Designer Desire: Nicholas Huggins

Montage of Nicholas Huggins designs

I’m embarassed to admit that this is only the second time that we’re featuring a Trinidadian artist in our Designer Desire series. The first was textile designer, Althea McNish – and that was way back in 2018!

Huggins is from a completely different generation to McNish, and their work and methods are poles apart. Huggins produces much of his work digitally on a computer using Adobe Illustrator.

I was introduced to Nicholas Huggins’ work not that long ago via a Global Voices article. I was struck by his bold use of colour and creativity in his hugely successful project that was part of 36daysoftype.

In it, he interpreted the vernacular architecture of the Caribbean in his own style, using all the letters of the alphabet and the numbers 0-9. He created a limited-edition print of the project which sold out within weeks.

The subjects of his illustrations are often subjects that are Trinidad & Tobago icons; rum, carnival, calypso, the beach, food & drink, folkloare and day to day views such as gas stations, parlours and roadside vendors.

The 36daysoftype illustrations are included at the top of our montage and below in a film where Nicholas talks about the project and the follow-up one.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Nicholas Huggins | Creative (@nicholashugginscreative)

All image credits: © Nicholas Huggins

Designer Desire: Maria Holmer Dahlgren

Montage of Maria Holmer Dahlgren designs

Maria Holmer Dahlgren is a Swedish graphic designer with a distinctive, bold use of colour, shape and font in her creations.

About her city range she says:

The products are my answer to soulless souvenirs of poor quality that look the same wherever you are. Lots of tingles or moose made in China. My souvenirs are filled with personal strawberries and can easily be packed into the cabin bag, flat and durable.

They should be practical utility items at a reasonable price. Folksy and strong without being trendy. Made in Sweden by family businesses. In addition, they are tributes to these cities and my hope is that all the residents of those cities should feel pride, because we live in a fantastic country. The more you travel out into the world and gain perspective, the more you understand it.

She has collaborated with the likes of IKEA and the Tate. Her designs have been used on an array of homewares; serving trays, posters, postcards, notebooks and textiles.

It’s possible to find a few examples of her work available on Abe Books and eBay.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Maria Holmer Dahlgren (@mariaholmerdahlgren)

All image credits: © Maria Holmer Dahlgren

Designer Desire: Eric Drooker

Montage of Eric Drooker artworks
New York city born Eric Drooker (b. 1958) is a magazine illustrator, graphic novelist, animator and painter.

In 1994, he won the American Book Award for his first graphic novel, Flood! A Novel in Pictures (cover artwork, bottom left in the montage above). His second, Blood Song is soon to be released as a feature film.

He has designed dozens of covers for the New Yorker magazine. He collaborated with Allen Ginsberg on both Illuminated Poems and Howl: A Graphic Novel.

Find his graphic novels, books of postcards and other books he’s illustrated on Amazon.

In the film below, Eric Drooker is interviewed about his friendship with Allen Ginsberg and designing the animation for Howl starring James Franco.

Portrait of Eric Drooker by Peter Riede, 2013Peter Riede©

All other credits: Eric Drooker©

Designer Desire: Wim Bijmoer

Montage of Wim Bijmoer illustrations | H is for Home

Wim Bijmoer (1914 – 2000) was a Dutch illustrator and graphic designer; he began his career in theatre and ballet, designing sets and puppets.

He illustrated scores of books by Annie MG Schmidt – who’s considered queen of Dutch children’s literature. He also provided the graphics for her regular comic strip in the Amsterdam newspaper, Het Parool and later for Han G. Hoekstra. In 1967, he produced a lovely set of postage stamps… four of them are included in our montage above.

Bijmoer officially retired in 1979 however, he didn’t stop working until 1990 when, after failed eye surgery, he lost much of his vision.

Portrait of Wim Bijmoer

Image credits:

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