Minimalistic Minnesota Birds by Buckland

Minimalism is often just the right treatment for getting to the essence of a visual identity (previous examples here and here and here). And that is precisely the case with Minneapolis-based designer/art director Tony Buckland’s project, Birds of Minnesota. You don’t have to be into ornithology or bird watching to appreciate this work, there’s an…

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The Secret of Nature’s Beautiful Designs… in Color

In an effort to come full circle in recognizing the very polarizing Common Core testing in New York over the past two weeks, we bring you another “math meets art” post. This time it’s the work of Venezuelan architect and illustrator Rafael Araujo, and his very technical approach to capturing the mathematical brilliance of nature.…

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These Are Not Photos: Incredibly Realistic Paintings by Joel Rea

Hyper-realistic drawing and painting is an incredible skill that really gives us pause. Especially in the age of high resolution cameras on just about everyone’s phone, and the proliferation of Photoshop-aided art. We sort of take realistic and surrealistic views for granted, but when we look at super-realistic art done by hand, like the work…

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Miniature Calendar: Daily Dioramas by Tatsuya Tanaka

In much the same vein as the incredible work of Christopher Boffoli, Japanese artist/designer/art director, miniature photographer Tatsuya Tanaka’s playful take on macro photography is really memorable. Tanaka’s miniature dioramas, if you will, are almost like stepping into the mind of a young child, pushing his broccoli around the plate while his imagination runs wild.…

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Conspicuous Caterpillar Photos by Samuel Jaffe

When you (literally and figuratively) hold a magnifying glass up to some of nature’s more diminutive wonders, some breathtaking sights are revealed. We’ve seen artists examine mushrooms, sand and even the human eye. Naturalist photographer Samuel Jaffe’s thing is caterpillars. Having grown up in Eastern Massachusetts with a distinct curiosity about the world around him…

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Magic Mushrooms in a Whole New Light

We know, we know… on paper it sounds, well, boring. Photos of mushrooms. Big deal. That very simplistic description does not come close to realizing the majesty Australian photographer Steve Axford captures in his work. Axford is a sort of photography explorer, not only capturing the natural world around him, but also surveying remote locations…

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Bleak Bounty of Nature

In addition to being aesthetically innovative, Torino, Italy-based photographer Giorgio Cravero’s series, entitled simply Colors, is also fueled by a belief that we humans are slowly killing nature’s bounty. Cravero shot the fruits and vegetables, then masterfully retouched them to look like the life (color) is dripping away. “Men are poison for the earth. Behind…

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Striking Student-Conceived Swirling Faucet

In many industries, some of the most innovative ideas come from young minds. And that is certainly the case here. Simin Qiu, product/industrial design student at the prestigious Royal College of Art in London, conceived the beautiful Swirl faucet. Not only is it aesthetically brilliant, with its elaborately patterned latticework of water streams which are…

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