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Claude Bernard: The Only Way to Learn

June 25, 2019 by Mary Bonneville Leave a Comment

Filed Under: Graphic Design

Negative Space: Saying A Lot With Nothing

June 25, 2019 by Mary Bonneville Leave a Comment

View this post on Instagram

The Original Folk & Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm • The Complete First Edition Translated by Jack Zipes • Illustrated by Andrea Dezsö • 2014 • Princeton University Press •The Frog Prince • available where books are sold #andreadezso #jackzipes #princetonuniversitypress #grimm #brothersgrimm #grimmbrothers #bookillustration

A post shared by Andrea Dezsö (@andreadezso) on Dec 12, 2018 at 6:19am PST

Read more on “how artists use negative space to say a lot with nothing.”

Filed Under: Graphic Design

You Can Design Everything

June 13, 2019 by Mary Bonneville

Just a little reminder…

Read Design Culture for an insightful interview with Vignelli; his story and thoughts on design, type and advice to budding designers.

Filed Under: Creativity, Graphic Design, Inspiration

Minimalist Brand Identity for Your Cat

June 13, 2019 by Mary Bonneville

This made me laugh. People are great…

Zebrapets asked our team at Robin Design Studio to create a visual language, concepts, packaging and identity for their brand. The goal was to introduce the new pet brand to the German market in a fresh, bold and minimalist way. We used two basic main colours: black & white, because there is a serious colour-chaos in the shelves of the pet shops (and we all know the Von Restorff Effect).

Filed Under: Graphic Design, Made Me Laugh, Minimalist

Less is More with Hong Kong Coffee Shop

June 13, 2019 by Mary Bonneville

Creating a minimalist white coffee shop in Hong Kong is sheer genius from a marketing stand point. NOC is a popular coffee shop that aspires “to remove distractions, so you can connect with the things that matter.”

Brilliant Design and Branding by SuperUnion

Hong Kong is all about more. NOC is a coffee company that believes in less. Less of what you don’t need or never asked for. Less irrelevant choice. Less cutting corners.

In a world that is obsessed with more, NOC decided to put a stake in the ground for believing in less. Nobody needs dozens of types of flat white – all you need is a good one. We created a coffee experience to give a moment of calm amid the chaos of a busy city.

 

Filed Under: Creativity, Graphic Design

Letterpress Prints for Bibliophiles

June 12, 2019 by Mary Bonneville

What artist wouldn’t love this job? New York based studio, Obvious State combined their love of books with their talent for illustration. Now partnering with Boxcar Press, they’re able to produce high quality prints on letterpress. Lovely!

The Bibliophilia collection is inspired by an obsession with the underlined passages in our favorite books. Snippets of text from authors, philosophers and thinkers are used as a springboard for a new idea and illustration.

black and white illustration - Virginia Woolf

black and white illustration - Oscar Wilde

Filed Under: Creativity, Drawing, Graphic Design, Illustration, Inspiration

Artists Treading in the Unknown; the Only Way to Growth

June 12, 2019 by Mary Bonneville

Austin Kleon’s little, yet powerful book, Keep Going, is making the rounds, and I can see why. It’s clever, inspiring, and full of insights from artists who’ve battled long and hard in the unknown territories of themselves. He says, “to change is to be alive.”  And yet, culture is harsh with those who are struggling upstream, vouching it’s weak to change your mind, or defend your current view points till death. But, nothing alive is stagnant, and the inability to bend is to be dead in the water.

Kleon writes:

When was the last time you changed your mind about something? We’re afraid of changing our minds we’re afraid of the consequences of changing our minds. What will people think?

…Uncertainty is the very thing that art thrives on. The writer Donald Barthelme said that the artist’s natural state is one of not-knowing”

…You start each work not knowing exactly where you’re going or where you’ll end up. “Art is the highest form of hope,” said painter Gerhard Richter. But hope is not about knowing how things will turn out –it is moving forward in the face of uncertainty. It’s a way of dealing with uncertainty. “Hope is an embrace of the unknown and the unknowable,” write Rebecca Solnit. To have hope, you must acknowledge that you don’t know everything and you don’t know what’s going to happen. That’s the only way to keep gong and the only way to keep making art: to be open to possibility and allow yourself to be changed.”

Filed Under: Art, Creativity, Graphic Design, Graphic Design Books, Inspiration

Paula Scher Ted Talk; “Great Design is Serious, Not Solemn”

June 11, 2019 by Mary Bonneville

Paula Scher, designer of the Citibank logo, takes us on a journey of her career pointing out that her greatest successes came when she was having fun and taking risks. She noticed her work became “solemn” after gaining notoriety and consequently being obliged to keep up certain expectations. She shares the secrets to her greatest design, and encourages designers to gamble, play, and enjoy the ride.

My work is play, and I play when I design. – Paula Scher

Filed Under: Creativity, Graphic Design

Illustrated Fable on Being Present

June 11, 2019 by Mary Bonneville

Here’s a beautiful book about living in the present moment by illustrator, Coralie Bickford-Smith.  Coralie is a U.K. based Designer who loves working with patterns and bold colors, primarily creating book covers for Penguin press.

About her own book she writes,

This is a fable about being in the moment and how the smallest encounters in the day are often the most beautiful. I can be guilty of ignoring these tiny beautiful slices of time because I am too busy getting on with the next task. And like the worm in the story I need to remember to stop, look and cherish these moments. This book is a timely reminder to enjoy the wonders of the world around us.

Living in the present moment Living in the present moment the worm and the bird Living in the present moment the worm and the bird

Living in the present moment the worm and the bird

Gorgeous … Bickford-Smith’s life-affirming artwork raises The Worm and the Bird to the stars – The Times

Absolutely stunning. A very sweet story with a touch of dark humour too. Wonderful. A fantastic book. – Chris Haughton, author of ‘A Bit Lost’

I love love love it, just beautiful. – Millie Marotta, author of ‘Millie Marotta’s Animal Kingdom’

I love it. A book to buy and treasure, for yourself or others. – Marion Deuchars, author of ‘Let’s Make Some Great Art’ and ‘Colour’

You can buy copy of The Worm and the Bird here. For more of Bickford-Smith’s inspiring illustration and book design, visit her website.

Filed Under: Art, Graphic Design, Illustration, Inspiration

Branding for Artisan Bread Shop Mitte Brot

June 11, 2019 by Mary Bonneville

We’re inspired by the work of Studio Barn, out of Istanbul. They’ve created especially beautiful branding for the Artisan Bread Makers, Mitte Brot.

The vintage inspired logotype and hand illustrated rooster, a significant symbol for time and dawn, became the backbone for the branding and different print materials.

Branding for Artisan Bread Mitt Brot

Branding for Artisan Bread Mitt Brot

Branding for Artisan Bread Mitt Brot

Filed Under: Graphic Design, Illustration, Inspiration, Logo Design, Print Design

Intelligent and Memorable Branding for Botanist

June 10, 2019 by Mary Bonneville

Beautiful logo and branding for Mark Spencer, a Forensic Botanist, field botanist and public speaker. Brilliantly created by Fieldwork Facility, They were asked  “to create an identity for Mark that was intelligent, simple and memorably executed.”  They’ve done it well!

 

Botanist logo

Botanist business card

Botanist Bag

Filed Under: Graphic Design

“Go on Creating. Life is Short”

June 10, 2019 by Mary Bonneville

To help you refocus today: The Holstee Manifesto. Holstee offers creative life inspiration and art for living mindfully.

Nature does not hurryYou must keep moving

Filed Under: Graphic Design, Inspiration

Hold my beer

June 6, 2019 by Mary Bonneville

Yes, I’d like to try one. I’d like to try one in Iceland. Hat’s off to Auston Design Group, they do amazing branding and package design for beer, wine, and spirits.

Filed Under: Graphic Design, Illustration, Inspiration

131 Ways to Spark Creativity

June 6, 2019 by Mary Bonneville

Just got the new book, The Art of Noticing – It’s a fun, down-to-earth book chock-full of ideas on how to see and connect more deeply to the world around you. Here’s a few lines from the beginning:

Imagine… devoting just one hour a week to consciously directing your attention. How would that affect the way you see, perceive, and think? How would it shift the way you engage with the world? How much might that not only change but also improve your work and your life?

…Let’s stop trying to be so productive all the time and make an effort to be more curious. Do you want to look back on a life of items crossed off lists drawn up in response to the demands of others? Or do you want to hang on to, and repeat, and remember, the thrill of discovering things on your own? –Rob Walker

The Art of Noticing, hot off the press May 2019

Filed Under: Art, Creativity, Graphic Design, Inspiration

Visual illustration of famous authors’ sleep habits and productivity

June 6, 2019 by Mary Bonneville

Ever wondered if some of your favorite writers were early or late risers? Ever wanted to justify your own bizarre sleep schedule? I’ve always been fascinated with the routines of famous creatives. Check out this cleverly illustrated chart from Brainpickings.org and observe how sleep routines may or may not correlate with productivity.

(Created by Maria Popova, Wendy MacNaughton and Accurat)

Filed Under: Art, Graphic Design, Illustration

Beautiful obsidian

June 5, 2019 by Douglas Bonneville

Rainbow obsidian from r/BeAmazed

Can’t stop looking at how beautiful obsidian is! It’s weird how all the beauty is trapped until the rock is broken, for light to interact with.

Filed Under: Graphic Design

A very steady hand

June 4, 2019 by Douglas Bonneville

 

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Simple but stylish! 1??2??3?? Rate 1 to 10! ? ———————————————————————— ? – Credit ? ~ @gracecallidesigns . . . . . . . #calligraphy #lettering #art #arty #arts #crafts #handlettering #design #type #arabic #typing #handwriting #typography #typographical #calligraphydaily #calligraphyvideo #letters #font #fonts #illustration #graphicdesign #calligraphylove #sketch #lettered #handwritingchallenge

A post shared by Calligraphy Clips (@swiftcalligraphy) on May 27, 2019 at 10:12am PDT

Filed Under: Graphic Design

How to Self-Promote Your Newly Published Book

February 21, 2019 by Mary Bonneville

If you’ve just now published your first book, you are FINALLY ready to move on to the next big task: marketing and promotion! There are many proven methods when it comes to marketing your book. If you’ve published through IngramSpark or Amazon’s KDP, you’re off to a good start with world-wide distribution to retailers and wholesalers.  Congratulations! Now what? What can you do in addition so you can sell more books directly and cut out the middle-man to reap a better profit? Lets take a look at a few possibilities. 

… [Read More]

Filed Under: Graphic Design

Metadata Basics for Self-Publishers: Fill it all out!

February 13, 2019 by Mary Bonneville

If you’re a soon-to-be first time self-publisher, one thing you need to know upfront is how crucial creating good metadata is for the discoverability of your titles in the book industry. If you do not have good metadata, you simply will not sell your books. You may have valuable content and extensive inside knowledge about a subject, yet your title will go unnoticed if this step in the publishing process is neglected or overlooked – which unfortunately happens quite often by authors.

… [Read More]

Filed Under: Graphic Design

Quick Guide to Copyrighting for Self-Publishers

February 13, 2019 by Mary Bonneville

Copyright for self-publishers

Once you’ve obtained your ISBN numbers, you may be interested in getting a Copyright for your book. This is another important step in the publishing process and can be done while you’re in the process of or even after you’ve received the printed book from whomever your publisher might be. You can relax, however, because any manuscript you produce is automatically protected with the first stroke of a pen. The benefit of registering your work with the Copyright Office is streamlined legal protection should you actually have to contend with a naughty manuscript thief.

… [Read More]

Filed Under: Graphic Design

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Recent Inspirations

  • Claude Bernard: The Only Way to Learn June 25, 2019
  • Negative Space: Saying A Lot With Nothing June 25, 2019
  • Shadowy Black and White Watercolors by Artist Elicia Edijanto June 18, 2019
  • Copland on What Creativity is Not June 18, 2019
  • Ornate Leaf Sculpture and Crochet Art by Susanna Bauer June 18, 2019
  • How to choose from among all your great ideas June 17, 2019
  • What you see is not always what you are looking at June 14, 2019
  • The Key to Unleashing Your Natural Creativity June 14, 2019
  • An Artist According to Mondrian June 14, 2019
  • Henry Miller: Forget Yourself June 14, 2019
  • Become a better writer by the time you finish reading this post June 13, 2019
  • You Can Design Everything June 13, 2019
  • Minimalist Brand Identity for Your Cat June 13, 2019
  • Act Like a Child to Spark Your Creativity June 13, 2019
  • Less is More with Hong Kong Coffee Shop June 13, 2019

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