Passion for Paper

The art of quilling, a technique that involves rolling, shaping and gluing strips of paper to form decorative designs, has been around for literally hundreds of years. Russian-born, UK-based designer and artist Yulia Brodskaya has a masterful handle on the time-honored art form, and brings it into the twenty first century through use in advertising,…

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Magnificent Mural

It’s not unusual for art and commerce to collide. But it’s certainly not always as awe-inspiring as this arresting piece from Vienna, Austria-based package designer and artist Gerlinde Gruber. Priding herself in creating “specialized packaging designs highly inspired by their contents”, Gruber is more intimately familiar with the intricacies of product packages than the average…

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Corporate Identity Bliss

At the risk of sounding totally geeky, there’s nothing quite like a really well executed corporate identity. No matter the industry, effective branding design gets us excited. This example, by German-based designer Luca Fontana, of a logo and identity for a plant nursery in Italy is a perfect specimen of a very thoughtfully conceived and…

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Surreal Scrabble Ads

There’s something to be said for visually arresting advertising… when few or no words are necessary. And it’s ironic that this series promoting, of all things, Scrabble, uses barely any words at all. Yet we immediately get what is being conveyed. Russian/Ukrainian creative agency Twiga developed these terrific ads that could probably stand on their…

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Typography From Another Dimension

3D graphics have really improved (and continue to) exponentially in recent years. Buenos Aires based design studio Six & Five, established by art directors/designers Andy Reisinger and Ezequiel Pini, really capitalize on such advancements in compelling ways. Their approach is really refined and thoughtful, and based on the fundamentals of good design. Their typographic treatments…

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Back to the Future

The sheer mastery demonstrated in the retro-futurisitic style of Belgium illustrator/designer Laurent Durieux is hard to ignore. It’s not just the novelty of bucking recent design trends and appearing to be from another era (think 1960s pop culture) that makes Durieux’s work so special, but also the level of detail in his work. Durieux’s eye…

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Fresh Picked Typography

Sometimes you’ll find excellent examples of experimental typography in the most unexpected places. Take this terrific print ad from a Lithuanian grocer, for example. Under the art direction of Lithuanian designer Ignas Kozlovas by way of McCann Erickson, this typographic arrangement of real produce displays mastery in Photoshop, as well as an excellent eye for…

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Oscar Nominee Posters

In honor of the Oscars, which happened just a few days ago, we thought we’d take a look at the stellar nominee posters featured throughout the broadcast. The Mill, visual effects, animation and design studio with offices in London, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, created these fantastic pieces, along with other elements of the…

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Simplistic Classic Children’s Stories

Chicago-area designer/illustrator/proud father Christian Jackson of Square Inch Design has a fondness for both minimalist design and kid art. In this excellent series, aptly titled Classic Children’s Stories, Jackson marries both. He captures the essence of each story in a really engaging and thoughtful way. And he sells prints! Related posts here and here. Via…

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