How much does your city—or your neighborhood—influence your work? For many Chicago designers, the city itself has always been a muse of inspiration. And understandably: It’s a city obsessed with it’s own history, civic pride and yes, even its political corruption. You’d also be hard pressed to find another American city so enamored—so narcissistic—with its [...]

Digital artist Justin Mezzell thinks of himself much more as a storyteller. The goal of his images is to tell a graphical narrative—a comprehensive tale—in one frame. The now-creative director of design agency, Maven Creative in Orlando, Florida, has designed magazine layouts, album covers and infographics manifesting impossible worlds in dark illustrations and fantastic dreamscapes. [...]

Browsing through designer/ illustrator Brent Couchman’s portfolio of work is like a cardio workout for the eyes. You’ll dance around the page absorbing every fanciful slab serif and eye-popping logomark. There’s a distinctive look to his logos and custom typefaces for sure, and if you’re a fan of watch and leather goods-purveyor Fossil you’ve definitely [...]

If you spend anytime on Reddit you’re probably familiar with the term “lurker.” I don’t know if there is an UrbanDictionary definition for the term, but it’s basically someone that has an account, or continues to come back to a site time-after-time, day-after-day – reads lots of the material, but generally doesn’t participate. As connected [...]

To say that Matt Braun is dedicated to letterpress in design is an understatement. Clearly. When you look at his portfolio you’ll see loopy ampersands, whimsical descenders, ’50s-diner-inspired iconography and an attention to detail to keep your eyes wondering, mesmerized. The senior designer at Pittsburgh-based design and development agency Bearded has done design work for Campfire’s [...]

Designer, illustrator, screen-printer and “portraiture” artist, Aaron Scamihorn says he has a mixed media love affair with typography and serigraphy. His work can be found on gig posters for bands like CAKE, Queens of the Stone Age; reppin’ roller derby tournaments; and illustrating striking expressions from celebrities and iconic films. His use of rigorous texture [...]

Brooklyn-based designer Jon Contino’s work can be found among various brands. But much of the freelancer’s creative energy is funneled into typography-centric menswear label, CXXVI Clothing Company, where he is the co-founder and creative director. He describes himself as an Alphastructaesthetitologist (say that five times fast). While specializing in hand-lettering and illustrations, much of Contino’s [...]

As you may know by now, Inspired Magazine is a sucker for data visualization. That’s why we invited Tony Shin – a social media ninja and creative design samurai – to curate the weekly dose of infographics. If you like them as much as we do check out some of the older editions and follow [...]