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.
08.31.11 | Ethan | Found design | 
6 comments
- Olle Eksell Site & Shop
- This Is Forest — Joel Speasmaker
- MVM — Magnus Voll Mathiasson
- Art School Cliche Spotting
- Posters Discovered in Notting Hill Gate Tube Station
- Vinyl Documentary: To Have & To Hold
- Partisan Memorials in Former Yugoslavia
- Up in the Air- Opening sequence
- Geoff Mcfetridge: Where the Wild Things Are Title Design
- Nikkatsu – Japanese actions films
You are currently browsing the monthly archive for August 2011.
Cuba Expo 70 Stamps
Fresh stamps from our good friend Wes, this time from Cuba commemorating the 1970 World Expo in Osaka, Japan.
08.30.11 | Dave | Found design | 6 comments
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.
08.29.11 | Dave | Found design | 1 comment
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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08.26.11 | Liz Meyer | Found design | 6 comments
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 »
08.25.11 | Grace Danico | Found design, Illustration | 9 comments
George McCalman Interview
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:
08.24.11 | Ethan | Features, Interviews | 11 comments
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.
08.23.11 | Dave | Found design | 2 comments
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.
08.22.11 | Dave | Poster Picks | 2 comments
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.
08.19.11 | Liz Meyer | Found design | 4 comments
Function, Restraint, and Subversion in Typography
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.
08.17.11 | Ethan | Off Our Bookshelves, Uncategorized | 9 comments
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.
08.16.11 | Dave | Found design, Illustration | 6 comments
Senior Designer Position Available at Fossil
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.
Benjamin Critton
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.
08.12.11 | Liz Meyer | Found design | 1 comment
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!
08.11.11 | Grace Danico | Found design, Illustration | 11 comments
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.
08.10.11 | Ethan | Found design | 10 comments
Maxwell Loren Holyoke Hirsch
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.
08.09.11 | Dave | Found design, Illustration | 14 comments
Grain Edit & Varoom!
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.
08.08.11 | Dave | Grain Edit News | 1 comment
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.
08.05.11 | Grace Danico | Found design, Illustration | 3 comments
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.
08.03.11 | Ethan | Found design | 15 comments
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.
08.02.11 | Dave | Found design | 4 comments
Art Director Position Available at Swink
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.
You can subscribe to our job listings via RSS, Email or follow at Twitter and Facebook. Read the rest of this entry »
