When planning on making a subversive Art Nouveau-themed soap box, who better to mock than Hipsters? They reminded me of the languid, disinterested women who were so often the focus of interest in Art Nouveau pieces.
I drew upon the Mucha style of flawy hair and ukiyo-e hard outlines coupled with the Glaswegian Nouveau style of Geometric borders.
in the end, I made a bag for the soap box as well as the box itself. 
This week marked the exploration into Victorian Matchbox design. For me, “Victorian” always brings to mind extreme ornamentation, full of filigrees. With this in mind, I designed the matchbox with two very different sides.
One side features a highly ornamented, decorative font spelling out “IDEA”, bordered by Victorian foliage.
The other side draws on a very decorative Victorian frame theme along with simple typeface. Additionally I added “&c” to be the appropriate way of saying etcetera for the time.
The sides of the matchbox are simple dot patterns, which I found to be a common pattern accompanying the swirls and filigrees of the time.
I used to get eternally frustrated with looking up the work of amazing designers. It never failed to motivate and simultaneously stop me in my tracks. Since joining IDEA, I’ve come to realize that these two feelings are necessary- yes, their work is much better than mine, but it doesn’t make my work worthless. With that in mind I’m pushing myself to research designers, and their respective styles, who inspire (and push) me to meet their level of excellence.
When I think of excellent design, I immediately think of Michael Bierut. His practicality and strict work ethic really appeal to me because I approach design in a similar manner. Many people are capable of as strong design, but I believe that few handle the success with the level of grace, balance and humour that Bierut shows. That, and his well-rounded skill set make him extremely inspiring to me.
Example of Bierut’s work
Simplicity in both communication and design is something that I hold close to me when brainstorming and refining. Design movements that championed this mindset are incredible interesting to me, notably minimalism, early Japanese illustration, and infographic design. My own design beliefs have been very affected by these ideals of simplicity and necessity, and consequently I am very attracted to minimalistic, clear and informative design structures with communication at the forefront.
Piet Mondrian:
Composition in Red, Blue, and Yellow
Japanese simplicity (photo from srichinmoybio.co.uk )
minimalistic infographics (image from twylah.com)
In addition to simplicity, geometric styles interest me a lot. In order to design something with geometric structure/influences, you must be aware at all times of the relationship of components, and how they were interact. If you have this awareness present in your designs, you will never create something that seems like it doesn’t fit. This premise is something I keep in mind whenever I design interests me.
Assorted work by Andy Gilmore (images from webdesignerdepot.com)
Assorted work by Andy Gilmore (images from webdesignerdepot.com)
Assorted work by Andy Gilmore (images from webdesignerdepot.com)
Museum of St. Petersburg Avant-garde / Irina Goryacheva
geometric design (image from designspiration.net)
New goal? Become more exposed to independent designers that push boundaries~
Tear-Knee Design 