Abdul Basit Khan is a graphic designer, currently working in the Department of Architecure at the University of Singapore. There is a wonderful amount of research-based projects in his portfolio.

-WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
Born in Siglufjörður, raised in Kópavogur, by way of Reykjavík, Iceland. Moved to Atlanta, GA at the tender age of 25.

-WHAT DOES YOUR WORK CONSIST OF?
Forms with various degrees of function, depending on the client.

-HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?
Interned at the largest design agency in Iceland at the age of 16. There I was woken up to the fact that I knew nothing and have spent the rest of my life overcompensating.

-WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT WHAT YOU DO?
Being able to do the only thing I’m any good at.

-WHAT IS THE WORST THING ABOUT WHAT YOU DO?
Projects that involve Excel Spreadsheets.

-IF YOU WEREN’T DESIGNING, WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING?
Painting and drinking heavily.

-WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
Individuality. Originality. Intelligence. Uniqueness. Simplicity.

-WHERE DOES CREATIVITY COME FROM?
According to recent research: mental illness.

-WHO’S WORK DO YOU LOOK UP TO? (Either currently or in the past)
So many. Can I say nature?

-WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE FOR YOUR INDUSTRY?
I make my living designing on the internet. The industry is becoming increasingly competitive. Processes are getting much more efficient and harder to innovate. We need to find another medium. Any ideas?

-WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM YOU NEXT?
Things that fill absolutely non-existent needs.

-WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR FIELD ASPIRING TO GET TO WHERE YOU ARE TODAY?
Don’t aspire. Let it come naturally.

-ONE DEFINING MOMENT OF YOUR CAREER SO FAR.
When I decided I didn’t want to be an illustrator.

-WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Mike Cina’s Spirit Edit 03

Amazing poster over at SeptemberIndustry

Amazingly well-crafted design work coming from Swiss studio Moiré.

I don’t even know how to begin describing this Netherlands-based studio. Atelier Carvalho Bernau specializes in highly functional and painstakingly crafted design work. Their work is primarily print-based and typographic, in fact they do a lot custom typeface design. I love how their site captures the gorgeous letterforms they’ve created alongside photos of high-end book design projects.

Phil Yamada‘s portfolio makes me regret anything bad I ever said about Canada. Lovely work Mr. Yamada, lovely work indeed.

I’ve always been enamored with House Industries. Even as I first really learned what graphic design was I distinctly remember getting their catalog in the mail; the metallic ink, the throwback logo designs, design parodies of cultural ephemera, it’s all stuck with me. Literally. I’ve kept all the catalogs.

As my wife, kids and I await the completion of our home I’m especially excited to look back through the kinds of items House has created for furnishings and decor. This could be really fun.

Joel Evey is a designer/art director who does the “floaty/surrealist” thing quite beautifully. There’s some amazing typography and line work in his portfolio.

I’ve been eying these shirts by Ugmonk for a while now.

Some amazing work in the portfolio of Switzerland-based Remo Caminada. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

This letterpress poster of the Colosseum in Rome is just too good to be true. I want one so bad. Check out the video below to see a little bit more about it.

[vimeo 9971247]

There is some incredible work in the portfolio of designer Abi Huynh. Abi has been fortunate to design some beautiful typefaces for Commercial Type, go check out the portfolio.

There’s something really beautiful about the artwork of Cody Hoyt. It might be the juxtaposition of grit and texture against clean layers of line work, or maybe the dimensionality. Actually, it’s probably the type, yes the typography he incorporates into his pieces. I want one on my wall.

Smashing Magazine put together a large collection of typographic posters from around the world check them out HERE

I’m so glad that Alexandra Witjas sent us a message about her portfolio site. I had come across her work before and was a big fan, in fact I had it bookmarked so I could post it on here! Alex recently graduated from Pratt and is now hard at work for Mike Perry Studio. Check out her illustrations and such, just gorgeous.

John Mayer just released the art work for his up coming project titled “Battle Studies” the type on it is classic.. and love the old Columbia logo on the cover.. really gives it an old school look..  good stuff.

Our sincerest apologies for not posting much these last few weeks. Msenna and myself have been occupied by other matters, namely the formation of the Proper Villains Collective. Aside from that I think we’ve both been really busy working on other projects and initiatives. I myself have been preparing to teach a college course on the History of Visual Communications this Fall. This is the first time I’ll be doing any teaching and I’m incredibly excited, anxious, and, somewhat, overwhelmed by the prospect of it.

Please forgive us and accept these meager links to interesting things I’ve come across this week:
Puerto Rico Illustrado mastheads via my friend Alberto Rigau’s blog.
Amazing work by Studio Ten and a Half.
Whoa. Skateboard typography.
Industrial designer Sam Hecht of Industrial Facility.
Bugs + street light + long exposure = Awesome
Pijama makes great cases for laptops, phones, iPods, etc.

Found this incredible stamp over at this great blog called 80 Magazine.

There happens to be some lovely work coming out of Sweden via 1-UP, the design studio of Joakim Jansson.

Mostardesign is a French studio with some really nice motion work and typography. I’ve really got a thing for a few of their typeface designs.

Check out this amazing piece of footage from a CBS news broadcast during the Elections of 1972 with Walter Cronkite. There’s a lot of beautiful typography in there!

Via Viewers Like You

OurType is a European type foundry with some beautiful faces. Give ‘em a try.

All I have to say is holy smokes. Deanne Cheuk‘s work is stunning. No, better yet it’s mind-blowing. Nope, that’s not good enough either. Her work is unreal. Best part is Deanne’s portfolio is massive and covers multiple disciplines.

Death Cab for Cutie – Little Bribes from Ross Ching on Vimeo.

Gotta love this video with all it’s handmade typography.

i came across Sarah King on google while looking for someone entirely different not even related to design, but glad i did. her illustration and attention to detail is powerful and smart as well as inspirational. her work reminds me of illustrations i used to do in high school with type. if only there was enough time in the day to do this kind of work..  keep it up sarah..

Belfast is home to Willow, a studio with great print work and delicious typography. Yes, I said delicious.

Lovely work by the UK’s own Chris Clarke. Oh, and he just graduated last year.

I thought I’d share two new posters I made recently. These posters were to announce the classes I’ll be teaching at Kean this fall. I’ll only be teaching Typography I now, but thought I’d share the other anyway. Thanks to YWFT for the free type. The quote on the Typography poster is by Ellen Lupton.

Great work by Mark Cinesco (a.k.a. ppwrk studio), including typeface designs and some great print materials for Otis College of Art & Design.

Thanks Andy for the link.

Oh my, SDL has some absolutely gorgeous and brilliant work in their portfolio.

Love the work of Chris Ro (A.K.A. ADearFriend™), one of the editors behind the infamous GraphicHug blog. We love GraphicHug, you should too.

Check out these Kern rings on Etsy

Richard Perez is a designer and illustrator in San Francisco, by way of Los Angeles. He’s got some great illustrations and amazing typography.

Via GrainEdit

-NAME
Jenny Ambrose

-WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
Manalapan, NJ, but now I live in warm and balmy Florida.

-WHAT DOES YOUR WORK CONSIST OF?
Bright colors, abstract shapes, and a lot of conceptual thinking. Birds, also.

-HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?
I actually fell into design by accident. I was studying to be an anthropologist at a local college, and for fun I would make t-shirts and stickers for the bands I listened to. It never occurred to me to make my career out of something I did for fun until a friend of mine dared me to apply to an art school.

-WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT WHAT YOU DO?
The leeway for the happy accident.

-WHAT IS THE WORST THING ABOUT WHAT YOU DO?
I have a hard time sitting still when I’m working. I listen to a lot of upbeat music to keep my brain moving, so I dance a lot.

-IF YOU WEREN’T DESIGNING, WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING?
Jelly Belly jelly bean flavor creator!

-WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
Anything and everything. I mainly find inspiration from reading and just absorbing my surroundings. Getting out of my own headspace for a while helps me take time out and free up the brain for some new ideas.

-WHERE DOES CREATIVITY COME FROM?
A healthy mix of necessity and possibility.

-WHO’S WORK DO YOU LOOK UP TO? (Either currently or in the past)
The list always changes, but currently it’s William Morris, El Lissitzky, Saul Williams, and J.C. Leyendecker.

-WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE FOR YOUR INDUSTRY?
I think finding a way to bridge the rhythmic and textural richness of print to the technology-laden web will be the future, at least a future where I’d like to be.

-WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM YOU NEXT?
It’s a busy time for me right now. I’m currently working on a visual dissection of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 A Space Odyssey, an illustrated calendar, and a series of packaging for soap, a typeface from a hand painted sign, and more motion work. I always try to fill my time with projects/mediums that I haven’t worked with, or subject matter I haven’t dealt with yet.

-WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR FIELD ASPIRING TO GET TO WHERE YOU ARE TODAY?
Keep going. Some words that have helped me (and continue to help me, actually), Never tire, never settle.

-ONE DEFINING MOMENT OF YOUR CAREER SO FAR.
Being published in Print Magazine’s design annual.

-WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Girl Talk, The Temptations, Curtis Mayfield and Van Morrison.

I love this Flickr set of Mike Cina’s work from 1999.

Beautiful graphic design and typography from French studio Atelier Aquarium.

I love this typeface that I just came across on NegroNouveau.

Stefán Kjartansson is the designer/illustrator/typographer behind the heaviest slab serif in the world, Black Slabbath. Originally from Iceland, he’s now in Atlanta.

I love this poster I came across on Flickr

I want these really bad, for my daughter of course.

Yes, those are cigarettes.

A 24-Page Book, published by John Luke & The Type Directors Club in 1987, is filled with 24 pages of creative typographic treatments representing the numbers 1-24 by designers: Lou Dorfsman, Ivan Chermayeff, Bradbury Thompson, Milton Glaser, Saul Bass, Paul Rand, George Lois, Tom Geismar, Tom Carnase, Herman Zapf, and Massimo Vignelli.

Darren Booth has some splendid work. Great hand lettering!

Typographer and book artist Russell Maret will be appearing at the Type Directors Club in 2 weeks. If you don’t about his amazing letterpress books than I’m so very sorry for you. More info here.

Hilarious. Go check out the site: Anyone Can Swiss

I love this shirt by Turn Nocturnal.

The New York Times has a great feature in their Week In Review section titled “The Buzzwords of 2008″. Typographic illustrations by Jessica Hische.

Via Design Observer

MadebySix have just posted out this very attractive Christmas card to their extended family, clients and friends.

Via Swiss Legacy

Desert Fish is a new mag out of Dubai showcasing some of the areas fashion and art movements..  They got some really dope experimental type work through out the mag and hopefully will be available in the US soon..  check out their first 4 issues as pdfs at their site …here

thanks Fadiah for the heads up!

Ridiculous paper-cut illustrations from Russian designer/artist Yulia Brodskaya.

Via Computerlove™