Niklaus Troxler. Nice Design.

I had never heard of this designer before but I'm gratified to say I now have.
After rifling through pages of websites to find a link from the works of Sagmeister, I finally encountered the simple yet beautifully designed Jazz posters of Niklaus Troxler. Like Stefan Sagmeister, he also works with musicians.
Niklaus Troxler is an internationally renowned Swiss graphic designer, illustrator and concert organizer (organizer of the Willisau Jazz Festival)
These Jazz festival posters possess very bold, vibrant imagery but also depict what the posters are about.
Combining his typography with vector-like patterns. Some are illustrative. Others have especially created typefaces. Many are visual puns depicting images in letters. I just love the simplicity of the posters yet they still work and grab attention and they are all similar in form, most being a sort of 'A' size, typographically dominated over images and not ant use of photography.
From what I've found he has designed more than 50 different posters for these Jazz festival/shows.

   

Trying to look good limits my life...

...The words of not only a unique genius, THE Stefan Sagmeister himself.
Always been a favourite of mine. Everything he seems to do just amazes me.
Being this New York based Graphic Designer he is bound to work for top clients.He creates imaginative Installations, swanky Magazine Spreads and designed branding, graphics, and packaging for clients as diverse as the Rolling Stones, HBO, the Guggenheim Museum and Time Warner. Sagmeister Inc. has employed designers including Martin Woodtli, and Hjalti Karlsson and Jan Wilker, who later formed Karlssonwilker.


Ive been quite obvious here and chosen Sagmeister as a link from Marian Bantjes as they have actually collaborated on  a piece of design she created using sugar to make up typography called "indestructable" (below)

It reads “If I want to explore a new direction professionally, it is helpful to try it out for myself first.”

Sagmeister is known for experimenting enormously with different objects to form typography. He is so inspirational and makes me want to challenge myself a little more.

I love the way he uses the environment to engage with his typography. In one of his pieces he entwines paper through trees and branches to make letterforms. He places everyday objects together to create phrases.

His work seems to have sense of humour around it and he seems to have a lot of fun with his creations.

  

Marian Bantjes - Typographical Extraordinaire

Ever heard of Marian Bantjes?
Canadian Graphic Artist, Typographer, Writer and Illustrator.
Her remarkable designs sprung to mind after researching Antoine + Manuel's similar decorative pieces using typography. So decorative i could cry! Her work is stunning to look at and the degree of detail in her works are phenomenal and this recurrs throughtout most of her works. What makes her good at what she does is the amount of intricacy which is evident through this book I found.
I came across this book she designed online. Each page of exquisite patterns being meticulously and carefully put together using metallic foils.

Come to think of it, her typographical work resembles the work of Stefan Sagmeister as well as Antoine et Manuel. I have chosen not to write anything on Sagmeister this year...unless told to do so, obviously. I wrote far too much about this guy in my foundation year at college. Bores the the hell out of me...! Sorry sagmeister, if your reading this.

I love her minimalistic use of colour yet her complexity of the design .
Like Antoine et Manuel I am all for her love for considering her decorativeness around her typographical work as well as just the type itself. It brings life to each of the characters, sort of giving the words their own ''personality''.

Six Degrees of Separation

Nearing towards mid Semester of Visual Communication 1 which brings us to our first research project.

"...To encourage an ability to see connections between the work of various designers.."

First designers on the list are duo 'Antoine et Manuel'. I first came across these two epic designers in my Foundation year at college two years ago. My tutor brought back their book from being to one of their extravagant exhibitions in Paris. I instantly fell in love with their work.

Antoine et Manuel are two Parisian Graphic Illustrators/Designers and also part decorators who also apply their wondrous skills and ideas to construct ornate furniture and mural design. They both started out creating Posters and Collages before moving onto more 3D constructions.
Antoine et Manuel's approach their designs using numerous ways of experimenting with various techniques from pen doodles to gouache.
Park of their work that jumps out at me is a collection of ephemera for Fashion designer Christian LaCroix. I love the colourful array of gouache layers forming an object which i'm quite unsure of what it is actually supposed to resemble...other than "playful nothingness'.
These experimental themes recur throughout most of their extraordinary designs. Using such a contrasting diversity between flat colours next to scanned in inkblots and crazy geometric constructions. They do this so well which entices your eyes to manouver uncontrollably around each design.