Netdiver Mag

Discover the extraordinary illustration work of Studio Espinosa. The gingerly happy go lucky characters are simply luscious and never ending vivid eye candy.

They instill so much fantasy, joy and life! Refreshing!

Adrian Gaut commercial work is varied and just luv his conceptual abilities in capturing objects, people, furniture, landscapes.

Wooo! Wanna see paper sculptures like never before? Handywork by Noriko Ambe.

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via Slow Motion Crawl

LE CAÏD is a design studio with such an elegant interface design. The subtlety of the ornamentation, the charcoal and strawberry-pink colors adding striking contrast and the smoothly operating navigation, all make it easy to find your way around and conducive to exploring.

Every details are highly manicured. It seems that no attention was spared to make it stand-out.

Poketo and Islands Fold Pop Up Art Show

A vision to set up a different kind of art show, and “Islands in LA” was born. Witness new pieces being created from start to finish. Purchase original art.

Media Contact: Angie Myung email: poketo@poketo.com

Open studio with artists: February 27, from 3-6 pm

Official Artshow / Party: February 27, from 6-9 pm

Years ago it was WeWorkforThem and now it is YouWorkForThem. The difference? An informal collective of artists and designers that sell their booklets, fonts and more under the same umbrella.

Learn more about the individuals on the Profile page.

Marius Watz is a creative that uses scripting, like processing, to generate cross-media projects and beautiful information design. Unlekker got a facelift. Rediscover!

Nate Millheim has just recently graduated with a very nice start of career portfolio. He is looking for an oversea job. If you like his work and can help him, please do so.

Chris Haughton knows and exploits the value of minimalist illustration using non-descript characters in smart concepts. Gotta luv this one!

Public Design Festival during the Salone del Mobile (Milan’s furniture fair and consists of 9 days of installations, projects, meetings and workshops bridge by one red thread: urban design.

Upcoming: April 18-26

Jörg Block extraordinary mind can apprehend complex information and turn into simple illustrations. His systemic approach coupled with sparingness of lines are making each illo talk amply while entertaining. That is quite a gift.

First, encountered his work while judging the Adobe Design Achievement Awards winning in the digital illustration category.

Always said that simple is complexity resolved and he demonstrates this to a level of clinical efficiency.

Onesidezero revels in monsterism illustrations and experimental designs.

The Apartment is an agency that offers marketing, architecture and interior design services and the website holds a couple of surprises in ref with cool functionalities embedded within.

It was started back in 2000, first as a retail experiment, then a theater and now.. operates as a creative agency.

Have a look and explore.

Partial on bar codes background. Hvass & Hannibal website interface is a mumble-jumble of visual snapshots of their projects.

This design and art studio based in Copenhagen was established in 2006 by Sofie Hannibal and Nan Na Hvass and tackle album covers to music videos, graphic art, silkscreening, art direction, illustration, installation.

FutureFarmers moto is cultivating consciousness since 1995 and Amy and company have stuck to it. World reknown for the delicious and often animated visual goodies in print, on the web or as installations, they have under their belt as many years as us: 13 years of www discoveries.

Just had a look at some environmental DIY projects which is a topic du jour, such at the Lunchbox Laboratory.

Too bad it has not been updated for a while.

F5 is a new festival exploring the intersection of art, design and entertainment. F5 unites the creative leaders who are breaking ground and shaping new standards in media and design, becoming the essential meeting point for future-minded individuals with the power to create lasting change.

Four tickets are available as a give-away. You want 2? Ask for them.

Upcoming: April 16-17, New York City

Cubemen has now become tobyHK who is a fantastic character and toy designer and has appeared in numerous shows and exhibits worldwide.

Found this awesome animation that Maxim Zhestkov did for the NokiaE71 launch.

Shotopop launches it’s new website with nice functionalities and features and wonderful projects. Much talent here at work!

Paul Lee Design is the reinvention of design by MAP. You want to see beautiful? The complexity yet calm texturing of the interface is breath taking. His logotype is genial. His work is top of the line.

Wonder how a good design portfolio should look? Here’s one.

GRANDBASE works in wide range, from web design, graphic, to CI/VI planning. Publisher of a Japanese design portal web CBCNET, a visual free magazine “rtr”, and organizers of a design conference APMT they collaborate with designers and artist from around the world.

PMKFA aka Michael Thorsby has set foot and strongly rooted in the urban entertainment youth scene. His vinyl jackets and cd designs, t-shirts, flyers, logos all have flair and each projects he undertook, is impregnated with his unique graphic signature.

Friendswithyou is an artist collaborative founded by the two Miami-based artists, Sam Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III. Since conception in 2002, through popular designer toy line, public art installations, published works, life performances and various animation, motion picture and multimedia, they continue to spread the message of the brand they created.

Will trade cyniscim for spacey cheesy blab anytime! Proof that bringing happiness to your audience is good.. business.

Graniph Design Award call for entries.

Graniph T-Shirt Design Award is a global design competition which is open to everyone regardless of age, location or experience. With over 30.000 designs submitted over the past competitions, it has uncovered some great talents on tees.

Gold prize: 1,000,000 Yen

Deadline: February 28

Tokyo uses Grass instead of Pavement by Wejetset

“The Green Island Project aims to encourage the reconsideration of these existing places and remind us of the potential that these already developed areas still offer.”

Pictoplasma – Pictopia is bringing together a growing international community of designers, artists, critics, producers and fans. The worldwide explosion of character design at the beginning of the millennium changed visual culture distinctively.

Upcoming: March 19-21

Corbis is going pretty.. with a new logo. So you like? Wish they would revamp their website too. The color key in the picture would definitely look gorgeous and more, now!

The Softer Side of Corbis analysis by Brand New.

Liz Lomax just blew me away with this fast-paced movie on how she creates a sculpted illustration. She sculpts the characters and then photograph them for illustration.

Watch The Making of Noel Gallagher. If you are not familiar with her work, visit her website!

Julia Rothman lives, breathes and designs patterns and does illustration work too hand-drawn or digital. Don’t miss the lovely Hand Guides.

This is entertainment! Also Design animation between sections on their website are soo delicious! Luv it that they have pushed the metaphor of each contextual link to the hilt.

Must see!

Insane photomontage by Marc Paeps.

5th annual Stereohype Button Badge Design Competition (2008/09) launches and you are invited to create and submit lovely, humorous and/or witty artworks for those cute little mobile canvases.

The judging panel includes former competition winners and journalists, writers, designers and artists from around the world – and all of us look very much forward to seeing all those great badge gems.

Deadline: February 18

Matthew Hilton is a furniture designer and his style recalls scandinavian modernist and minimalist school of thought. He started his company to seek complete creative control over production.

Andrew Holder illustrations have geometric precision quality and exquisite details – overall his work looks very clean and thoughtful. Since graduating, he already has a number of shows under his belt.

Karoly Karalyfalvi aka Drez aka extraverage is a freelancer graphic designer, living and working in Budapest, Hungary and heavily involved in freestyle assignments.

KidOnion is a creation of EasyHey! Ain’t it cute or what?

desres is a design and consultancy studio and are active in a wide range of projects across a growing variety of media. Technically proficient and doing stunning print work.

Don’t recall when fascination with miniatures started. Why? Because the scale, minuscule, gives a sense of grandeur to everything else that surrounds. For example, it’s as if there were a micro-life-like-sub-sphere where the little things and characters inhabit and a giant peering in their world.

Michele Humes is a recent culinary school grad and author of Fine Furious Life. Found The Best Things In Life Are Wee article and if you like small, you will be delighted with her findings..

“Each plastic sculpture is a scale replica, no taller than a thumbnail..” Must see!

AllRightsReserved is a design studio based in Hong Kong and have completed diversified assignments such as, obviously, signage and events, advertising and packaging. There work has an overall fun and delicate and refined and urban feel.

The best of qualities isn’t it?

Unknowingly came across their work back in 05, when they organized What’s Good conference which had for theme: “Question of creation, of perception, of sensitivity, of conscience, of meaning and of taste.”

Camilla Hounsell Halvorsen is a 3 year design student at Oslo National Academy of the Arts and if building her future on her debut furniture, no doubt, it will be great.

DROPS are made of leftover fabrics from the furniture industry which was featured at the recent Stockholm Furniture Fair.

Hats off!

Probably the best pitch I’ve seen: Huge is hiring and asks “Would you like to work at HUGE? Prepare to meet a lot of interesting characters running wild in our offices.”

Explore the section to see who you could meet if you were hired. And there are real job offers too.

Nic de Socio is a young canadian intern architect who doubles as an abtract painter. His square canvases are large colourful expressive works which are abstractions of plans, maps, elevations of cities and the build environment.

Now, that’s an original concept! Ah!

Curious undertaking. No one can’t contest my looove of colors but 20×26 seems to have taken it to a new meaning.. not that I get why I would buy a Pantone color poster whereas I could just do it here?!?!

Alex & Cocco are photographers specializing in commercial, advertising, lifestyle and fine arts productions via their London and New York CIty dual home base.

Motifo is a mosaic kit that converts your whole fridge into a funky work of art and just one pack really makes all the different designs. That’s right! There are currently 2 colours schemes available: classic (grey tones) and warm (warm sunset colours).

Hours of fun with the kidz, big and small.

Eeee wanna listen to music and actually have some controls (euphemeristic) to play with? Hobnox audiotool has gotta it all. Some people have invested loads of time mounting these virtual presets. Have a look!

Plug Into the Smart Grid is a nice little 3D advert site for GE.ecomagination produced by one of the top interactive production department on the web — Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.

These folks sure know how to pack marvel little experiences for their clients and this one, ain’t failing. Oh and this is good (design) business, you know eco design, environmental, green.

Click to your heart’s content and learn some.

The three images in this series are probably heating up data parks all around the internet right now. Magnificient illustration achievement and astute concept of We put anything on paper are no doubt, rare to come across.

But there is a flipside that needs to be spelled out.

As always, finding great work out of context somewhat drives in a sense of betrayal. What? Like the curious case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hide. Great promotional advertising for Otavio Rios (the author of the illustrations) but what a disappointment to see his other work on his website.

So advice to heed, make sure your portfolio delivers the goods ’cause in this case, well.. they don’t.

Cravendale Milk Matters original idea for the site was to create a 2d ‘Cravendale World’ with which the user could interact and was produced by Outside Line. If you want an inside look at the techniques used for developing this flash website, read their blog post.

The animated spots are a pure joy to watch!

Too beautiful to pass up. Although the Stockholm Furniture Fair just took place and it’s too late to visit on location, the website Under Construction, shows upcoming furniture designers.

Check out the pieces on display!

Mad Monkey is just mad about producing high quality live action, animation spots and interactive projects. Don’t miss the Blue Shield adverts.

Major portfolio update by FUPETE! Versatility,
exhibits, puppets and cardboard robots. His art is now arriving at a new level of maturity, he has more assurance. Can’t help admiring the audacity and genuine originality he deploys in his assignments.

And as he says aptly: “I live and work in the countryside of Tuscany. I draw and paint to save me”

The creative collectived called Sicksystems consists of three artists and graphic designers with graffiti backgrounds from Moscow and they are a talented trio. Very! Boldly angular forms are assembled in original colorful graphic elements. Absolutely striking is the quality of their graf and how they have translated these into cool merch, tees, shoes..

Visit from top to bottom. Definitely, a group to watch.

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Totally awesome messenger bags as well as in-store exterior and interior visuals.

NOMOON created this stunning little video as a 2009 wishes which incorporates live action with familiar design tools to create the message! Now you have gotta see this! Awesome!

Check the making of too! Hilarious.

Presenting the 4 member jury panel who will find the 1″ inch buttons (badges) and 4×6 postcards merch competition selections to be announced early March.

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Erik Adigard is a communication designer who explores the changing dynamics between media, design and culture.

Aside from corporate communications, Adigard takes on teaching or writing assignments as well as commissions from art and design institutions. His creations have been shown in major international exhibits, film festivals and publications, such as the Venice Architecture Biennale, The Sundance Film Festival and Meggs’ History of Graphic Design. Among his many awards, he received the Chrysler Award for Innovation in Design.

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Karen Ingram is an artist living in Brooklyn, NY. Her designs and drawings have been profiled in many books and magazines, including Computer Arts Magazine, Digit Magazine, and STEP inside design. More recently, her work is cited as being representative of Hand Drawn Analog-Style in Fresher Styles for Web Designers: More Eye Candy from the Underground by Curt Cloninger. She’s a member of the IADAS and is a board member of the SXSW Interactive festival

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Snow Mack is a digital artist for the film business and print and a fine artist. Seeking to interpret her dreams and visions, her artistic endeavors focus on surreal narratives. Through deciphering the qualities of dreams and visions, she aspires to capture the timeless mysteries of the soul on canvas.

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Damiano Mazzarella has been in the antique jewellery business for almost 20 years collecting jewels from all over the world and from all the ages (Art Noveau-Deco-1800-Biedermei er-1950-Liberty).

In 2004, he changed profession and opened a bookbar called Salotto42 in Rome. Books of art-design-fashion and promoting artists with exhibitions. He likes most of contemporary art and urban-street art. He is trying to built an italian wooster collective, and hopes that in a couple of months, he will release a new web site-flickr-facebook Street Art Italy.

“Good design is invisible.” – Jeffrey Zeldman

Pixel goodness brought to you by Siggi Eggertsson who is an illustrator who likes to draw portraits, animals and landscapes also makes other things, like dabbing into graphic design.

Luv the Gnarls Barkley cover.

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One of his athlete collection illustration made the IdN magazine cover for The Geometric Issue.

loworks—– just relaunched a new website still inhabited by the lovely fatty starry eyed little characters who are taking street urban culture to a new level in graphic, web, interactive, products and motion design.

Theirs, is a beautiful world!

“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” – Steve Jobs

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via Sandra Smith. Luv this direct piece Hockey Canada wanted and that she designed, that would encourage girls ages 10-12 yrs to participate in hockey.

Whacky just got wackier! Discover the explorative website of this art collective operating as Kraffhics who prefer commissions from bands and magazines and do self-initiated projects and publications as well.

Nothing really standard-looking there, but lively!

And they love doing collages. Here is an awesome example.

Discovered another pearl: Salt The Wound Records website which Kraffhics have designed. Now talk about mixing DIY visuals with the cutest small office navigation. The CD packaging designs rock!

Chad Kouri decided that Long Live Analog was the best way to describe his design interests and creative focus. Hinting at the expanding DIY trend, vintage illustration collages..

he does exquisitely executed paper fonts.

The kids are back! Nodiktat is a design collective dedicated to bringing together creative people who share their graphic world and culture. Designs are printed on different supports such as limited edition t-shirts, wallstickers, posters, badges and bags.

They are always on the look-out for new contributors.

Discovered the extra talented duo when this 3-D ceramic tiles for Stella McCartney flagship stores worldwide, was released in 2002.

“Advice for the young?

… don’t stop sketching. Forget computers and just draw.
Learn to sketch! That’s the number one thing.
So many kids we see today just can’t draw anymore.
It’s horrendous isn’t it?”

Good 50×70, the project that helps social communication.

Call for entries on the themes of Child Labour, Climate Change, Healthcare Deprivation, HIV/AIDS, Nuclear Emergency, War on Terror and Women’s Rights Deprivation.

Deadline: April 1

Because this website version of Mo Ka, we create concepts, is going to rest (how in the world are they going to beat that one?) it’s time to process quickly to our virtual archives.

Fantastic bestiaire theme as interface, complete with magnifique perspective and animations and… my gosh, check the billboard projector that show their portfolio projects.

Technically and visually perfect down to the last detail. Hurry up and take your time. Go explore.

Adriean Koleric works under the name ITEM. He is both a furniture designer who loves green solutions and illustrator, who prefers to use well-known sci-fi parnephelia and boxing masks to add-on to anonymous looking characters’ heads.

Showing Scout with cold hands digital paint.

Line art for interface visuals? Checked! Podcastings to explain what a project is about (now that’s cool)? Checked! Interdisciplinarians doing print, illustration, web and motion design? Checked!

Legwork Studio is a new design company based out of Denver, CO and they know how to pull some funny punches via their spanking new website.

Unchecked? You visiting their website! FUN!

Handle with Care by Duane King

An inside look at the process of building Luigi Bormioli new website!

“The story of this site’s development is a perfect example of how, with careful management, everyone can get their wants and needs satisfied when you’re doing the right thing.”

Look Ma, no flash!

Michael Paul Young packs more pixel goodness to a centimeter than most of us will ever will and his portfolio, is ample proof of that: image creation, interactive and motion design, photography and sound.. whew!

Currently calling Bangkok, Thailand home, he is the co-fdounder of design firm WeWorkForThem and also founded, manages and directs daily, the online design shop, YouWorkForThem.

Now go look and learn!

Jacques Van Der Watt and Danica Lepen are the two talented creators behind the fashion label Black Coffee. Now showing, their Summer 09 collection.

With or without 3D glasses Barcinski & Jeanjean website will blow your mind away. Gotta luv the concept of 360 surround like immersion, a nice techno achievement and how the projects unfold to onto the interface space.

Well done!

SOUM it up with design and consulting and DJ and Artist management describes what André Felipe Menezes has a passion for. Really like this Trade Sound poster layout.

Introducing Simple Human steel frame dishwasher rack a compact and ubiquitous little marvel. With its hidden features, makes it a real treat for that day in and out boring activity and can dress up a countertop with style.

Watch it work, is a movie produced by DPTDDDD (which stands for Department of The Fourth Dimension).

Netdiver Best of the Year is always a long awaited release of which projects and whose talents have made a strong and lasting impression in the previous year. We aimed to list 100 and just could not. So how about 110 because we feel they gave their 110% best?

Now in its 7th edition, the crop of the year is for us, the top of the year. Hope you agree. Refresh your memory and (re)encounter new sources of design inspiration.

Jim Hughes photography veers on mostly outdoors activities that seems to be located in the wild western parts of America. Having this hyper real quality to the light settings, makes for highly contrasted colors or sun drenched and a tad overexposed pictures.

Just like our memories – they have a bigger than life quality to it.

Compostmordern 09 is an interdisciplinary conference that explores the range of design thinking necessary to create a socially and ecologically responsible society, will take place on location at Herbst Theatre SF and webcast everywhere.

Presented by the San Francisco chapter of AIGA and the AIGA Center for Sustainable Design (CFSD).

Reserve your spot today!

Upcoming: February 23

New viral marketing spot by T-Mobile Dance on the theme Life is for sharing, was filmed live at Liverpool Street station in London recently. Can you imagine the logistics? 8 dances in 1 routine! 10,000 auditions! 400 chosen! Night rehersals.

Some peep are gifted with dealing with nightmarish assignments and pulling it with brio! You make me want to dance-dance-dance!

View the making of to get an idea.

Get movin’ could well be Jason Gould daily slogan. The foundation of his splendid photography is sports related and is a true homage to the athletes who put in so much sweat, tears and dedication to succeed.

Avoiding the pitfalls of sport reporting (oftentimes favoring blurred movements), his shots are as sharp as the perceived skills of his subjects. You wonder where he was positioned to snap these?!?!

Amazing!

Intense! Scott Morgan photography collection Skin Deep is an ecclectic assemblage of lifestyles pictures. Must see!

Received an invitation from Work and Play, who are currently preparing a new webiste — upon arrival and seeing the beautiful picture on their placeholder — not hard to be eager to see what they do next.

Meanwhile visit their shop to zing up your closet with large sized graphics applied to tshirts.

Jennifer Sanchez is the artist that is currently featured on 20×200 index page and today, you are invited to go in-depth into her bubbly style, which can be described as oh so joyfully exhuberant.

Her ability to surimpose layers after layers of floating geometric forms, mostly circles, is fascinating. One would think that it would be restrictive, but as you will see, she is constantly pursuing expansion of her inner worlds.

Hats off to you Miss Sanchez!

Jan at Spyline picked his Best Portfolios of 2008 and the flash website that Jeff Vermeersch designed for his portfolio, is a cunning little concept to pimp his brand efficiently.

See other awesome picks.

Semi-Permanent is a design event. It consists of a conference and side events which include exhibitions, competitions, workshops and parties. It’s a week long celebration of all things design. explores the diverse and exciting design world bringing together exceptionally talented artists and designers to speak at the event.

Upcoming: Sydney, April 3-4

Upcoming: Brisbane, April 8

Upcoming: Auckland, TBA

It’s time for fiesta! MASA| Design from Latin America is jajaja. Not only do they make research into their native pop culture but also worldwide contemporary street culture.

The results? A crossover between urban and folks freshly produced ideas.

Hampus Jageland just graduated in December 08 and his portfolio is an indication of both talent how great a career awaits him. Luv his style, his packaging concepts are so imaginative.

Elegantly designed and sparingly using black and white, bold typography and great imagery.

Adobe Design Achievement Awards 2009 call for entries

Get recognised for your work on an international stage. The ADAA gives higher education students from around the world the shortcut to brilliance to propel their careers in the future. Enter in 12 categories in 3 media areas endorsed by the industry.

Winners will be announced at the Icograda World Design Congress in Beijing, China.

Deadline: June 5

FITC Toronto: The Design + Technology Festival, elebrates what it means to live, think and play outside the lines with a three-day event focused on the art and craft of Interactive design and technology.

Early bird pricing ends February 18.

Upcoming: April 25-28

Hello NEW is such a weet and profound little movie overlaid on Tomorrow Partners website. Stirring hope, and new mountain views, and everything in between that keep us close to our dreams.

Gaby Brink (da founder) says: “A new year. A new era. Here at Tomorrow, new is our best friend. We hope you share our sentiment. May all the new send good things your way.”

So be it!

Jakob Nylund has just launched Just—My—Type™ a vector illustrator fonts archive and a Formconspiracy project. Free fonts for everyone. And free to tweak, change, hate and like.

The Pyramid font is gorgeous.

20×200 is a Jen Bekman project who is also the founder/owner of a gallery. She launched both with the belief that people should “live with art – it’s good for you.” Couldn’t agree more. So what is the concept? Pretty smart and simple.

“As we see it, there are a lot of people out there who want to sell their art and a lot of people who’d like to buy it. They just have a hard time finding each other. ”

Introducing at least two new pieces a week in various size and prices, the original work is also available for purchase, if you are so inclined.

Image courtesy of Jennifer Sanchez and 20×200

Docked yourself cause you’re about to be blown away! A little side note – his website is a bit obscure to navigate – so exercise patience – it will be worth your while. Kiyoshi Kuroda is first and foremost an illustrator who prefers creating monochromatic work — in fact, he once said:

“There are too many colors around. I only need black.”

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O yeah? Well he is so intent on this statement, that a couple years back he did a DISCOLOR exhibition. But he does use colors, but very sparingly. His elegant designs have been stamped on different surfaces ranging from apparel to tea cup, wallpape to ceiling.

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As you can see in the examples – integration of his artworks with subjects is — believable. That’s not a quality to underestimate. You look at these and wish you could enter this strange world made of transparent or not organic flowers, forms and vegetation.