Tell us a little about yourself and what steps you took to get here:

I am a South African illustrator/typographer and graphic designer currently working for myself in Melbourne. I studied fine arts majoring in illustration and graphic design at the university of Stellenbosch in South Africa. With my first job, I helped start what is now a highly respected design and illustration studio called Am I Collective based in Cape Town. I worked there for a few years and it helped me build the foundation and the way I approach all the work that I do today. When I got to Australia I worked for a great ad agency called Junior as an art director, it was a really good learning curve and helped me get the confidence and drive to go on my own. I feel privileged to do the work that I want to do.

What's your go-to source of inspiration outside of art or music?

I am very inspired by old hand made lettering and typographic signs... they are so much better than some of the crap used today. I also love decorative elements/ornamentation and african fabrics. We have started collecting fabric and letter forms and it's become a bit of an obsession!

What's your personal favorite piece of work you've created?

I have to be honest, I don't have a favourite piece. My favourite piece is usually something that I am currently working on or thinking about doing... once it's finished I'm usually over it.

What blogs or magazines do you turn to for creative inspiration.

I'm not really a proper blogger, I find it way too time consuming. However, friends of mine have an amazing blog called Goodness Greatness, it's really worthwhile and has some interesting unpretentious interviews. I also enjoy watching talks on TED from time to time.

What 's your all-time favorite piece of art or design. (*not created by you)

I have been following Chinese contemporary art for a little while now, and I am totally blown away by it.

What's your current creative obsession.

Typography, growing my beard, riding my bike and collecting as many letter "R's" as possible.

Tell us a little about yourself and what steps you took to get here.

I am an artist/designer living in Austin, TX. I kind of just do what I feel like, I tend to fixate on specific things, and when I do something I do my best to make it as good (and as simple) as I possibly can.

What are your steps for starting a portrait? Talk us through your processes.

You know when something catches your eye? A "shiny object" an attractive girl, a charismatic pop star, you just have a natural inkling toward it, that is how it usually starts, it's somewhat fickle. I usually do some research on that person, find images to use as references, and then try to capture their "essence" in a minimalistic but engaging way.

What's your go-to source of inspiration outside of art or music?

I love good conversation, I love just chatting with other people who are the thinking type. Also I love listening to stories in radio form, its hard to find interesting stuff but television is so dumbed down and books are so detached, radio has an intimacy involved with it, its mentally engaging but also can be very heartfelt if done well.

What's your personal favorite piece of work you've created?

It seems like its always the last one you create, right now I am pretty happy with my self portrait, I feel like it pushed me a little further into my own style and captured my overall playful jadedness.



What blogs or magazines do you turn to for creative inspiration.

I look at quite a few, but I have to say if I could only go to one ffffound.com is absolute gold when it comes to inspiration and creativity. Its like going into every antique store, art gallery, design agency and taking a look around every time you go to that site.

What's your all-time favorite piece of art or design. (*not created by you)

It would definitely be something by my favorite artist Jonathan Viner, his paintings are unbelievable but its very difficult to pick just one cause I love most of what he creates. I own "Eye for an Eye" so that is definitely one of my favorite pieces of art, it still moves me every time I walk by it. I'd probably sell my bed before I parted with that painting



What's your current creative obsession.

I've always been really into social experiments, I cant really explain it but its more or less about what happens as a result of what you do instead of what you did. I'm really trying to get better at it so I don't alienate the masses.

Tell us a little about yourself and what steps you took to get here:
i’m from Vancouver BC. At present I am lucky enough to be spending most of my time in the studio pursuing art, painting. I would like to think that it is the reward of dedication and time invested and hard work and love. however, luck probably has something to do with it too. And chronic dissatisfaction.

What are your steps for starting a portrait? Talk us through your processes. 

I try to paint everyday. it’s the part I enjoy most, simply being in the studio pushing paint around. it’s usually a big rush between pieces to sort out the image I’m going to work from. that’s why there are a lot of self portraits – I am always available in a pinch. i just quickly snap a photo and get back in the studio. the painting process itself is always under construction. each one is an experiment.

What's your go-to source of inspiration outside of art or music?

getting out of town for a few days is always good. the coast is beautiful. getting out to the ocean, getting into it, or onto it, or whatever, is always very inspiring. some philosophy, some science and some nice prose are a good source as well. 

What's your personal favorite piece of work you've created?

it changes. there are parts of works that I love and go back to and pat myself on the back for. but it is hard for me to truly love something after it is finished. a finished painting can only be what it is. an unfinished painting can be anything.


What blogs or magazines do you turn to for creative inspiration.

I’m not much of a blog follower or magazine reader. the pace overwhelms me. I’m more of a book and movie guy.


What's your all-time favorite piece of art or design. (*not created by you)

my 2 year old niece is turning out these pretty amazing scribbles. already she is an accomplished colourist, though her figure ground relationship needs some work. apart from her, I also like old monumental stuff. I was just at the british museum in London. it was fantastic. to look at the art of an extinct culture, from a past so different than the present, yet containing the same animal – it’s very strange. 



What's your current creative obsession.

still painting. I want to break apart the portrait and rebuild it somehow. out of resentment and fascination.


Thanks for your time!
 "Resentment and Facination" I relate to that so much.

Tell us a little about yourself and what steps you took to get here:

I'm originally from England, now living in Austin, Texas. As a kid I listened to a lot of old-school hip hop, which got me interested in graffiti and letter forms. Finally, one of my early art teachers in college looked at my reproduction Funkadelic album cover and accused me of being a graphic designer, which was a term I wasn't familiar with at the time. I think I resisted at first, but I soon learned to embrace the truth.

You use some amazing color combinations. Do you have a resource you like to use for inspiration on palettes?

I troll the blogs to jump-start my brain at every stage of the creative process, but mostly it's trial and error - a sort of Zen process. The colors tell you when they're right.

What's your go-to source of inspiration outside of art or music?

I live in books and movies. I'm rarely on top of what's going on in the world beyond those mediums - not really out of choice, but because I've always got my head in the clouds. A great story almost always inspires me to create something.

What 's your all-time favorite piece of art or design?

I dig the Ogden plumbing logo by Matt Everson. It's a perfect logo. I hope I'm never approached to do a logo for a plumbing company, because my thinking will be stunted from the start. I'm also deeply enamored of Alex Trochut's work, although I don't think I could pick just one example.

What's your current creative obsession?

Lettering - a return to my roots. It comes in waves, but I'm occasionally so obsessed with letter forms that I dream about them. It's sad really. I've also been writing a lot lately, which I do mostly for myself but which has been really cathartic.

Thanks for your time Simon.

Tell us a little about yourself and what steps you took to get here:

I grew up drawing. I find that the older I get, the more valuable it becomes that I drew so much in the early years of my life. After a couple of years in the school band, I finally took art classes in high school which led me to study Fine Art at Herron School of Art and Design in Indianapolis. While studying painting and illustration there I learned of an internship opportunity that was actually extended to students of the Visual Communication (Graphic Design) program. A friend in that program told me to check it out because the company, Fundex Games, was asking specifically for drawing skills in the area of character development and illustration. I went for it, got the job and stayed there for over 3 years as a part-timer while I continued my studies. I had the privilege of learning much about product design and development, making prototypes, working with overseas vendors and generally the madness that takes place when bringing a product to the mass market. After that I sought an opportunity to work for Mediasauce, an Indiana company that was doing things I had not yet heard of. I got a job there and eventually learned that they were creating a lot of flash-based content and websites. That job was incredible because I worked not only as an illustrator, but a member of the animation team. By the time if left a few years later, I had done everything from assisting photographers to voice-overs. When the time came to move on again, an unexpected door opened for me; I was offered a job wherein I would become and interactive designer. Being a sucker for on-the-job training, I went for it and have been enjoying The Basement Design + Motion for the past year. All in all, I would say the most important part of my success has been the willingness to learn and the curiosity to create as many things as I can.

What's your go-to source of inspiration outside of art or music?

Nothing inspires me more than to spend time with my friends; artists whom I respect and admire. The most fulfilling part of being an artist is the ability to fellowship with others through my work. I paint murals with some of my friends, jam on drums with others; and sometimes just sit and draw and converse about our thoughts on art and artists or something completely different. This is the best it gets. Whether it's a job or a side project, I am most at peace when working on something meaningful with artists I hold dear.

What's your personal favorite piece of work you've created?

My personal favorite to date was a small (4" x 16") mixed media piece I did on masonite called "Indianapolis Street". I like it because I think it's a successful combination of markers, pens, pencils and paint as well as an excellent character study. It was quite literally inspired by things I see in my own east side neighborhood. I'm also happy to say a friend owns it and I get to see it every couple of weeks or so.

What blogs or magazines do you turn to for creative inspiration.

Drawn! blog is great for illustration and animation stimulus.
Motionographer is #1 for animation/motion graphics greatness.

PSDtuts, Vectortuts, FudgeGraphics, ILoveTypography, DesignShard are common sources of inspiration for my design work.

FWA is the place I start when I want to come up with a truly contemporary design.

WoosterCollective is my absolute favorite art blog. Not because I necessarily love all the work as much of it shares a common aesthetic, but because I think application is the last frontier for modern artists (as well as the backbone of good design) and Wooster is all about application.

I also have several books filled with great art, typography or just good cultural commentary. Plus, I know other people with many more books and I am always being introduced to something. My current favorite book in my library is Mural Art: Murals On Huge Public Spaces Around The World. This book, to me, showcases exaclty the sort of work I find to be the most meaningful.

What 's your all-time favorite piece of art or design. (*not created by you)

This question is totally unfair. Some things are great art and great design without ever being promoted as either. My go-to answer for this one is the St. Louis World's Fair poster by Alphons Mucha.



His draftsmanship is gorgeous and flawless and the respect for the messaging is clear. Typography is stylized but tasteful and easy to understand. The ornamentation elevates the design to something more precious than a poster and the drama between the figures is as symbolic as the images themselves. I don't think his designs were matched until the digital age. And, by that measure, they have never been matched because his work was not only designed and illustrated by hand, but also had to be printed by hand by a master Lithographer. When you see these things in person there is no comparison.

What's your current creative obsession.

Drawing. In the last few months I have spent as much time as possible drawing. I'm not really into highly developed renderings right now; just exploring shapes and filling page after page with markings. I feel like a kid again and I'm really excited to see what comes of it.

Thanks for your time and talents Dan. Keep on skillin' with those handz!

Tell us a little about yourself and what steps you took to get here:

Born Portland Oregon, Raised South Africa, Live New York City. Studied a lot of art history, and painted a lot.

What's your go-to source of inspiration outside of art or music?

Science fiction, Philip K. Dick, Valis, Kurt Vonnegut, medical pictures of skin, eye, mouth diseases, medical pictures of human parasites, Flow My Tears The Policeman Said, Blade Runner, Alien, 2001 a Space Odyessy, Cyborgs.

What's your personal favorite piece of work you've created?

A recent painting called "Leviathan"

What blogs or magazines do you turn to for creative inspiration.

Art Forum, Art in America, Art News, Parkett, The Journal,

What 's your all-time favorite piece of art or design. (*not created by you)

"The Destruction of Leviathan" by Gustave Dore

What's your current creative obsession.

Leviathans

Thanks Eric.

Tell us a little about yourself and what steps you took to get here:

I loved to spend hours drawing and playing with legos as a kid but never imagined you could have a job drawing or creating things. Even throughout middle school and high school I took as many art classes I could but it was always just for fun -- the thought never occurred to me that art/design could be a course for my life until I went to university. On my first day of college registration, I was walking to a meeting for the undecided majors when I ran into a friend from high school who was headed for the art department meeting. I think she said something like "Hey, you should come to the art major meeting." So I went. I ended up signing on to study graphic design and from the first day of drawing class I knew I was in the right place.


What's your go-to source of inspiration outside of art or music?

As nerdy as it may sound I've always enjoyed going to the library or the bookstore - I think it's the fact that books are all about ideas, and something about being surrounded by them and being able to explore all kinds of topics usually tends to get my brain working. I also love scrounging through old junk in flea markets and thrift stores, the older and junky-er the better.


What's your personal favorite piece of work you've created?

Hmmm... I'd say one piece I really like (mostly for sentimental reasons) is the "Haircut" illustration I created while in school, simply because it reminds me of the smell of the printmaking room and the fun times had with fellow art students and friends in the midst of a really intense semester. I tend to over-think when I'm working and it helped show me that solutions come when I can let go, have fun and stop trying too hard.


What blogs or magazines do you turn to for creative inspiration.

I'm addicted to blogs such as Brand New, The Book Design Review, i love typography, FormFiftyFive and Design Observer.


What's your all-time favorite piece of art or design. (*not created by you)

There's no way I could ever narrow down a favorite piece, there's so much out there to love! However, one piece that has really inspired me lately is a wall mural designed by Michael Osborne for Family Services of San Mateo The mural was created on a drab, uninspiring back entrance used mostly by dads coming to see their children. (The center is used a meeting place where children in the custody or primary care of one parent can spend time with their other parent). What really inspires me is that the mural solves a problem while providing a sense of pride and joy to the visiting parents, and was painted by the kids and members of the community.

What's your current creative obsession.

I've found myself using the color yellow quite often lately, hoarding sticky notes, scraps of paper, and envelopes or packaging I get in the mail... not sure what that says about me.

Thanks for your time Nathan. Really love your work. Keep it up dude.

Tell us a little about yourself and what steps you took to get here:

I'm 25, French, and I live in Paris. That's been a year and half, and since the first day my only wish is to leave this place to those who see it as the most romantic city in the world. Something I clearly won't be able to share. I attended a 3d animation course in France, then in Vancouver. Meanwhile, I turned from a complete geek loving the company of computers exclusively, to find now the idea of spending my life in front of a computer as the most horrible nightmare. So I moved slightly away from animation, as I still love it deeply but find it too slow for short time/money projects. I'm fascinated by live-action, so I started doing some. So far, nothing serious, very humble projects. With the hope of someday starting bigger things.


What's your go-to source of inspiration outside of art or music?

People around me, countries I visit, girls I fall in love with.


What's your personal favorite piece of work you've created?

I haven't made it yet. It should be among those to come.

What blogs or magazines do you turn to for creative inspiration.

When I look for ideas, I usually don't go to websites neither magazines. I rather go to museums, cinemas, or find them in books. Sometimes I just go randomly to any exhibition, but for other projects, especially when time is short, I try to be selective with the books I come across.


What 's your all-time favorite piece of art or design. (*not created by you)

This is an impossible question. There is no such thing as a single all-time favorite. My tastes constantly change, so that I might find ridiculous today something that I madly loved two years ago. But right now, on the latest, I deeply loved and connected with Mary & Max. Sometimes that is still a huge reference for me is Studio 4C's Mindgame and Satoshi Kon's Tokyo Godfathers. And Christopher Doyle. And many more.

What's your current creative obsession.

Loneliness, being lost, people who feel they can't be themselves, cities at night and jazz-rap.

Thanks for your time!

Tell us a little about yourself and what steps you took to get here:

I'm an Iowa boy who left the comfortable anonymity of the countryside and a possible law career to try and follow what I thought was something that would make me happy. Two cities, four agencies, and countless hours of work later, I feel like I finally am doing what I was meant to do. It's been a long journey, and it's not even close to finished.

What's your go-to source of inspiration outside of art or music?

Anything from times past. I find an incredible amount of inspiration just by experiencing things from a different era. I love to read old books on industrial design, archetecture, whatever from the 50's, 60's, 70's. Obviously the challenges have changed, but within those clashes of context we can find new ways to approach new problems.


What's your personal favorite piece of work you've created?

Just finished it actually: - a music video and accompanying website for Doomtree's Mike Mictlan. It encompasses the entirety of my training as a designer and artist, and was a collaborative piece in every step of the way. It took conscious efforts in graphic design and direction, motion graphics, time-based art, music, typography, web design, promotion, etc. It really wrapped up everything I've been trying to learn into one package, super proud.


What blogs or magazines do you turn to for creative inspiration?

I always have trouble answering this sort of question. I read a lot, actually I buy a lot of books and read them when I can. There's probably more books on my shelf I haven't cracked yet than there are books that have been read. I don't really read many magazines. Most of the content is available online, the only advantage is the physical nature. Blogs, most of the typical ones. Swiss Miss, But Does It Float, Form Fifty Five, Draplin, Kindra Murphy, all sorts of stuff. Keeping up with it all is intimidating though I need an RSS Reader Reader (Fever maybe?)

What 's your all-time favorite piece of art or design.
(*not created by you)
Fuuuuck. Hardest question ever. Probably the original Avant Garde logo by Herb Lubalin. Or his Families logo. Definitely Lubalin though.



What's your current creative obsession.

Working with people. The discussion and the compromise is a lost art. I find it amazing to work with people on projects and just get your hands dirty. Discuss, disagree, argue, yell at each other, get frustrated, fight, work late, comp dinners, make up and hug, and eventually make something amazing. I just love working with people. Maybe not all the time, but what I learn from the experience about process and myself always stays with me, and I appreciate that regardless of the outcome. Gotta be okay with failing sometimes.



Thanks so much Greg for your awesome work and words of inspiration. Keep on rockin' brotha!

Tell us a little about yourself and what steps you took to get here:

I've always liked drawing, anything necessary to keep that passion in my life I've done. It sounds trite, but one step I've taken to get where I am is to never stop working. I just try to remain in a place where I can learn whatever is applicable and useful to my work. Work ethic is very important to me in that way. I've also received a lot of support in my life, and I am really grateful for my parents, friends and professors encouragement. So I would say it wasn't a matter of just making the right decisions in my art as much as being extremely blessed with the right circumstances to keep doing what I'm doing!

What's your go-to source of inspiration outside of art or music?

I like to look at other trades, other jobs, and the mundane to try to get some inspiration. Over all, I am impressed with efficiency, logical function and usefulness. Usually I look for color, texture and patterns from familiar sources. Which in turn, can help me create a base layer for drawings and paintings. Basically I try to find inspiration in the everyday matters of life.

What's your personal favorite piece of work you've created?

I'm not sure if I can pick a favorite, but I have a few drawings and paintings that would be hard for me to sell!

What blogs or magazines do you turn to for creative inspiration.

I'd like to say I am up on the art curve and I know what's hip and what's going on, but I'm not as well versed as I should be. Usually the blogs I read are about other hobbies or sports (gasp!) I enjoy. Two art blogs I have been reading for a long time are the Wooster Collective and Derek Hess' blog on his site.

What 's your all-time favorite piece of art or design. (*not created by you)

I'd say a poster Derek Hess did for Stretch Arm Strong is probably my favorite. It hit me at the right time in my life, and I have always liked the look of sculpture.

What's your current creative obsession.

Since college I have been obsessed with tangents. I'm not sure what that means about me, but I like to create them in my work.

Thanks for your time Jeff. Lovin' watching your work progress!

Tell us a little about yourself and what steps you took to get here:


I am a designer (print/web) and illustrator based out of both Los Angeles, Ca. and Nashville, Tn.


I've been involved with art since I was a kid. I started taking oil painting classes when I was 6 years old and learned how to illustrate at a young age. My Grandpa was an illustrator for Howard Hughes and translated blueprints into conceptual illustrations; i.e., planes flying off into the sunset, etc. He would consistently encourage my artistic developments and gave all sorts of art equipment from the 40's and 50's.


I toured the west coast twice right after high school in an indie blast-metal band called Genosha. The only way we could recoup the expenses of touring was through screen printing our own merch. Music really brought life to my passion for art that I thought I had lost. I saw the two live seamlessly and was even able to make a little extra money on the side with it.


I decided I didn't want to work full-time in retail and or tour as a musician so I buckled down and went to design school in Pasadena, Ca. I was hired as a web designer after my first year in school. Although I went to several schools for design over the course of 6 years and feel very educated (at least in design), I never finished my degree.


How did you land the CMT logo-design job?


I've worked with CMT/ MTV Networks in the past and I was fortunate enough to be able to work with them again considering the level of talent they usually pull from. They have some ridiculously talented staff designers at CMT like Matt Lehman (invisibleassociates.com) and Brad Davis (actionherodesign.com).


What's your go-to source of inspiration outside of art or music?


I love sci-fi books... almost exclusively Issac Asimov. Anything as technical as a good sci-fi book requires investing time into the styles which is why I stick with Asimov. Probably take me another 1-2 years to get used to another author. At the end of the day, I find that books somehow explore deeper and more imaginative things than movies, music and other media are either too restricted by time and or by format to do.


What's your personal favorite piece of work you've created?


Probably my Path or possibly Arcology poster.


What blogs or magazines do you turn to for creative inspiration.


ffffound.com, designworklife.com, sci-fi-o-rama.com, abduzeedo.com,


What 's your all-time favorite piece of art or design. (*not created by you)


Robert Peak's 1984 Olympic stamp collection.


What's your current creative obsession.


At the moment, I would say making music.

Thanks for your time Justin. Lookin' forward to seeing your CMT logo!
-Aaron Scamihorn-

Tell us who you are and how you got to where you're at:

I'm Mig, and I'm a print and interactive designer creating awesome things in the Windy City. I'm really pumped to be an interactive designer for Threadless, the Social Media Liaison for AIGA and most recently, an instructor at The Chicago Portfolio School! When I'm not helping Threadless make magic, I like to pursue a lot of personal projects, in addition to contributing to various design blogs and magazines—like The Avant Garage!

Most people don't know that I got my start in graphic design quite backwards. After graduating high school, I had no clear path of where to go next. I was a heavy tech-nerd and a Photoshop enthusiast. I was going to pursue 3D animation, video game design, web design—everything but graphic design. Luckily, I chose graphic design and discovered the AIGA. Ever since then, I've met a lot of great people and stumbled upon all the right opportunities.

Voila!

What's your position at Threadless like?

My role as the interactive designer entails designing and updating the Threadless sites, in addition to executing emails and interactive ad campaigns. The position entails a minimum of 8 hours of craziness, with a casual mix of nuts and insane. That being said, there's no "typical" day.

Favorite Threadless shirt?

It changes, probably weekly. But for now, Love Your Fellow As Yourself followed by a close second, That is Inappropriate

What's your favorite source of creative inspiration outside of Art & Music?

Life. Friends. Books. Plays. Beers.

Tell us about your Humble Pied project:

I was asked to do a presentation at an AIGA student conference. In typical Threadless fashion (pun), I wanted to crowd-source student tips by my own personal friends and mentors. Rather than having them go by the wayside, I wanted to create a place to house everyone's advice so they could last forever, and stimulate dialogues along the way.

That said, it's one inspiring creative type sharing one piece of advice, all over iChat video.

VISIT HUMBLEPIED

What's your favorite piece of advice from your interviews on Humble Pied?

It's hard to have a favorite, they're all great in their own ways. One that really sticks out is the one by Kate Bingaman-Burt, where she recommends that we look at each other not as competitors, but as collaborators.

What's your favorite art or design piece of all time?

CBS logo.

What's your current creative addiction?

Pulling the trigger on personal projects as opposed to letting them float in your head. WordPress is the jam.


Thanks a ton Mig. Keep on Rockin' in the Free World!