Audi

This image created by the ad agency Kempertrautmann is extraordinarily clever. The ad is for the (then) new Audi Quattro and communicates the superior road grip that the car possesses. I love this so much because before I even new exactly what the ad was promoting, I knew that it was about a can being able to stay on the road better. Very clever and very effective in my opinion.

A Lion Named Roar

I really enjoy this poster for A Lion Named Roar done by Ben Whitesell. It's sort of reminiscent of Jason Munn's work, but has a few more frills to it, such as the borders. The poster was created to celebrate the band's first EP release in 2012.

Hertz

I love these ads by Studio AKA. They are very reminiscent of A.M. Cassandre's work, and I love the Art Deco style.

Savannah Music Festival

This illustration by Brian Stauffer for the Savannah Music Festival in Savannah, Georgia is just beautiful. I love the dual symbolism of the piano and the field of flowers.

Macy's Flower Show

Every year, the Macy's Flower Show is a herald of the beginning of spring, and is looked forward to by millions across the country. This illustration done by Olaf Hajek is the perfect advertisement for this event. The explosion of colors and life in this piece serve to catch the eye to the extreme and I can only imagine how these colors would explode off of outdoor advertising in the weeks and months preceding, contrasted by the bleak white of waning winter.

My Morning Jacket

I have a new appreciation for screenprinting after two workshops where I basically made ALL of the rookie mistakes. That said, I love this print by John Solimine for a My Morning Jacket show at Williamsburg Park in Brooklyn. It's wonderfully illustrated and the composition is great. I also love the fact that it's a three color print, and the layering of the colors gives more color combination options. I really want to try something like that in the future.

No Butts About It (that was terrible, I'm so sorry...)

I really enjoy this very simple and humorous ad for for an artist representative agency. I wasn't able to find an artist name for this particular ad, but I applaud them for their humor and style. In my mind, this is the perfect amount of illustration to ad to this picture. Any less, and you lose the image of the cat, and any more and you lose the connection to the construction worker. Very well done, whoever you are.

Illustrative Typography

I found this great example of illustrative typography in the November 2009 issue of Computer Arts. This piece by Lee Bamforth was chosen as the winner of the 2009 Digital Artist of the Year in the category of Graphic Design, and it's not difficult to see why. I enjoy how the lines lead your eyes along a dancing path and through the twists and scrollwork. It's very reminiscent of decorative architectural metalwork, which fits the subject matter.

Bob Masse: The Rock and Roll Artist

I recently had an opportunity to take a very brief vacation to St. Louis, and while I was there, I visited the Blueberry Hill diner. It's a landmark restaurant in St. Louis and features a large collection of pop culture memorabilia. Among the many gig posters, comic book covers, and Rolling Stone covers that adorned the walls, I saw these Bob Masse poster prints which are just amazing examples of his work. I'm a huge fan of modernized art nouveau work, and his posters are just wonderful pieces of art and design.

An Actually Good Movie Poster

It's always nice to see Hollywood doing something slightly different and original, even if it's just green-lighting a visually interesting movie poster for general use. For most movies, the posters fall into one of several predictable formats (case in point) that just feel a little boring to me after a while. Every once in a while, though, a movie will actually use a poster that showcases amazing design work. This is one of those posters. This poster was designed by LA, which is described on their website as "a creative agency made up of 80 award-winning artists, illustrators, editors, photographers, matte painters, motion graphics designers, copywriters, VR gurus, producers, and account executives." They are based in Los Angeles, CA and New York, NY.

Minimal Minimalism

Taking minimalism to an extreme is always an interesting exercise, and this single line study by DFT, a french creative duo, is no exception. I really love how these animal designs were boiled down to the most basic of recognizable features. If you are interested, DFT has a few more single line exercises that are pretty cool to see. 

Text-based Illustration

I don't know if this fully counts as illustration or not, but I really love the idea of using text elements to create an image like Matt Olin has done with these images. I really enjoy looking at them, and I admit that some of them work a little better than others. I feel like the posters for Sans Serif, Script, and Handwriting seem to translate the best.

Everything is Awesome

First of all, the title for this post is SUPER lazy. I am ashamed of myself.

Second, I LOVE THIS POSTER! I saw it while I was looking over Alternativemovieposters.com after having found a poster for my main homework post. The simple thing that got me was how the poster is built on a diagonal grid and the only element violating the grid is Benny, because he's flying, and even then only slightly. It's probably a small detail that is a "duh" for most people, but I really enjoy it and it makes the poster very pleasing for me. If you like this poster, the artist, Tom Whalen, has many more that are equally wonderful to look at.

Homer Soda Festival 2016

If you are a resident of rural central Illinois, chances are you might have at least heard of the annual Homer Soda Festival. It's a super fun festival where you can go around and taste all kinds of strange soda flavors and maybe even find a new favorite or two. This past festival was my first time attending, and I was especially impressed by the friendly, handmade feeling the promotional materials had. The designer, Isaac Mitchell, has been doing promotional work for the festival for the past few years, and I always find it really impressive when a designer can approach the same project multiple times and come away with fresh ideas each time.

In this portfolio entry, Mitchell goes into a bit of detail on what went into the designing of the 2016 poster, and also shares some pretty sweet behind-the-scenes photos of the process.

"I'm Ron f***ing Swanson."

I never saw Parks and Recreation while it was still on the air. I only saw it for the first time last year on Netflix...and then proceeded to binge the whole series in a matter of a week and a half. If you have seen the show, then you know that one of the most entertaining and surprising characters is Ron Swanson, played to perfection by Nick Offerman. I have been a fan of his ever since. So imagine my surprise and delight when I see this poster popping up in the upcoming events at the Virginia Theatre! This poster, created by Illustrator Mike Mitchell, perfectly captures Mr. Offerman's offbeat humor, and is just a delight to look at. The hand drawn lettering sets this off and compliments it in a way that a clean font could never do.

You can check out Mike Mitchell here, here, here, here, and buy his stuff here!

Recognition Factor

Ok. Full disclosure up front, I'm not really a Willie Nelson fan. Never been to a concert, and never bought an album. I've never even looked him up on Spotify. However, he is an icon, and, while I was watching the Lynda video this week, I saw Dirk Fowler's poster for a Willie Nelson concert. Without even seeing a full name, I knew who it was referring to. I love simplicity of this design, but I'm also floored by how recognizable it is as Willie Nelson even by someone who isn't a fan. Also, I'm a huge sucker for letterpress, so that plays a factor into my love for this design as well.

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