As a former skateboarder and still avid fan of the sport I try to follow what’s going on in that industry especially because, in my opinion, I believe they set a lot of trends in style. I have fond memories of the skateboarding magazines I used to collect in the 90s like Trasher and Transworld. When I saw the post that Tim Bisschop about a hand painted book cover for the “A Skateboarder’s Journal” I knew I had to post about it. Tim was also super cool to share a bit of how he did that. It seems simple but the result is like the essence of skateboarding. It’s all about the style and simplicity.

Tim Bisschop is a graphic designer from Belgium wit an inspiring portfolio focused on Editorial Design, Graphic Design and Typography. We highly recommend that you check it out at http://www.timbisschop.be/

A Skateboarder’s Journal Book Cover

Rafał Rola, a super prolific designer from Lublin, Poland shared an incredible post on Behance sharing some beautiful posters created in 2017. The posters are for movies like Blade Runner 2049, Justice League, Star Wars Last Jedi, Ghost in the Shell, War for the Plane of the Apes, Wonder Woman and many other super popular movies and TV shows in 2017. The highlight though, is the style. They all feel like oil and watercolor painted but it was all done digitally with Adobe Sketch, Illustrator and Photoshop. For me it’s always awesome to see something that feels unique and fresh, moving a bit away from the minimalism or highly detailed vector illustration. I think it’s a good way to bring a bit more variety to ABDZ in 2018. 

Make sure to check out Rafal Rola’s website for a full portfolio and some more awesomeness in illustration and design at http://www.rafalrola.pl/

Posters & Illustration

Bodega Los Cedros is a Mexican vineyard located in the mountains of Arteaga, Coahuila. The origins of the name derive from a passion and dream of a family to produce high quality wines within a region more than 100 years old named “El Cedrito.” Enter the talented team at Anagrama Studio to bring the branding vision of this magical place to life by tapping into the geographical location of the vineyard for inspiration. The end result, a beautiful brand identity that employs the characteristic components of the area such as climate, altitude, flora and fauna. We particularly love the simplicity of the logo highlighting three pine trees as the brand’s distinctive icon along with the wine label and die-line mimicking cloud shapes. From a typographic standpoint, we can enjoy a sans serif that adds a touch of modernity while the script gesture preserves a more organic touch showcasing the brand’s marriage of simplicity and elegance. The color palette is nice and neutral enabling a spotlight on the diverse wine color tones while  accentuating the contrast between bottle and label. Cheers to the Anagrama team for a beautiful execution celebrating this beautiful wine label. 

Let’s take a look at this rather cool illustration by art director/graphic designer Rui Gonçalves. Based in Barcelona, Spain, Rui is a true passion when it comes to graphic design and also art direction. Judging by his Behance Profile, ideas and concepts seems to be his forté. Today we are a case study at the Forgotten Temple Illustration, a commission project ended up being a personal experimentation. My favourite part of this illustration is the layers of details from what’s underneath the sea, the dinosaur fossil is quite a nice touch. This illustration also reminds me of his Everything is okay, until it’s not. project that we have featured on ABDZ.

What started as a commission ended in a personal project. I wanted to push my isometric illustration skills a bit more so i decided to turn this idea, which originally was designed for a client, into a personal project – “Forgotten Temple”. Hope you guys like it!

More Links

• Learn more about Rui Gonçalves at ruimgoncalves.com
• Follow Rui’s work on Behance
• Previous Feature on ABDZ

Illustration & Process

Quick Process