You know how it works by now, we show you Five Things we’ve seen this week that we think are of interest, and you love ‘em. Simple as that. Always a random mix, this post includes amazing architecture, scary monsters, beautiful bookmaking, a nose into someones diary, and lot of lipstick. Enjoy.
We just came across this faded old printers sign on a lunchtime walkabout.
We’re not the first to spot it by any means, but we like it all the same.
Bring back the good old days of signwriting we say…
Tom and Phil.
What Jonathan Zawada does is difficult to define as his work blurs the lines between design, art and illustration. The one thing we’re sure of is he’s a uniquely talented guy and we’re big fans of his. Alongside a number of exhibitions showing his personal work, he has been commissioned by clients such as The New York Times, The Type Directors Club, Nike, Sixpack and Commonwealth Stacks.
Based in Los Angeles by way of Sydney, he works in a way which creates wildly varied and always visually stunning results. Effortlessly moving between commercial client work and experimental personal projects, Jonathan seems to approach each piece from a completely different perspective resulting in a body of work which is both amazing to look at and truly original (the latter of which is a rare thing to see these days).
Mr. Zawada kindly agreed to take the hot seat and answer our Ten Questions. Here’s what he had to say…
A little while ago (way back in 2009, in fact) we created some T-shirt designs for Yutaka Tajima, the clothing label set up by Bob Sanderson of Sheffield-based design studio, Sanderson Bob. Our love of the work of tDR is no secret and Bob, a former designer for the studio, has upheld their legacy with some brilliant work for Nike, Nokia, Zune, Kemistry Gallery and Uniqlo amongst others. When he established his clothing label, we were more than happy to join the likes of Mario Hugo, James Goggin, Guy Hulse, Andy Smith and others in reworking his ‘Y’ logo for the use on T-shirts.
Whether we like it or not, here at Mat Dolphin, we conform to a few incredibly predictable ‘designer stereotypes’. One of the big ones is the fact that we’re unashamedly geeky Star Wars fans. And we’re not alone. Amongst our peers it’s clear that whilst it’s not a prerequisite for a graphic designer to be hugely influenced by the creativity and storytelling of the George Lucas masterpiece, it helps.
So, it’s with great sadness that we heard about the death of Ralph McQuarrie, the conceptual designer and illustrator who’s sketches and paintings played a huge role in defining the look of the original trilogy. Designing key characters such as Darth Vader, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and C3PO as well as many of the sets and vehicles, McQuarrie was instrumental in creating what would become some of the most iconic imagery in film.
Also playing the uncredited role of Pharl McQuarrie in The Empire Strikes Back, he has had an undeniable impact on millions and his pioneering, unique vision will be not be forgotten.
George Lucas remembers “…his genial contribution, in the form of unequaled production paintings, propelled and inspired all of the cast and crew of the original Star Wars trilogy. When words could not convey my ideas, I could always point to one of Ralph’s fabulous illustrations and say, ‘do it like this’.”
