Five Designers I Admire a Whole Lot
photo by Jan Antonin Kolar on Unsplash
I am constantly learning from, and inspired by, other designers. Keeping up with what my colleagues in the field are doing helps me grow as a designer and a person. Art really is everywhere, all around us, so it’s impossible to know when I’ll come across a logo or image that sparks my curiosity. I find new designers to love on Instagram, in museums, on vacation, or just walking around.
Here are five designers I admire a whole lot that inspire my design work. This is hardly an exhaustive list. Stay tuned. At some point down the line, there will be more!
Andrea Pippins
active mid-2000s – present
The first example of their work I remember seeing: I connected with her illustration and design work via Instagram.
What they are most famous for: You may have come across her beautifully illustrated books such as We Inspire Me: Cultivate Your Creative Crew to Work, Play, and Make and I Love My Hair: A Coloring Book of Braids, Coils, and Doodle Dos.
Three words to describe their style: Vibrant, joyful, powerful
What I most admire about their work: I really can feel the love and care that goes into her work –– I can feel her energy and excitement coming through the images. I really admire that she works in such a way that is fulfilling for her. She is open about the behind-the-scenes details of her business, which is a beautiful way to inform and lift up other designers.
How they influence and inspire me: I participated in the WeDoodle challenge that she led on Instagram a few years ago and having the drawing prompts as well as connection and encouragement really helped me get more comfortable with putting pen to paper when I need to for my design work
James Victore
active early ‘90s – present
The first example of their work I remember seeing: I remember seeing his poster series that’s in the MoMA collection as an example of art/design world crossovers.
What they are most famous for: He is known for his unique and imperfect illustration and lettering style and for his motto of “feck perfunction.”
Three words to describe their style: Unconventional, daring, dynamic
What I most admire about their work: I admire how he has taken a leadership role in the design community in terms of encouraging designers to be brave and take risks with their work, too. He does a lot of writing and educational programs to share what he’s learned instead of keeping it all to himself!
How they influence and inspire me: His work has definitely had an influence on me exploring how I can use hand lettering in my personal work to express my emotions, even if that means the letters need to be messy. I also look at how I can incorporate imperfections into a logo or layout design that will make it more unique and memorable.
Jen White Johnson
Active mid-2000s–present
The first example of their work I remember seeing: I just learned about her work in June of this year through her design and advocacy work for the “Black Disabled Lives Matter” movement.
What they are most famous for: In addition to her work to advocate that “Black Disabled Lives Matter,” she’s also created a popular photo ‘zine called KnoxRoxs, reflecting her experience as a parent of her Black autistic son.
Three words to describe their style: Compelling, hopeful, assertive
What I most admire about their work: I most admire that she is taking her family’s challenges and using them to fuel disability advocacy work to redesign ableist visual culture and shift problematic stigmas.
How they influence and inspire me: Her work helps remind me how much design can combine real human joy while challenging the status quo — the two avenues don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
Paula Scher
Active 1972–present
The first example of their work I remember seeing: It’s hard to remember not knowing about her work — she is definitely one of the rock stars/giants of post-modern graphic design!
What they are most famous for: I think her design and branding work for the Public Theater is most famous, with her hand-illustrated maps being a close second.
Three words to describe their style? Expressive, energetic, engaging
What I most admire about their work? I really admire how diverse and varied her visual style is depending on the project or client. She really keeps the goals and needs of the project front and center so her work never looks quite the same.
How they influence and inspire me: Her logo design for the Public Theater is an example I use often when I talk about a brand being bigger than the logo. The Public uses a type-only logo, which many people are hesitant to do, but when you see how the logo looks in context with the bold and adventurous typographic poster layouts she’s done, you can see how the logo can play a supporting role in the visual language of brand rather than trying to tell the whole story on its own.
Terrance Weinzierl
Active mid-2000s–present
The first example of their work I remember seeing: The typeface design for the Dominos Pizza rebrand, called Pizza Press regular
What they are most famous for: A whole array of typefaces designed for clients of Monotype
Three words to describe their style? Thoughtful, human, familiar
What I most admire about their work? The typographic design for the Domino’s Pizza box is one of my favorite brand decisions ever! I love how much flexibility it gives the company to deliver different messages and promote different products all under the roof of the same vintage & Americana-feel typeface. I’m convinced this helped folks warm up to Dominos again after their darker days of customer dissatisfaction (along with an improved product of course).
How they influence and inspire me: His work has influenced my interest in looking at how vintage and vintage-inspired fonts can be used to add feelings of warmth and comfort to a brand’s visual voice.
That’s all for this month. Thanks for tuning in!
CHANGE MAKER OF THE MONTH
For this month’s change maker of the month, I’m spotlighting and donating to Autistic Self Advocacy Network, an advocacy nonprofit that believes that the goal of autism advocacy should be a world in which autistic people enjoy equal access, rights, and opportunities. I recently learned about this organization from Jen White Johnson, one of the designers I really admire!