Greg Eckler's Vicious CircusA Menagerie of Design Marvels and Typographic Acrobatics

Stefan Sagmeister

Stefan Sagmeister is one of those individuals at the forefront of our industry but still it is surprising when I speak with someone who doesn’t know who he is (although that is understandable if the person is still a student). The Austrian born Sagmeister is a New York City based designer and art director. His work always has a smartness to it somewhere between the highly conceptual and an inside joke. I’ve always been fond of this aspect of him and his work. That and his desire to play with typography and to explore it beyond just being words on a page. You can see more of his studio’s work at Sagmeister.com (note that the background isn’t a static image but an actual live feed of him and his team working in the studio). Another thing that brought some notoriety to Stefan was his concept of going on sabbatical in order to improve his studio’s work. Every seven years he closes his studio for one whole year. You can find out more about Stefan’s sabbatical’s from his TED talk here. Enjoy!

Aesthetic Apparatus

From logos to posters to book covers to even the Burger King crowns the guys at Aesthetic Apparatus have done it all. Hailing out of Minneapolis the studio originally began as a side project from Dan Ibarra and Michael Byzewski “real” jobs. Years of hard work and constantly making stuff led them to become in their words, “…a full time, full-fledged, insanely unstoppable, and occasionally award winning design mega-studio.” You should definitely check out more of their work at Aesthetic Apparatus!

David Vogin

David is an award winning illustrator and designer based out of Frederick, Maryland. His work has ranged from editorial to corporate to book covers. I met David originally about a year ago when I was searching through twitter for designers and illustrators in the DC area. I found his work to be beautiful, playful and creative, but more so I found him to be a down-to-earth awesome person. I definitely count David as a friend and always enjoy swapping inspiration and tweets back and forth with him. This past week David received a silver medal from the Society of Illustrators for his “Save the Gulf” illustration (above). Congratulations David! To see more of David’s awesome work visit DavidVogin.com.

Justin Hampton

I first found out about Justin Hampton a couple of years ago through the awesome tome “The Art of Modern Rock.” Justin is a illustrator, poster artist and sequential artist residing in Seattle, Washington. He got started in the industry in 1990 when he began working for Art Chantry and Jeff Kleinsmith. His work finds it’s influences in street art, comics and Skate and Punk graphics. One thing that is common for many great poster artists including Justin is that they not only design/illustrate the work but are also the screen printers making the work. This greater understanding of the process lets them push the barriers and experiment with form and function. Check out more of Justin’s work at JustinHampton.com.

Jessica Hische

Much like with Marian Bantjes anyone who takes one of my typography classes is also of course introduced to Jessica Hische. Jessica is a illustrator and lettering artist based in Brooklyn, New York. She graduated from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. One of Jessica’s most ambitious projects was originally created to keep her busy during idle times but soon became one that got her noticed more and more, her DailyDropCap. The premise was the creation of a letter of the alphabet (in order) every day she was in her studio. After 12 straight alphabets Jessica has decided it was time to bring the project to a close. It isn’t just her work you should find inspiring but also her work ethic! Check out more of her work at JessicaHische.com.

Marian Bantjes

Anyone who has taken my typography course has been introduced to Marian Bantjes. I cannot begin to describe the amount of respect and wonder I hold for this woman :) I even wanted to send her one of my Holiday Cards this past year but I don’t have her address and was too shy to ask her.

Marian is a Canadian graphic artist who lives and works near Vancouver. Her work is this blend of type, image and pattern that brings a beauty and wonder to the mind that cannot be compared to anything I’ve ever seen before. Honestly I don’t even have words to describe her and her work but luckily she did do a TED talk once so here it is :)

Derek Hess

Derek Hess is an Cleveland based commercial and fine artist. Derek’s imagery often makes social commentary with his amazing ability to express massive amounts of emotion through is particular raw style. His career began with indie, hardcore and rock album covers and poster/concert flyers. (Remember when most people in the graphic design and illustration dept. at art schools just wanted to do that for a living? I get more people who want to be tattoo artists. anywho).

A mixture of humor and irony can be found in much of his work and he would often uses the name of the band for inspiration for the artwork for them. Derek’s art is now displayed permanently in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He also has expanded into fine art, such as the prints above (I have the top one “Closer to God” on my wall in my studio!). Definitely check out more of Derek’s work at DerekHess.com.

Sebastian Lester

Seriously Seb lives and breathes type, only a person as passionate about letterforms as he is could begin to create some of the amazing work he has done! Seb study graphic design at Central Saint Martins and works in London as a type designer, illustrator and artist. Before heading out on his own he was the Senior Type Designer for Monotype Imaging for nine years. You can see more of Seb’s amazing work at seblester.co.uk. A favorite of mine is Seb’s Found Type! Lives. And. Breathes. Type! :)

Audrey Kawasaki

Audrey Kawasaki is a LA based painter whose work often can be both innocent and erotic in almost contradicting fashions. I’ve always loved the melancholy of her figures and the fact that she steps outside the usual medium of the canvas to do almost all of her work on wood panels. It gives such warmth and subtle texture to her beautiful paintings. Her style is a perfect blend of Japanese manga and Art Nouveau. She study fine arts painting at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn for two years before leaving without completing her degree finding the NY art scene to be at odds with her distinct style. You can see more of Audrey’s work at AudreyKawasaki.com and check out her blog at Okonomide.

Alex Trochut

Anyone who has taken a class that I’ve taught has been introduced to Alex Trochut’s work. Seriously Alex is one of the most inspiring illustrators and lettering artists to me. He is a Barcelona based artist that study graphic design at Elisava. He began working as a freelance designer and illustrator in 2007 and was voted by the ADC (Art Director’s Club) as one of the Young Guns. Trochut’s work philosophy is “more is more” and man can he make it beautiful! He attributes his special connection with typography to his grandfather Joan Trochut who was a typographer and the creator of a modular typographic and ornament system. You can see more of Alex’s amazing work at AlexTrochut.com.