Pattern Pulp

Color & Graphics: Maxwell Holyoke-Hirsch




Maxwell Holyoke-Hirsch PatternPulp 1

What makes a good editorial illustration? Like a book cover, I believe it’s one that immediately draws you in, conveys a complicated message, and feels simple in execution. Achieving this balance is a tough task, as there’s a true art form to showing and not necessarily telling. Editors, art directors and graphic designers grapple with this visual see-saw every day.

Maxwell Holyoke-Hirsch PatternPulp2

If you read the New York Times, Bloomberg Business Week, The New Yorker or The Washington Post, you may be familiar w the bold clever illustrations of Maxwell Holyoke-Hirsch.

Maxwell’s designs incorporate pattern through simple line and texture, often supporting a singular theme and color way within his layout. His work translates complicated topics, allowing the article and accompanying content to shine – which is no easy feat. Click here to page through his portfolio – as you scroll through, you’ll appreciate the edited minimalism that allows his work resonate so clearly.

 

Design & Transportation in Mumbai




TaxiFabric2

Living in New York, it’s easy to understand how the yellow cab (not necessarily the sleek black Uber) is a cultural emblem of the city. We have hollywood and midtown rush hour to thank for that. In Mumbai, it’s similar, but a bit different. To support their tremendous population, there are currently 55K cabs in competition with one another to keep the transportation system running.

TaxiFabric4TaxiFabric1TaxiFabric3

Taxi Fabric is a new initiative hoping to liven up these old cars and bring design to the forefront of conversation. Reupholstering seat covers and ceiling panels with patterns from local young graphic designers, each newly designed car now has the ability to transport their passengers both physically and creatively.

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Currently, a small test group of five cars has been transformed, in an effort to help the population appreciate design as well as the cultural impact it can have. The goal though, is to convert over 1,000 cars – and – up Mumbai’s ante as a forward thinking design capital of India.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sanketavlani/taxi-fabric-a-unique-platform-for-designers-in-mum

Check out Taxi Fabric’s kickstarter campaign to learn more about this cool initiative.

 

Book Review: Behind Collections




1Behind Collections Book

Graphic Design in branding and communication has always been important. Something well designed can create customer loyalty, monetary benefits, and an edge on competition. Insert pattern and texture into this conversation and you’ve elevated it, giving the audience more visuals to identify with.

2 Behind Collections Book

Behind Collections is an encyclopedia of the best graphic design and promotional materials in the fashion industry today. It hits a certain aesthetic that’s quite popular at the moment, and reveals the varied methods of achieving a luxurious brand through color, embossing, typography and photography.

3 Behind Collections Book

It includes promotional design from ACNE, HONOR, AKIN, Vogue, Hermes and more…and an index of the creative studios behind the work.

4 Behind Collections Book

Here are a few spreads that that caught my eye. If you’re looking to add another book to the library, I highly recommend investing in this one. Click here to purchase.

Digesting & Designing Data




DataDesign

I’m a complete nerd when it comes to data design. It holds such high importance in communicating real-time facts, that it’s hard to ignore the visual trends of the category. If you take a gander at Pinterest, you’ll see endless styles that have emerged, to decipher the numerical chaos. This past weekend, Benedict Carey of The New York Times devoted a significant analysis to the topic, in relation to perceptual learning:

And so it is in many fields, whether predicting climate, flagging potential terrorists or making economic forecasts. The information is all there, great expanding mountain ranges of it. What’s lacking is the tracker’s instinct for picking up a trail, the human gut feeling for where to start looking to find patterns and meaning.

As we become more attuned to mapping data and translating it for the masses, we’ll be more equipped to embrace and evolve into the future. Never before has the art of tracking patterns been this important.

Pattern Designers to Watch




Pattern Designers to Watch from 2014b

Moving the needle forward and creating fresh work can be challenging. These artists are doing just that. Whether they’re combining illustration and graphic design, collage and paint, or woven threads in tandem with other styles, everything you see here will influence trends and styles in the coming year. Have a look, get to know these characters and share a few of your favorites with us!

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1. Lotta Neinimen’s crisp, flat and precise landscapes.

2. Adam Lister’s modular cubism.

3. Ayaka Ito’s surreal and unexpected combinations

4. Sandra Nanushka’s floating objects.

5. Grant Gronewold’s pattern collages and illustrative storytelling.

6. Hanna Waldron’s tedious and meticulous woven graphics.

7. Lucas Grogan’s indigo murals turned textiles.

8. Paul Glabicki’s primary expression.

9. Sophie Duran’s figurative and collaged web.

10. Nina Warmerdam’s quirky grids.

Janine Rewell x Minna Parikka




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Today’s feature is what collaborative dreams are made of. If you haven’t yet watched the video, please go do that now:

Two incredible artists, Janine Rewell and Minna Parikka recently joined forces to create a campaign including body paint, shoes, graphic patterns and naked models. The result are show-stopping.

 

Tracking Repetitive + Awesome.
On Instagram.