Eduardo Recife: A Contemporary Master of Typography and Collage

Eduardo Recife explains the origins of his remarkable art and design output as follows: "I´ve been drawing since I was little. At school I had notebooks filled with drawings instead of notes. I used to tattoo my buddies with a black ink pen. I used to draw on any kind of surface when I was bored... I believe it's what I do best. It's also the best way for me to communicate things I can't find words for... It's a therapy, it's a hobby, it's a job, it's what makes me happy."

Eduardo Recife is not only a master collagist and draftsman (make sure you do not miss his drawings on his website), but also a font designer, specializing in retro, script and handwritten fonts which he also integrates into his collages, combined with vintage clip art and doodlings. See more of his beautiful work on his website: http://www.misprintedtype.com

Edward Bawden's Fortnum and Mason Catalog Illustrations

The first Christmas catalogue Edward Bawden (1903 - 1989) created for Fortnum's was in 1955. The 1958 catalogue is an extended pun on the word 'cat', and is full of witty and playful drawings. Cats were a passion of his, as they strut, dance, and grin their way through these remarkable pages.

Part of his enduring appeal is his combination of modernism and tradition. He always believed that a good piece of design was as valuable as a painting (he was endearingly self-effacing and never took anything too seriously), and his work took in everything from iconic London Transport posters in the 30s, to film posters, illustrations for books, as well as book jackets, linocuts, war time watercolours, even wallpaper. He’s one of those artists you will have come across endlessly, without actually knowing it was him.

https://www.fortnumandmason.com/stories/christmas-and-edward-bawden

Between New Wave and PostModernism: April Greiman

April Greiman is widely recognized as one of the first designers to embrace computer technology as a design tool. According to design historian Steven Heller, “April Greiman was a bridge between the modern and postmodern, the analog and the digital.” “She is a pivotal proponent of the ‘new typography’ and new wave that defined late twentieth-century graphic design.” Her art combines her Swiss design training with West Coast postmodernism.

Greiman finds the title graphic designer too limiting and prefers to call herself a "transmedia artist". She is also credited with having coined the term "Visual Communication Design" which has increasingly replaced "Graphic Design" in recent decades. Her work has inspired designers to develop the computer as a tool of design and to be curious and searching in their design approach. Her style includes typelayering, where groups of letterforms are sandwiched and layered, but also made to float in space along with other 'objects in space' such as shapes, photos, illustrations and color swatches. https://www.famousgraphicdesigners.org/april-greiman

Vintage Labels from the State Library of Queensland

More can be seen here > > > The entire collection of the Queensland Library on Flickr is a treasure trove. There is some graphic design, but the bulk of it is memorabilia and photographs, so nice that it is certainly worth a visit > > >.

Located in Brisbane, Australia, the State Library of Queensland’s mission is to collect, preserve and make accessible the state’s documentary heritage. The State Library holds approximately 1.5 million photographic resources – negatives, slides, original photographs, copy prints and original albums dating back to the birth of the State of Queensland in 1859 to the present day. In 2003, the State Library launched its digital image library, Picture Queensland, with 6 000 images and now provides online access to more than 150,000 historical and contemporary images: https://www.slq.qld.gov.au