While in week 1 I looked at Illustrative designer from the perspective of looking at the data visualisation and communicative aspects, this week I wanted to look at Illustrators from a stylistic perspective. I think with the modern age of UI, it can be easy to stick to what is expected in UI design, that being the flat and simple aesthetics and trends. However, by looking at Illustrators I can build up a pool of inspiration to allow me to create more unique and innovative user experiences.
J Otto Seibold is one of my all time favourite illustrators. Best known for his work on the “Mr Lunch” series of children's books, his strange and unique illustration style gives his work an otherworldly and nonsensical feel which I think is brilliant. I really like how he uses simple, flat, and uneven shapes to build deeply detailed world which almost disregard realism. His wonky angles and shapes create designs that at first glance seem to make sense, however, upon further inspection reveal surrealist layouts and placements. I would absolutely love to use this style for a project as I think it could be incredibly interesting due to the bold and geometric nature lending itself to a User Interface, while the colours and typography would completely subvert what is expected from a modern User Interface.
Another of my favourite illustrators, Sara Fanelli’s style is something I would love to explore in a User Interface setting. Both charming and terrifying, Fanelli’s style features a mixture of hand drawn simple and sketchy shapes, and realistic photography in a surrealist evolution of Russian Constructivist design. It’s amazing to me how I can find so much appeal in what is really artwork which should make me feel uneasy, but Fanelli manages to balance these extremes perfectly. I particularly love the roughness of her work, it appear untidy and quickly drawn but the whole feels so considered. Fanelli’s website is also brilliant and utilises her style in a barebones User Interface, which I think is proof of concept that her style would translate brilliantly into a more in depth UI.
Oliver Jeffers combined a unique and personal style of illustration with simple and charming stories to create some of the most iconic children's books ever created. I like Jeffers work and really appreciate how much of his own personality he inserts into his work. He is uncompromising in his approach to illustration which shines through, allowing the for the creation some of the most effective illustration I’ve ever seen. The amount of character each page of his books portray is phenomenal, and I particularly like his use of composition to create uncomplicated but detailed surrounding, which I’ve always found make his illustrations feel somewhat lonely. I do think this is a positive however, as this loneliness creates a feeling of intimacy between the reader and the book. I just find Jeffers style beautiful with how unique it is especially combined with his unusual and strange stories.
By looking at various illustrators, it has helped me realise how important visual style is and how it can assist in the communicative aspects of design. By looking at illustrators that have a freer or looser style, it has helped me widen my view of possibilities when it comes to communicative design, and having now understood this, look forward to exploring this further in my own work.