Countering the myth of the lone genius 🎶⁠ ⁠ 👁 On @AIGAEyeonDesign this week → It was Brian Eno who invented the term ‘scenius,’ which counters the myth of the lone genius and credits the collective effort. There might be one name on the front of the record sleeve, though there’s usually a whole cast of important contributors with their names written in tiny lettering somewhere on the inlay sleeve: the scene, as it were. In his latest Under the Covers column, Jeremy Allen explores the collaborations that have been integral to Eno’s moody album covers.⁠ ⁠ Follow the link in bio to read more >>⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ #aigaeyeondesign #aigadesign #design #recordsleeve #record #brianeno #musicdesign #musician #designhistory #designstories #albumcover #graphicdesign

Why did so many mid-century designers make children’s books? 💛⁠ ⁠ 👁 On AIGA Eye on Design this week → From Milton Glaser’s If Apples Had Teeth, Saul Bass’s Henri’s Walk to Paris and Paul Rand’s I Know a Lot of Things, to Bruno Munari’s Zoo, Dick Bruna’s Miffy and Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar, a number of prominent mid-century designers and illustrators turned their hand to books for kids as they sank into their own old age.⁠ ⁠ What made children’s books the ideal form for mid-century designers though? Writer @millyburroughs2.0 examines how simplified aesthetics and a changing advertising landscape made books for children the ideal form for these designers to play with. Images courtesy of @theoinglis.⁠ ⁠ Follow the link in bio to read more >>⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ #aigaeyeondesign #aigadesign #graphicart #midcenturydesign #design #illustrator #childrensbooks #illustratedbook #designer #artist #graphicartist

Everyday joys 🌻⁠ ⁠ Jessie Wong (@jessiewsart), an illustrator based out of Hong Kong, hopes that her work will inspire her audience to appreciate “the beauty of the world.” Whenever she begins an illustration, she first likes to empty her head of distracting and concerning thoughts, to help depict ”a world without worries.” “There are so many annoyances around us, and I hope my illustrations can create a breathing space for people,” she says. We’d happily sit here in Wong’s illustrated flower field all day if we could. 😍⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ #aigaeyeondesign #aigadesign #graphicart #illustration #design #illustrator #digitalart #digitaldesign #designer #artist #graphicartist ⁠

When a mistake becomes a design detail 💗⁠ ⁠ 👁 On AIGA Eye on Design this week → Silvana is a beautiful new display serif from @blazetype designed by the Berlin-based Siri Lee Lindskrog of design studio Formal Settings (@formal.settings). It takes its point de départ from an old typeface called Pennsylvania published in the 19th century, and combines the Old Style spirit with sharper contrast and refinement for a modern feel. ⁠ ⁠ Above, Siri has shared some examples of the font in use. While designing the face, she was particularly taken with one quirk from her inspiration, where excess ink gathered in the lowercase “a”, creating darker areas. This mistake, she tells design journalist Emily Gosling (@nalascarlett), has been turned into design detail for her gorgeous new release 💗⁠ ⁠ Read the whole story at the link in bio >>⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ ⁠ #aigaeyeondesign #aigadesign #typeface #newfont #typography #typedesign #graphicdesign #typeinuse #fontsinuse #sanserif #displaytypeface #graphicart #typedesigner ⁠

Recycled paintings ✂️⁠ ⁠ The collages you see here are created from scraps of graphic artist @OttoIram’s acrylic paintings. The France-based artist manually sketches and paints shapes into minimalist artworks, and when an artwork doesn’t come out quite right, he cuts out pieces and assembles them into a collage. The result is a harmony of colors. “I just try to do something colorful and harmonious to give joy and positivity,” says Otto. We certainly feel the positivity popping out of those shapes! 🥰⁠ ⁠ Scroll to the end to see one of the acrylic paintings →⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ ⁠ #aigaeyeondesign #aigadesign #graphicart #graphicartist #collage #art #design #minimalist #artist #acrylic #painter⁠

Puzzling streets 🚕⁠ ⁠ Do you remember your first puzzle? We bet it wasn’t as beautifully designed as this one! Buenos Aires-based illustrator Marcoss Montiell (@marcossmontiell) created this illustration, called La Vecindad (The Neighborhood), for @monoblock’s new line of 100 piece puzzles for children (though we feel strongly it’s not just kids who will enjoy it!). The design is inspired by the hidden object illustrations made famous by the likes of Where’s Waldo? Marcoss even snuck his own mini homage into the fictional streets… Can you spot Basquiat? ⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ ⁠ #aigaeyeondesign #aigadesign #illustration #illustrator #puzzle #design #graphicdesign ⁠

Building covers 🚧⁠ ⁠ @AutomaticoStudio’s radical approach to designing architectural magazines has created a unique and recognizable graphic brutalism. The monthly covers it creates for @espazium.ch’s Tracés Magazine reject the usual array of flashy photography and star architect portraits, instead turning article content into minimalistic designs, starting with article keywords or titles. “In a unique but simple way, we can create an intriguing visual that helps to carry the main topic of the issue but also activates a debate among the readers,” says studio founder Demian Conrad. “We strongly believe that reading is a political act and helps to empower civic discourse.”⁠ ⁠ See more of the Swiss design studio’s work at the link in bio >>⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ ⁠ #aigaeyeondesign #aigadesign #magazine #magazinecover #architecture #design #graphicdesign #animation #designstudio #architecturemagazine #swissdesign #revuetraces⁠

Building an entire identity around a squeeze bottle 🫒⁠ ⁠ 👁 On AIGA Eye on Design this week → Like Go-Gurt before it, the playful ethos of olive oil brand @getgraza, which launched earlier this year, is defined by its equally carefree form factor. While Go-Gurt’s squeezable plastic sleeve made yogurt more appealing to children, Graza’s squeezable bottle makes inherently appealing high-quality olive oil less precious to everyone. ⁠ ⁠ Restaurant kitchens put olive oil in squeeze bottles, and now you can cook this way, too. In her latest column, journalist Rachel de Valle (@ardvee) considers how food products like Graza, which capitalize on the restaurant world, have made “cooking into a kind of cosplay.” ⁠ ⁠ Read the whole story at the link in bio >>⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ ⁠ #aigaeyeondesign #aigadesign #branding #identitydesign #design #illustration #illustrator #food #packaging #graphicdesign

Tea time 🫖⁠ ⁠ In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Barcelona Olympics, Spanish tea company Sans & Sans (@tesansisans) released this beautiful variety box designed by the food branding extraordinaires at @requena.office. Mixing the “Olympic spirit, signified through the mythical rings” with the forms and colors associated with “most famous painter from Barcelona, Joan Miró,” this box looks nothing like the other tea packages lining our shelves… We can’t wait to take a sip! ⁠ ⁠ See more of Requena’s branding at the link in our bio >>⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ ⁠ #aigaeyeondesign #aigadesign #branding #identitydesign #design #Miro #foodbranding #food #packaging #graphicdesign #graphicart ⁠

Curious watercolors 💧⁠ ⁠ We’re enchanted by these works by Fanny Monier (@fannymoni), an independent illustrator based out of Paris, who creates playful images that you can read in multiple ways. Starting with an idea to "build a drawing," she takes various steps to construct an image, the last of which is to use a light table and water color to "make the lines disappear," explains Fanny. "The naive and colorful images I make are the results of this process. I always discover the image at this very last step."⁠ ⁠ See more of Fanny's illustrations at the link in our bio >>⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ ⁠ #aigaeyeondesign #aigadesign #illustration #watercolor #design #illustrationartist #illustrator #minimalillustration⁠

For a brief, strange moment in the 1960s, dresses became posters. ⁠ ⁠ 👁 On AIGA Eye on Design this week → The short-lived fad for paper dresses took the US by storm for two years only, with everything from big brands to politicians designing their own disposable frocks. With designs featuring portraits of Bob Dylan to Nixon campaign logos to advertisements for the Yellow Pages, the paper dress became a potent communication tool, or even “a walking billboard.” ⁠ ⁠ In her latest story, journalist Ritupriya Basu (@ritupriyabasu) charts the rise and fall of this bizarre and (very) tearable garment, exploring the unique way that fashion and classic graphic design momentarily, spectacularly, collided >>⁠ ⁠ (All images courtesy of @atoposcvc) ⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ ⁠ #aigaeyeondesign #aigadesign #fashionhistory #designhistory #design #poster #fashion #paperdress #graphicdesign

A taste of caffeine ✌️⁠ ⁠ When indie cold brew brand Caphe (@wearecaphe) asked @ekowidarto_impact at @widartoimpact.official to create its visual identity, the team wanted something that felt distinct from the current coffee design trends in Indonesia. Working together with illustrator @lotuswhitesugito, Eko developed a series of gestural hand illustrations that contrast with a bold, geometric typographic palette. The result is a playful and energetic design sure to wake you up with your first cup each morning.⁠ ⁠ See more of Caphe’s brand at the link in our bio >>⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ ⁠ #aigaeyeondesign #aigadesign #illustration #packagingdesign #design #coffeebrand #illustrator #graphicdesign #branding #coldbrew⁠