Japanese designer and all around nice guy Susumu Fukuzaki just sent us a cool little book of us work that he calls his “new anthology” on his blog. Some fairly unusual work…I’m sort of at a loss as for any possible references to describe it. It sort of reminds me the kind of stuff the Church of the Subgenius or Negativland did in the 1990s.
Chicago-based photographer Carrie Schneider has done some lovely work. She often incorporates sculptural/made pieces into a photograph, creating clearly staged moments that carry a lot of emotional resonance. I’m particularly fond of her use of dazzle camouflage, having experimented with it in my own work as well.
London-based, Spanish-born designer Ion Ander Beloki makes beautiful, challenging work out of that most unabashedly commercial (and often mundane) assemblage that is the store window display. Trained in graphic design and sculpture, Ion Ander Beloki runs his own professional window dressing studio, Ja! Studio. Perhaps I’m a little naive but I had no idea this was a job a person can have. It makes sense though – his displays convey an elegance and artfulness that certainly reflects well on the stores they’re in.
Londoner illustrator Mr. Bingo is a funny man. He seems to specialize in doing drawings that come off as doodles a really cool and talented teenager might do in math class. Fortunately for him, his clients – which include the Mighty Boosh, Wired, and the New York Times – love him for it, embracing the very British wit present in each of his illustrations. Make sure to check out the entirety of the first project on his site (Tiny Acts of Rebellion) – some brilliant, subversive stuff.
Konstantin Shalev is a Russian illustrator who, at 23, is tearing up the internets (his Behance username is appropriately Ripper). Sporting a slick, cartoony style, Shalev’s characters and patterns have been featured on multiple Threadless shirts, in Popular Mechanics magazine, and more.
KHUAN+KTRON is a three person design studio based in Belgium, though its members come from all over – Japan, Russia, and, uh, Belgium. Their varying backgrounds is clearly a boon to their work, which shows a lot of influences. Actually, KHUAN+KTRON have helpfully listed some of these influences on their site, so we don’t have to guess at what they are – medieval torture techniques, people with monstrous sideburns (not counting women), and free jazz are just a few. Check out the full list on their site!
Richard Amsel (1947-1985) was a commercial artist famous for his movie posters, which include Raiders of the Lost Ark, Chinatown, and more. Having been discovered at 22 (edit: 21) when he made a successful proposal for the poster of Hello, Dolly!, Amsel had a fruitful career applying his hyper-realistic painting style to not only movie posters but album covers, book covers, and TV Guide covers. Amsel passed away in 1985 from AIDS.
D-Barcode is a Japanese design firm which apparently specializes entirely in designing barcodes. I wish I could tell you more, but I don’t speak Japanese and pretty much the only English on their site is their slogan – BIG IDEAS ARE SMALL, DESIGN BARCODE. Can any Japanese readers tell us more?
