(Photo by Anna Wolf)

Let’s travel to the boogie down borough of Brooklyn, New York — home to the colossal rides and hot dogs at Coney Island, the beautiful Central Library, and one of my favorite illustrators Jim Datz.

For those who are in the know, Jim goes by the moniker Neither Fish Nor Fowl. His work is reminiscent of olden times, with images of sailors, explorers, keystone cops, and mustached men in bowler caps.

In this interview, he discusses his transition from architecture to illustration, dapper gents and hippies, his creative process, and reveals something that most folks don’t know about him.

Let’s dive right in, shall we?

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Being a fan of Monocle magazine, I’m excited about our next guest. Ken Leung is a London based freelance designer who helped launch Monocle magazine and until recently served as it’s art director. In today’s interview, Ken shares his love for Textas (marker pens), some of his influences and a few of his favorite books.

Ok, here we go..

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(Photo credit: C. Taylor)
The latest installment to the Grain Edit interviews takes us to Milwaukee, Wisconsin: home to big name breweries, delicious Gouda, and husband-wife design duo…The Little Friends of Printmaking!

Melissa and JW Buchanan are the brains behind the Little Friends, and they are best known for their often outrageously intricate prints that explore everything from the complexities of the mind, fun-loving animals, to leisure time activities.

In this interview, they discuss the perks about working with their significant other, the highs and lows of attending art school, and their creative process.

And now, let the fun commence!

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JAQK Cellars wine shippers designed by Hatch

This is part 2 of a 2 part interview. You can view part 1 at the excellent iso50.

Hatch is a San Francisco design firm founded by Joel Templin and Katie Jain. In part one of our interview, Alex spoke with Katie and Joel about the firm and their design process. In part two we take a look around the studio and talk with Katie about the packaging for JAQK cellars.

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Mike Cina - Spirit Edit Jazz Mix

In this 4th installment of grain edit mixtapes, we caught up with design nut and all-around awesome guy Mike Cina. When Mike isn’t manning the helm at YouWorkForThem he’s digging through your grand pa’s record collection. Today we’re excited to present an exclusive jazz mix he created for grain edit readers.

Before we get to the mix, I had a chance to pick Mike’s brain on record collecting, typography and album cover art.

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Original Soundtrack from Yuki 7 film, Roman Rendezvous

The latest addition to our Grain Edit interview series takes us to the sunny, pigeon littered streets of Los Angeles: home to Hollywood - movie capital of the world, and artist Kevin Dart. Heavily inspired by films and artwork from the ’60s, Kevin beautifully creates the dazzling, glamorous, exciting world of Yuki 7: a gorgeous feisty international globe-trotting spy.

In today’s interview, Kevin transports us to the year 30,000, discusses his adventurous background, and of course his inspiration for creating the Yuki 7 character. Before we get started, here are a few examples of Kevin’s work…

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Welcome to the latest addition to the Grain Edit interview series. But wait, there’s a twist! We sneaked a book review into the mix as well. I know, very tricky.

Our latest interviewees are Andre Andreev and Dan Covert. They’re from New York City, and they’re known as Dress Code. They recently published a book entitled Never Sleep, which details their experience and transition from design students to design professionals. Never Sleep is a practical and vital guide for design graduates wondering what to do after school.

At the combined age of (roughly) 50 Andre and Dan’s work has been recognized by I.D., CommArts, Print, Graphis, Metropolis, The Type Directors Club, The Art Directors Club, CMYK, HOW, Adobe, Steps Field Guide to Emerging Talent and Young Guns. They met while studying graphic design at California College of the Arts and worked at MTV before starting Dress Code.

OK, so get your game on already:

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(Photo credit: Adam Wallacavage)

The next addition to the Grain Edit interview series takes us to Philadelphia: City of Brotherly Love, home of founding father Ben Franklin and the Liberty Bell, and double agent Tim Gough. A man of mystery, by day, Tim works as the Art Director for the Philadelphia Weekly. By night, he emerges from the cheese steak littered streets of Philly to do one thing: rid the world of dull illustrations.

Tim successfully melds images of spies and monstrous creatures with bursts of color, densely clustered patterns and rough textures, creating dynamically rich works. In this interview, he discusses his hometown and background, perplexing experiences after college, influences, and his creative process.

And now to reveal the enigma…

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House Industries is not your typical type foundry. Unlike most foundries that strictly focus on type design, House take things one step further. Their fonts become springboards to new ideas and products that are often integrated into themed experiences complete with lush packaging and slick catalogs. A great example of this is their work on the 2004 release of Neutraface. They created a reproduction of Richard Neutra’s Boomerang chair and pillows to coincide with the release of the font collection. In addition, they created limited edition packaging (with die cuts and metallic inks) to accompany the hard copy of the fonts. In an age when people more and more seek cheap and immediate goods,  I cherish these premium experiences.

House Industries most recent project pays tribute to the modernist designer Alexander Girard. In my opinion it is their most impressive collection to date. It includes a Type Family, a Nativity Set, t shirts, alphabet blocks, lettering, Marilyn Neuhart designed Casa dolls and more. We spoke with Andy Cruz (Co-owner and art director) about the research and development of the products.

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I’m very excited about our next addition to the Grain Edit interview series. When the gigantic Grain Edit interview arrow landed on Springfield, MO we knew just who to call: Frank Chimero.

You’ve likely seen Frank’s designs and illustrations making the rounds on the design blog circuit lately. And with good reason; Frank’s work effortlessly combines humor, wit, and style with a fresh and honest point of view.

Frank opens up and shares some of his thoughts and insights regarding his design background, his influences and teaching experiences, and of course his famed process. If you’re a fan of the States’ series, then there’s also a super surprise waiting for you further down in the interview.

OK, enough. Here we go:

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