Featured Artist- Moi

The featured artist today is, drumroll please, moi! I look for inspiration everywhere I go whether that be to the ocean, mountains or the grocery store. Being outside gets my imagination going the most, and I'd say that a lot of my ideas come to me when I'm running. Growing up I always loved to collage. I would look through magazines and cut out words, letters and flowers then decoupage them onto old cigar boxes. I was also a big fan of hand-made cards, in fact I still am (I'd love to send you one!). I greatly value hand-made pieces and the relationship that creates with the viewer. I like to create work that is fun yet sophisticated. I love bold colors, layering and line. Currently I'm exploring the interplay of type and image, specifically portraying image as type. You can see my entire portfolio online here. Some of my favorite artists include Milton Glaser and Paula Scher. I'm also drawn to anything art nouveau and psychedelic poster art from the '60s and '70s, especially from artists like Wes Wilson and Victor Moscoso. 

Wes Wilson

Victor Moscoso

On Milty: for me the first thing that drew me to him was his iconic Bob Dylan poster. You look at it and can just hear the music coming out. Music is one of my top obsessions, I can never get enough. So that initial emotional connection to that poster got me hooked.

Back in 2002, Glaser gave a talk at an AIGA conference entitled "This is what I have learned." His number 5 is my favorite (you can read the whole transcript here):

"Number 5, Less is not necessarily more. Being a child of modernism I have heard this mantra all my life. Less is more. One morning upon awakening I realised that it was total nonsense, it is an absurd proposition and also fairly meaningless. BUt is sounds great because it contains within it a paradox that is resistant to understanding. But it simply does not obtain when you think about the visual history of the world. If you look at a Persian rug, you cannot say that less is more because you realise that every part of that rug, every change of colour, every shift in form is absolutely essential for its aesthetic success. You cannot prove to me that a solid blue rug is any way superior. That also goes for the work of Gaudi, Persian miniatures, art nouveau and everything else. However, I have an alternative to the proposition that I believe is more appropriate 'Just enough is more.'"

On Paula: I remember seeing her work in New York City when I would visit my sister in the '90s. Of course, at the time I didn't really know about graphic design or who she was but later when I started to really research design and I saw her work it instantly brought me back. I love her use of color and hand drawn type. There is a great interview on Paula here where she talks about getting her start. I'm also a big fan of her Maps series; colorful, detailed and intricate: right up my alley!

What does the future hold for me? Lots of fun, thought-provoking designs. Come along for the journey!