For the February 2009 issue of print magazine Karen and I were asked to share some stuff that inspires us off-line for a change. It wasn’t easy, but we narrowed it down to a shortlist of 8 items that we thought were print worthy.

It was such a nice surprise to see design:related mentioned in the December 2008 issue of Print magazine. Thank you Henry Sene Yee for the encouraging words and thinking of us during your Print interview with Jeremy Lehrer! Read the full article here about design in New York City.

Dutch illustrator and designer, Fons Schiedon, creates his characters sometimes out of the simplest of shapes and colors, bringing them to life using humor, dancing (movement), and street motifs.

One of his more ambitious projects, Kika and Bob, Schieden’s animated series, was comprised of over 4,000 original character designs/backgrounds/props. In it, Kika and Bob travel all over the world—everywhere from Texas to the Amazon to Japan.

Schiedon’s influence was largely dualistic. “When I grew up it was a split-screen situation between Hollywood and Van Gogh … art and hollywood and popculture, it all connected.”

When he got bored with digital tools, Schieden returned to painting. It was the next step in the evolution of his work (a trend that we’ve been noticing in the digital age).

On inspiration, Schiedon finds that it comes in two kinds (for him): One that makes you enthusiastic and want to create something yourself, and one that is “more like ideas floating around, more like a song you try to finish in your head.”

The first day (of two) started off with Pictoplasma’s Peter Thaler and Lars Denicke giving a warm introduction to the artists and the characters that drive them.

After a screening of more than a dozen animations, Tokyoplastic took the stage. Sam Lanyon Jones (Drew Cope couldn’t make it) went into a little of the background behind how their enormous web success led to their studio’s agency career. They currently have 4 short films in production (once again self-invested), one of which will be on its way in a just a short while.
When asked from where they draw their inspiration, the simple reply was that “[it] comes from pretty much anything in life that you need … you sort of suck stuff up and then regurgitate it.”

As for the obvious vector question, “It’s a pleasure to work in vectors—they’re a lovely, lovely thing.”

The Pictoplasma NYC weekend started off with blackboards and redbull as the artists chalked it up on a Thursday night. Photos from the party in Tribeca (@ the Redbull Space):

The term “recession” has been on everyone’s minds in the U.S. lately. HOW magazine picks up on this in their August issue, giving design:related and linked in a mention for their value in professional networking capabilities. Julie Sims (The Creative Group) goes into detail sharing some good tips on how to make the most out of your design skills during the recession.

A good read, but only available stores (not online).