Jan C. Almquist

Jan C. Almquist, a partner at Allemann Almquist & Jones, has just launched a new site showcasing some of his absolutely stunning photography work. I am grateful to have had Jan as a teacher in my final year of study at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where his unique insights into not just design but all modes of thinking were a constant source of motivation.

Carine Collin

Carine Collin from Belgium got in touch to share her beautifully minimal publication work. Also of note are her drawings. While her site is a bit clumsy navigation-wise, it is definitely worth checking out!

Allemann Almquist & Jones

 

A hearty congratulations goes out to Philadelphia's Allemann Almquist & Jones for not only their new site (though I still wish the images were bigger!), but for being featured in the new Graphis anthology DesignersUSA3. (Download PDF here)

I was lucky enough to have a summer internship at AA&J back in 2008, and the invaluable critiques and advice I received still resonate to this day. 

so+ba

 

  

Not much information on this "Swiss made in Japan" studio so+ba, but that's okay, because it won't stop me from gawking at their work.

Bisgràfic

Barcelona-based Bisgràfic has a portfolio of beautifully minimal design work. Along with the projects pictured above, I really love this logo for Waterfilter.

Wojciech Kubrakiewicz

 

I discovered the incredible work of Wojciech Kubrakiewicz, an artist/printmaker from Poland, today via flickr. He uses both linocuts and screenprinting (with old photos/etchings as source material) to great effect.

From the artist's statement:

"My graphics depict war without literal representation. Years of excessive exposure to suffering images have not changed anything. In the context of war atrocities it is far more important to show something unobtrusive and trivial. It helps us to understand that evil resides in reality and that it is present in everyday life."

Inspiring work.

Büro Uebele

Büro Uebele is the visual communications agency of Andreas Uebele, located in Stuttgart, Germany. Pictured above is the new identity for Deutscher Bundestag, based on the original three-dimensional form created by artist Ludwig Gies.
The project descriptions on Uebele's site are actually worth reading (such as this one, about the work for Parrotta Contemporary Art):
"art writes its own laws. familiar everyday things are removed from reality. in the wordmark for the gallery for contemporary art the letters are removed as well. abandoning themselves to the rhythm of a siren song, they have sailed away from their standard spacing. through the apparently random blacking of the counters – the white spaces in the letters – the wordmark with its irregular spacing seems somehow syncopated. plain information is transformed into contemporary art."
Sehr gut!

League

Some beautiful posters by Swiss studio League. Be sure to check out their type design, too.

(discovered via OriginalLinkage)

Friends on Etsy

Since most people are in full-blown holiday consumer mode these days, I thought I'd post a few links to some friends who have made their goods available on Etsy.

First up is Dete Clothing, my mother-in-law's line of children's clothing/toys hand-knitted in Serbia (pictured above). This is high-quality stuff...

My friend Dee Duncan, a designer/artist living in Chicago, has these awesome multi-colored screen prints available in his shop.

Durham's own Bigwig&Silver has a ton of paper goods on his shop, including these great "Thanks from space" cards (pictured above).

The Big Harumph is my friend Georgia's shop, full of hand carved linoleum prints. Pictured above is a print entitled "Too Many Buttons".

And last but not least, my friend JT Yost, a Brooklyn-based illustrator, has a shop called Peculiar Pet Portraits, which despite the name, also has non-pet items like the beautiful accordion lino cut pictured above.

Matthew Leibowitz

I consider Matthew Leibowitz one of my design heroes. I was lucky enough to see the exhibition in 2007 at The University of the Arts, Philadelphia.  The playfulness and tension in his work is a continued source of inspiration. YOU WILL browse the archive of his work, and YOU WILL get excited.

Mission Design

Excellent identity work from Norwegian studio Mission Design. (Browse their work a bit quicker at Behance...)

Happycentro

Some great work from Italian studio Happycentro... the Alphaposter series is wonderful!

COÖP

Coöp is a design studio based in Melbourne, Australia. Pictured above is some of the identity work they did for 1:1 Architects. So, so good.
via FPO

New work from Notter+Vigne

Looks like Notter+Vigne (who I featured here before) have a new site up, with some new work as well. Not really a fan of the navigation, as it takes a bit of effort just to browse through the projects, but the work is top notch, as always.

William Longhauser

From his site:
"William Longhauser received a BFA degree in graphic design from the College of Design, Art, and Architecture at the University of Cincinnati, and an MFA in design from Indiana University. He has also  completed two years of post-graduate study at the School of Design, in Basel, Switzerland. Before moving to Los Angeles in June, 2000, he was a tenured professor at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia, where he taught in the graphic design department since 1977 and was chairman of the department for three years."

His site has a ton of incredible work, so prepare to spend some time!

Brendan Monroe Show in LA

Brendan Monroe (who I featured previously here) emailed to let me know of his show that is up until November 14th in Los Angeles at the Richard Heller Gallery. I would love to be able to see it in person, but I suppose this slideshow will have to do! Amazing work, Brendan!

Thirty Conversations on Design

Thirty Conversations on Design features short videos with a wide array of creatives from around the world speaking about inspiration and problem-solving. Ten videos are up so far, so be sure to bookmark!

Stuart Kolakovic

I'm excited about the work of Stuart Kolakovic, an illustrator from the UK. Much of his work draws on his Serbian and Ukrainian roots... the second picture above is a spread from his comic "Ja Ljubav Te". Be sure to visit his blog, too. And his etsy store...

Unimark International Book

I'm looking forward to the early November release of Jan Conradi's new book on the history of Unimark International, from Lars Müller Publishers.
(See earlier post)

L2M3

Some really great work by Stuttgart, Germany's L2M3.There is a ton of work to explore on their site, so get to it.

Atelier Aquarium

Paris-based studio Atelier Aquarium was kind enough to send me a copy of their new promotional poster "The A From Outer Space"... now I just need to figure out where to hang it! They do a  lot of interesting type design and identity work, so check 'em out.

Okay Type

I love the work from Brooklyn-based Okay Type. Pictured above is a sample of Alright Sans (top), and Alright Display (love that lowercase g!). Available for purchase from MyFonts and TypeTrust.

Book Worship

Book Worship is a new site by graphic designer Shawn Hazen that features his growing collection of books from the 50s, 60s and 70s. I actually need the book pictured above, and not just because it looks great!

via @alvinmartinez

Merrick Angle

Illustrator Merrick Angle got in touch to show some interesting new editorial work.

Bauer

Bauer Concept & Design from Vienna does some really fantastic identity work. Pictured above is work for architecture firm Sputnic (including a custom typeface), and work Syntax Architektur.

100

Ah, the joys of minor milestones. Thanks to all of you who continue to read Labor&Curse... leave a comment to let me know you are out there! Oh, and follow me on Twitter if you haven't already. Keep on keepin' on--

Annis

Very nice collection of print work by design studio Annis, based in Copenhagen. (Top photo: Cover of "Interrupted Game"; Bottom photo: Spread from SUM magazine)

León Ferrari and Mira Schendel

Flipping through the latest issue of Art On Paper, I came across the work of León Ferrari and Mira Schendel, which according to one review "deal with the intricacies and ambiguities of language". I would have loved to have seen the exhibition at MoMA earlier this year, but this interactive gallery will have to do.

Filipe Carvalho

Great motion graphics work from Portugal-based designer Filipe Carvalho. Watch the 2 sequences pictured above here and here (Load times are a bit slow).

Mina Arko

I used to follow Slovenian designer Mina Arko's work at her old blog Playground15, so I was glad to see that she has a proper site up now at arkomina.com. Pictured above are samples from a specimen book for her wonderful typeface Nouvelle... Now, how does one get a both a copy of the book AND the typeface?