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.

Studio: A Friend of Mine

Gotta be honest, it was hard to whittle down the fantastic work of Melbourne, Australia’s A Friend of Mine to three post images. With smart, incredibly intricate work like the VCE Season of Excellence branding (a series of paper cutouts for a university exhibition) to great, clever logos (like Kitsch & Tea on their website) and a breadth of knowledge on appropriate and eye-catching design techniques (like the church opening seen above), their portfolio is treasure trove of inspirational ideas, all expertly executed.

Visit A Friend of Mine’s website 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.

Well Designed: Newswordy.com

The fine folks at idsgn have launched a new website, Newswordy, which is best left to them to describe:

“Buzzwords are frequently used in news media. These are words that do not typically occur in everyday speech, but are common among newscasters, talking heads, and pundits on cable news. Every weekday, Newswordy will celebrate one of these words.”

With a simple, wonderfully scalable, 3 column grid and a minimal hierarchy, Newswordy posts are easily digestible but also rich in content. Given examples lead to original sources and there’s even a column devoted to the use of the weekly word in everyday Twitter feeds. The typography is clean and the design is crisp and to the point. I even love the rotating full field color palette to add a nice change of environment with each post.

Visit Newswordy 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.

The Font Game for iPad/iPhone

It’s always little games like this that push me over the edge to buy new a new gadget or upgrade to the latest wiz-bang device. Any excuse to play and learn at that same time is all the reasoning I need, and Justin Stahl (of I Love Typography fame) has done just that. The Font Game is exactly what it says it is, a fun learning tool for old and young designers and creatives alike to match up fonts with their unique styles and also great features like the “Terminology” area, where you can attempt to show off your skills at deciphering between an ohm and an outstroke. With a clean minimal design and easy to navigate pages, The Font Game, of course, allows the fonts themselves to steal the show.

Learn more about The Font Game 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.

James and Karla Murray – “Storefronts”

Sometimes the simplest of ideas can produce the most beautiful results. I came across this great ongoing series of storefront photos by James and Karla Murray and marveled at the results of such an elementary premise. By presenting the storefronts in a simple straightforward format, they allowed the artistic elements, and sometimes the lack thereof, to become the prime focus. Gorgeous hand painted lettering, massive lighting displays of neon and bold color combinations all attempt to lure the customers in off the street, and create a vivid canvas that tells a story of not only that establishment but of the history of that block, and the people that frequent it.

See more “Storefronts” photographs here.

MoMA – 23 Fonts added to Design Collection

NYC’s prestigious Museum of Modern Art announced today the addition of 23 “digital” fonts to it’s permanent Architecture and Design Collection. Why is this important you may ask? It signifies a great moment for type designers and typography enthusiasts everywhere as “digital” or commercially available fonts are included alongside artwork and design milestones of the 20th (and 21st) Century, acknowledging their ubiquity and popularity as well as their aesthetic beauty and the craftsmanship of the foundries that produced them. Gotham, Didot, OCR-A and Big Caslon (all used in the graphic above) were selected along with 19 others and will be celebrated and on display at the upcoming Standard Deviations show, opening March 2nd.

Read more about MoMA’s acquisitions and upcoming show here.