Self Negotiated - Designer Research

I have decided to research different illustrators to help discover what kind of style I want my illustrations to be and for inspiration. I have also looked up designers, looking at their artwork as well as the way they have laid out work in a magazine to help with my lay out skills as this is important because I need to try and ensure good layout throughout my document.

John Holcroft - Illustrator

John Holcroft is an illustrator based in England. Graduating in the 90s he started going freelance, working in acrylics on board. Since then he has reinvented himself many times. Currently he works digitally but emulates a screen print style, rather like 1950s poster ads. I like the style in which he designs with the 50’s vintage look as well as the way he draws the characters in his work, but also communicates modern messages in a satirical and intelligent way. 

Sam Island - Illustrator

Sam Island is an illustrator that has caught my eye. For my project I am considering creating some simple illustration to match fake headlines, so I wanted to find a simple yet effective style of illustration to try. Sam’s work fits this criteria. His art work is simplistic but look great with their fun colours and characters. 

Hey Studio - Illustrator

Hey studio is a design company that have examples of minimalist and geometric design. They are well known for their character designs. They are blocky and of low detail but really effective. This is a design style I could consider. They also design layouts.

Kelli Anderson - Designer

Kelli Anderson is a designer I have decided to look at due to one of her works called ‘Counterfeit News’. It was a collaborative project wherein they distributed hundreds of thousands of copies of a perfectly-counterfeited New York Times—providently post-dated and describing a utopian future. 

It was intended to catch bleary-eyed commuters off guard, it initiated a conversation about activism and democracy, while providing a blueprint for a better world. This is similar to my idea as it is a newspaper that displays fake news however in an alternative way to my idea.

Matt Willey

Matt Willey is a successful designer and currently art director of The New York Times magazine. His layout is excellent and very inspiring. I have looked at his layout for the magazine YouCanNow for inspiration.