Category Archives for Inspiration
Are You In Need Of Some Inspiration?
Some days we are all in need of a little inspiration! The lock screen on my phone is usually an inspirational quote (besides the few times I have the Vampire Diaries hotties gracing the screen), and some mornings it really helps to put me in a good mood. Yesterday, as I was in the process of getting my Etsy store set up, I came across The Motivated Type page, and found some pretty awesome typography inspired inspirational quotes (available for $19). Check out the vintage inspired designs below, and head over to their Etsy page to pick up your favorites!
p.s. I am hoping to launch the typography quosters Etsy story in early May. Stay tuned…
The Great Gatsby and Its Many Covers
On April 10th, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, turned 87 years old. The original cover designed by Francis Coradal-Cugat, depicts a disembodied face floating in the night sky (top left). It is one of the prominent images in literature, but that hasn’t kept book cover designers from trying to outdo the classic. Below, check out just some of the many published variations of the book, not to mention the various different versions created by design students (which are floating all over the internet)! It’s absolutely intriguing to examine which part of the story each designer took to be the pivotal aspect which they explored in their cover design. What are some of your favorites? Was the original cover the best? Sound off!
World Peace Heroes
Pierre Chavez, a graphic designer from Qatar, developed a series of eight typographic posters titled, World Peace Heroes, a collection of famous quotes from past icons that have shaped and inspired the world we live in today. Check out the collection below, and purchase your favorite prints (for just $14.56) at Pierre’s Society 6 store.
Top 10 Designers To Follow On Instagram
As designers, we are constantly searching for inspiration! How many hours a day do you spend going through Pinterest, Tumblr, or Dribbble looking through creative designs and ideas before starting a project, or when you’ve hit a creative block? No matter how many creative outlets there are, you can never have to many— so why not turn to Instagram to get your creative juices flowing? Below you will find my favorite ten designers to follow on Instagram, and hopefully they can inspire you, as they’ve inspired me. What are your favorites? Comment away!
12 Days Of Christmas….In April!
Although the calendar says it’s spring, the temperature outside says otherwise…so although it’s definitely NOT Christmas time, I thought this post would be appropriate alongside the freezing weather outside.
Baylee Brown, a designer and illustrator from Portland, Oregon, created a charming hand-lettering project depicting the 12 days of Christmas. As soon as I saw it, I fell in love, so of course, I had to share (even though, it is definitely WAY past the holidays)! Check out all twelve designs below, and visit Baylee’s Behance page to check out more of her awesome hand-lettering work.
It All Begins With A Letter…
I am so excited, because today I am driving to Harrisburg, PA to hear Jessica Hische speak—in one of her only speaking engagements in the United States this year! The best part? She’ll be signing copies of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” from the Penguin Drop Caps series, which she designed—so, hopefully I’ll get both an autograph and a photo :)
In case you havent heard, Penguin Drop Caps is a series of twenty-six collectible hardcover editions of fine works of literature, each featuring on its cover a specially commissioned illustrated letter of the alphabet by type designer, Jessica Hische. Each gift-sized book features a foil-stamped case and a decorative color stain on all three paper edges. As a whole, the series design encompasses a rainbow-hued color spectrum across all twenty-six book spines. The Penguin Drop Caps debuted with titles A through F, G through L are set to debut April 30th, and the rest of the books are set to be released in sets throughout the year. They are selling for roughly $13 and up on Amazon, and if you’re up for visiting a book store, Barnes and Nobles has them for $16 and up.
p.s. If you follow me on Twitter—@svetsxpres, I’ll be tweeting from the event tonight!…
A Lyric A Day Project
Going through my Tumblr stream a few day ago, I stumbled upon J.J. Del Rosario’s, A Lyric A Day project—an art and design experiment in which song lyrics are illustrated using provocative photos and engaging typography. Check out some of my favorites below, and visit J.J’s Society 6 store to purchase prints!
Oscars 2013 – Best Picture Inspired Art
In keeping with the Oscars theme this week, I just came across some pretty awesome screen prints inspired by this year’s nine Best Picture nominees. The prints were commissioned (by The Academy and Gallery1988) from a small group of young international artists: Matt Owen, Anthony Petrie, Rich Kelly, Mark Englert, Phantom City Creative, Jeff Boyes, Tom Whalen, Joshua Budich, and Godmachine. Which one is your favorite?
85 Years Of Oscars Poster
Every year, a designer is tasked with the amazing honor of creating the annual poster for the Oscars. This year, a special edition poster for the 85th Annual Oscar Awards was created by Olly Moss—featuring 85 Oscar® statuettes, each one distinctly inspired by past Best Picture winners, from 1927 through 2012. Moss has created illustrations for The New York Times and The Guardian, and is commissioned by Empire Magazine to design a new movie poster illustration every month. Check out the “85 Years of Oscars” poster below (and some of my favorites), and visit the official Oscars site to see an incredible closeup of each statuette.
Love Letters By Mama’s Sauce
As many of you may know, the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum, located in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, has been forced to relocate, and needs help raising $250,000 to get 30,000 sq. feet of printing history packed up and ready for a new home. The Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum is the only museum dedicated to the preservation, study, production and printing of wood type. With 1.5 million pieces of wood type and more than 1,000 styles and sizes of patterns, Hamilton’s collection is one of the premier wood type collections in the world.
To help raise money and awareness for the museum, Mama’s Sauce (The Gourmet Print & Design Shop) is releasing a set of 7 letterpress printed alphabet coasters inspired by the legacy and craft of Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum. Love Letters includes the letters A, E, I, O, U, Y, and &, designed by a star-studded cast, which includes: Fuzzco (A), Justin Mezzell (E), Aaron Draplin (I), Dana Tanamachi (O), Jon Contino (U), Ross Moody (Y) and Jessica Hische (&).
As I started typing this blog post, the limited quantity of 200 coaster sets was still available for purchase; however, as I now click on the link for Mama’s Sauce Shop, they are all sold out.…
