I’ve been collecting visual inspiration from artists I follow on Instagram, so I’m sharing some favorite recent-ish posts below. I encourage you to check them out and follow if you find something interesting!
 

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🌈 We have just added these spectrum rulers to our Stationery section. #counterprintbooks #stationery #writesketchand #ruler #spectrum

A post shared by Counter-Print (@counterprintbooks) on May 23, 2020 at 9:32am PDT

Counter-Print is a great resource to find all sorts of emerging, fascinating art & design books, magazines, and more. I love the stationery and homeware products they feature, too, like these spectrum rulers above. What a cool look! The shop is based in London, and you can see more beautiful products on their website here.

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how i define art: feel something and then create work that evokes that emotion in others it doesn’t take much and it doesn’t have to change the world, but it might change your own world just enough to make you feel okay lately i’ve been struggling with my purpose on this planet (who isn’t) and distracting myself with tactile tasks like packaging up stickers and stamping pencils and the sort of hands on stuff i did a lot of in the earlier days of having an online shop i’ve also been digging into my work archives as i plan a personal zine anthology as well as an abridged work archive for my website and you know, just spending a lot of time looking at what i’ve made and what makes it feel good or bad or special or useful or not (to me) the world is scary but honestly it’s always scary… trying to focus on the good, because it’s there too, even if i take it for granted

A post shared by Adam J. Kurtz (@adamjk) on Jul 22, 2020 at 12:21pm PDT

I’ve been a long-time Adam J. Kurtz fan, and this post from July resonated with me. Follow his work if you haven’t already!

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“Art in Isolation” An ongoing visual diary in our uncertain times. Art by @derekabella – April 2, 2020. #art #illustration #animation #home #coronavirus #quarantine

A post shared by NY Times Opinion Art (@nytimesopinionart) on Aug 5, 2020 at 7:31pm PDT

Brilliant work by Derek Abella for NY Times Opinion Art—another good follow if you’re into editorial illustration!

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Loosen your shoulders relax your jaw breathe deep. Make room for peace right here in the wild of things.

A post shared by MHN (@morganharpernichols) on May 15, 2020 at 8:35pm PDT

Morgan Harper Nichols is an artist, poet, and musician with over 1.5 million followers on Instagram. Her work is deeply inspiring and affirming!

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😌💙

A post shared by ✎ maggie c (@mcmintea) on Jul 10, 2020 at 3:47pm PDT

Maggie Chiang makes beautiful watercolor illustrations that “evoke a longing for adventure and the pursuit of the unknown, exploring impossible landscapes and places unseen.”

See more of Maggie’s art on her website!

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We produced a series of mini pennants in collaboration with @montagueprojects for this year’s Play/Ground (a platform for site specific art works taking place in Buffalo through Sept. 20). Check out @artplaygroundny for a closer look.

A post shared by Oxford Pennant® (@oxfordpennant) on Sep 16, 2020 at 9:10am PDT

I love pennants, and this collaboration between Oxford Pennant and Julian Montague is so delightful.

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Graphic designer, Masashi Murakami (@Emuni_inc) uses an unconventional approach to create his striking designs. Whilst most modern processes revolve around finding digital methods to recreate analogue techniques, Masashi uses analogue methods to give digital themes physical properties. On first glance each piece gives the appearance of being digitally made, but on closer inspection you notice each distortion has been physically implemented. ⠀ •⠀ “I wanted to create pieces that can go beyond the walls of graphic design, under the hypothesis that it would be possible to transcend language by freeing characters from their meaning and reinterpreting them as shapes.” itsnicethat

A post shared by It's Nice That (@itsnicethat) on Jan 8, 2020 at 10:01am PST

This work by Masashi Murakami caught my eye on the It’s Nice That feed:

In an increasingly technological world, there is ever-more demand to make something digital appear physical – apps that “turn” iPhone photographs into 35mm film are a prime example of this. Rarely do we find ourselves changing things in the opposite direction, but that is exactly what Masashi Murakami has been exploring in his latest exhibition, affects.

Read more about his process here!
 

Bonus Video Finds

Andrea Love’s charming stop-motion animations using felt and wool.
 

A series of abstract kinetic characters by Lucas Zanotto, including his creative music and sound effects!
 

Visual, animated love letters by designer Debbie Millman.

Lovely animated holiday ad by Apple. Read more and see behind-the-scenes on Adweek.

This is an exceptional list of tips & techniques for productive design criticism by Frank Chimero. I learned some of these points in practice in design school, but it’s helpful to remind ourselves of smart ways to conduct and respond to critique, primarily when working in a team.

I suspect this is advice I’m going to keep coming back to. I also love this quote from Niemann: “This isn’t something you’re born good at, you get good at it,” says Niemann. “A top tennis player doesn’t just stop training once they win.”

Fascinating article on the people we don’t see who keep design agencies running behind-the-scenes. I also just finished reading AIGA Eye on Design’s first ever magazine issue, and it includes lots of articles related to this core theme of “invisible”.

Another fantastic video from this year’s AIGA conference.

Recently discovered this small Cleveland-based publisher of creative products, and I’m completely obsessed. Their products balance self-care, creativity, action, and playfulness. I pre-ordered their new to-do notebook on Kickstarter, and I am looking forward to using their Habit Calendar to kick-start my 2018 productivity. They also sell stickers, coloring books, and more!

I love these simple, charming webcomics from illustrator Alex Norris. Check out the full article on It’s Nice That.

Executive John Maeda argues that code is not the only important skill for designers to have moving forward.

Really beautiful dataviz process by Adolfo Arranz on Behance.