Ana Benaroya

Hypercolored beach guidos, fire breathing monsters, Christians hell bent on hedonism and bearded ladies are just a few of the colorful characters that inhabit the canvases of the work of Ana Benaroya. I really enjoy the warped and skewed forms she creates, and am especially fond of her gestural portraits – blobs of colors and swaths of dots and patterns are then embellished with wild eyes and bright red lips. Capturing the absurd and the abstract in fantastic ways.

Visit Ana Benaroya’s portfolio here.

Katherine Verhoeven – Drawn & Devoured

Documenting the food and drink one consumes is certainly not a new idea, but I love the particular illustrated perspective that artist Katherine Verhoeven puts on it in her running blog, Drawn & Devoured. Her drawings (especially the newest ones on her blog) have taken a decidedly Art-Deco classic 1930-40′s look and feel to them, many rendered with a sun bleached palette of cremes, olives and goldenrods…really beautiful work that could act as their own visual menus for these delectable dishes. Good enough to eat, indeed.

Visit Drawn & Devoured here.

MomentUS Project

Similar in spirit to the 50 and 50 Project, the MomentUS Project pairs designers and illustrators with “the most defining moments in United States History”. Rolling out a new visualization every day or so, there’s already 4 great illustrations posted, I especially love The Revolutionary War by typographer/designer Jon Contino.

Visit the MomentUS Project here.

Heike Weber

I love seeing artists take something that many have dabbled in and elevate it to artistic and exaggerated extremes. Case in point: German artist Heike Weber and his permanent marker drawn creations. Walls, floors, exhibition spaces, even the beach (using vinyl flooring as a canvas) isn’t safe. The cascading line art gives the impression of waves and textures, forming optical illusions and patterns on perfectly flat surfaces.

Visit Heike Weber’s website here.

Craig Redman

I’ve been admiring Craig Redman‘s work for a while now, so it’s about time I showcase some of his great work. Australian born, now living and working in New York City, Craig’s work is bright, bold and exuberant – filled with thick strokes, geometric patterns and deceptively minimal compositions. If you aren’t familiar with Darcel, arguably his most known character, do yourself a favor a watch some of the incredibly witty and fun animations as Darcel and his friends travel the world and visit events like London Fashion Week. I also really love his Portraits series, especially his illustrations of Kanye West and Keith Harring – colorful characters that still manage to convey real emotion and human qualities.

Visit Craig Redman’s portfolio here.

Art of the Title Sequence

Great video that only brushes the surface of some of the best title designs and sequences in film history. The Art of the Title is a website devoted to such a craft, which over the last couple of decades has become a medium of artwork in itself.

Visit Art of the Title here.

Gerd Arntz – iPhone Memory Game

A classic “memory” game created for your iPhone and iPad by the estate of legendary iconographer Gerd Arntz? And it’s free?! Simply wonderful, and a great way to get to know the work of a great designer.

Visit the Gerd Arntz Memory game app page here.

Letter Playground

Apparently, Letter Playground has been around for a while, but it is certainly new to me (I lack the superpower of overseeing every corner of the internet, evidently). It’s a delightful website / forum for “everyday joes” and designers and illustrators to show off their hand-drawn (although I see some computer aided type in there also) letters and alphabet creations. Lots of great inspiration from tons of talented people.

Visit the Letter Playground here.

Jolby – new website

The extremely talented Portland, Oregon based duo of Josh Kenyon & Colby Nichols, aka Jolby (get it?), have relaunched their online portfolio. Full of lots of new fantastic illustrations and designs, maybe unaware to you, but Jolby has probably been involved with a lot of work that you interact with everyday, like Pitchfork, Urban Outfitters, Garmin and T-Mobile, just to name a few.

Visit the all new Jolby website here.

Studio: Ah & Oh

It’s always interesting, for me at least, to take a step back when I find arresting projects or designs and look at the studio that created them. Does their work have any unifying voice? Is there a thread of novelty or strange wonderment that can be found in each project? The answer for Poland’s Ah & Oh studio is definitely yes. From their strange but admittedly adorable BugPlug to their sinister and romantic Scent Stories, there’s an slight whiff of absurdity and whimsy to their pieces, which are often grounded in minimal and well executed graphics and typography.

Visit Ah & Oh’s website here.