago Art Department’s Power in Numbers show, stacks magic, bad luck, and high times in a fresh and direct style. Matthew’s portfolio is chock full of editorial illustrations employing an array of grainy textures and straightforward imagery, reminiscent of vintage Czech matchbook labels and folk art. Read the rest of this entry »

George McCalman Interview

george mccalman

As a young design student at California College of the Arts I had the wonderful opportunity of interning for ReadyMade magazine — way back in its hip Berkeley headquarters heyday.

It was a fantastically unique experience and my first in a bustling design office. Under the guidance of art director George McCalman, the office’s art department was a lively, collaborative, ambitious and (extremely) entertaining place to work — and home to the best design office music jams I have had the pleasure to groove to (courtesy of Mr. McCalman himself).

George is a magazine veteran, having art-directed Mother Jones, ReadyMade and Afar to name a few. He is responsible for relevant, thoughtful editorial design as well as some very compelling branding, packaging and identity work. Recently, I was able to catch up with George and find out about his past, present and future. And of course, his opinions regarding his favorite magazines.

George, take it away:

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Architectural Postcards

architectural postcards

I’m an avid fan and collector of architectural ephemera, so I was excited to discover David Liaudet’s inspiring blog Architectures de Cartes Postales. Since 2007 David has used the space to explore modern and contemporary architecture through its representation in postcards. The online archive is filled with amazing examples of sculptural elements, signage, memorial buildings and Brutalist architecture from the 1950s-70s. If you have a couple of hours to spare I highly recommend a visit.

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Betsy Walton

betsy walton

Portland,OR based painter and illustrator Betsy Walton has a knack for creating captivating and dreamy landscapes. Some of my favorite pieces include “Gold” and “Paradise” which also happens to be this week’s poster pick. These works explore the idea/ideal of paradise while working with an aesthetic rooted in American folk art and contemporary figurative illustration.

Giclee prints of the original paintings are available at the Poster Cabaret.

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Adam R. Garcia

adam r garcia

The work of Adam R. Garcia never fails to impress—from his intricate, detailed sketches to his polished final vector work. By day, Adam works for Nike as a designer, but also has a flourishing freelance life, in which he is predominantly a letterer. I love seeing the process of his projects, as chronicled in his blog, and it’s clear that he doesn’t have to rely on the computer to make his work look beautiful.

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Function, Restraint, and Subversion in Typography

grain edit

We recently received this title on contemporary typography from the friendly folks at Princeton Architectural Press. The book takes a look at the minimalistic typographic work of a variety of well-known and not-so-well-known designers.

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Gwenola Carrere

Gwenola Carrere

Gwenola Carrere is an illustrator from Brussels, Belgium. She creates intricate and playfully crafted images. Some of my favorite works of hers are from a series of illustrations for Revue Dada titled “Made in Russia”. Influenced from 1920s & 30s Soviet illustration, she borrows attributes from this period while adding a bit of her own contemporary European twist.

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Senior Designer Position Available at Fossil

graphic design jobs

Vintage-inspired fashion house Fossil is looking to hire a Senior Designer. Responsibilities will include collaborating with and supporting the Art Director in the design and development of the Fossil brand image. Potential candidates must be aware of vintage looks and contemporary design and fashion trends. For more info on this job listing see the grain edit job board.

Also from the job board:
Art Director – Swink (Madison, WI)
Web Developer – fred flare (Brooklyn, NY)

You can subscribe to our job listings via RSS, Email or follow at Twitter and Facebook.

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Benjamin Critton

benjamin

The work of Benjamin Critton seems to capture the essence of typography of “now”. While it may seem entirely modern, his work takes inspiration from the days of the Bauhaus and post-modern stylings of early geometric typography. He brings his simple forms and sans-serif tendencies to life in experimental ways, using books, clothing and posters. Be sure to check out his many other sites along with his portfolio, including an interesting maze of images and his shop.

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Sac Magique

Sac Magique

Finland based artist and illustrator Sac Magique’s bold and direct style is comical and entertaining. He has a way with pairing bright and sometimes unusual color combinations with rich textures to create whimsical images of people and animals. Sac describes his style as “playful aggression, like a delicious custard pie in the face”. I couldn’t think of anything more fun and refreshing!

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Jaime Van Wart

jaime van wart

Condiment-loving illustrator, typographer and designer Jaime Van Wart creates some fantastically delicious work. Under the studio moniker Ketchup-Mustard, it’s very fitting that some of her most identifiable pieces were made for a beverage company named Tasty. Van Wart may well be one of the most well-rounded designers to have appeared on Grain Edit. When not creating outstanding typography and identities, she is a software designer for IBM.

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Maxwell Loren Holyoke Hirsch

Loren Holyoke

Maxwell Loren Holyoke Hirsch is an extremely hard working illustrator with a client list as almost long as his name. Maxwell moved East from West a little over a year ago and has not slowed his momentum one bit. With a style that is crunchy and organic while maintaining digital shine and freshness, he continues to regularly submit work to such editorial powers as The New York Times, Bloomberg, The New Yorker, and more and more and more.

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Grain Edit & Varoom!

grain edit

Huge thanks to John O’Reilly and the rest of the crew at Varoom! magazine for featuring us in their latest issue. The 14-page article titled “The Outsiders” profiles Grain Edit, Unit Editions, John Ptak and showcases our fascination with analyzing, preserving and distributing archival imagery. In addition, each of us shared works that have shaped our curatorial views on design. Varoom! #15 is available in select shops in Europe as well as the U.S. Copies can be purchased online here.

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Josh Cochran

Josh Cochran’s work continually blows my mind. His concepts are thoughtfully executed, as he constructs images with filled with intricate details and pleasing color palettes. This particular piece, created with Cactus Communication for Charter Media, is filled to the brim with all sorts of characters. Some of my favorites include the cake head, dignified bird man, and the dude mowing the sidewalk. Can you spot them? It’s all the fun of “Where’s Waldo” without having to find Waldo.

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Tim Boelaars

Graphic Design’s hometown, the Netherlands, has no shortage of fantastic designers, illustrators, or artists. Tim Boelaars is one of the many standouts from that fine country.

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ReckerHouse

ReckerHouse

Hailing from Arizona, Chaz Russo, also known by his studio moniker ReckerHouse, creates some really nice visuals. The image above is an illustration depicting the bombing of Hiroshima for the wonderful Momentus Project. His works which showcase a use of faceted geometry combined with a muted and restrained palette are my favorites of his. Take some time today to check out more of Chaz’s imagery.

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Art Director Position Available at Swink

graphic design jobs

We’ve featured the Madison, WI based design studio Swink on Grain Edit in the past. Their self-promo desktop campfire set was a huge hit with our readers as well as the rest of the design blog scene. Currently Swink is looking to hire an art director with experience in print as well as web work. As they say, “if you’ve got the whomp” send them an email with samples of your work and a blurb about what makes you tick.

For more info on this job listing see the grain edit job board.

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