Jessica Stevens

Jessica Stevens Inspiration, cool stuff, and ideas go here:

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I designed some patterns for Designlovefest's Dress Your Tech section!

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New patterns coming soon! Here's a sneak peak...

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Glassine in Design

material and tactility is what makes print design so unique in a world of touchscreens and digital everything. You just can't digitally replace how something feels in your hand when you turn a page or open an envelope. I always try to make myself pay attention to how things are made and the raw materials the designer chose to use. Today on Pinterest, I noticed some interesting uses of glassine-that translucent paper that's sometimes used for small pouch envelopes or bakery bags. I've mostly seen this material used for packaging for small paper objects like stamps, but these projects use it in more inventive ways. Studio Laucke Siebein's The Colour Envelope #10 for Akzo Nobel Decorative Coatings Etsy find at Present & Correct store

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Last weekend I went a little gif crazy...

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Some Highlights, part 3: Art

Interactive 'Touch and Tweet' Installation-Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam-Daan Roosegaarde and Hellicar&Lewis. The lights are like a small field of tall grass in a dark room and respond to touch.

In the Land of Giants-Stedelijk Museum- Jon Baer. This was one of six paintings that study practices of our Neolithic past.

Tate Modern in London-Dan Flavin. If I remember correctly, this is the first thing I saw when I walked into the first exhibition hall at the Tate.

Studies for Homage to the Square-Tate Modern in London-Josef Albers. I was so excited to see this! I read The Interaction of Color by Albers in college and even did book arts project based on the book in school!

AIG Covers- Tate Modern in London- John Heartfield. Okay, I wasn't expecting to find these either. John Heartfield is such a cool guy-he used photomontage to create cheeky anti-nazi propoganda and if I remember correctly from history of design, he continued spreading his images via postcards even after he fled Germany.

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Some Highlights, part 2: People

Whatever you spend your time doing during the day, the people that you spend your time with can make a hell of a difference. Moving abroad to work in Amsterdam led me to befriend some really amazing people from all over the place. There's a dutch product designer that doubles as a Johnny Bravo look-a-like, an English graphic designer after my own heart, a Swedish surface pattern designer and awesome mentor, the list goes on...

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Some Highlights, part 1: Found Things

It's been a crazy couple of months and I recently realized how many amazing experiences I've had traveling, freelancing, and exploring. So, I thought I should start to share some of them.

Over the summer, there was a sculpture garden in Oud-West and we kind of wandered upon it one day. This skull is actually a sauna with a shower attached to the side. You go up the steps in the back and the steam escapes through the eyes. Kind of weird, but pretty cool-reminds me of Noah Scalin, don't worry I sent him a picture.

Albert Heijnstein, it's not funny if you have to explain it... found this Bansky inspired piece in an alleyway in Amsterdam, I hope it stays there for awhile.

This gem was painted on the wall of a Dutch bagel shop in Delft, there were other famous bagel-ized Dutch paintings, but this one was my favorite. I like to think of it as The Bagel with the Pearl Earring.

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new work!

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new patterns on society6

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Rick Poynor reveals how a feisty spirit and fresh influences have given Dutch design a new lease of life.

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More Book Covers

Coralie Bickford-Smith re-designs a series of covers for F. Scott Fitzgerald. Each books receives a unique pattern speaking to "the elegance and glamour of the art deco period, with a sense of ornate detail fused with the modernist aesthetic of mechanical repetition as gold foil stamping evokes the jazz age of Fitgerald's stories." This one from Elena Giavaldi is actually a reject book cover, the published cover and more of her rejected designs here. I like this cover because it really reflects the random, abstract, and fragmented nature of dreams. I can look at it and see what the cover represents without really having to think about it. I think the color scheme was also really thoughtfully done. Jenny Grigg's cover for The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton is really visually striking. After being shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2013, it started getting a lot more attention (ps-it won!). Because I haven't read the book, I can't really speak to it's reflection of the story, but I do find it extremely intriguing and a clever use of moon cycles stunningly reflect the book's title.

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Patterns as camouflage

I started pinteresting (my pinterest page) as an easier way to start moodboards and it's really cool to see trends that start popping up on your boards. I ran across this one yesterday. I think this concept could be a really interesting way to market products like iphone cases(like I did) or a brand like Scotch & Soda. W Magazine's Art Issue Beautiful Camouflage from RIM Productions Camouflage Series from London based photography Benedict Morgan Pattern Iphone Case via Society6

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Marco Sodano   |   http://behance.net/MarcoSodano

"All the children are authentic artists with LEGO."

Art director based in Milano, Italy. Focused on graphic design, advertising, art direction and branding.

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Book Cover Design

I'm such a huge fan of Chip Kidd and book cover design. One of the things that I love most about graphic design is the ability to visual portray something that is purely content or idea. As a designer you get to become a mini expert in something in order to design for it and in that way you are constantly learning new things. Book cover design allows you to portray a story so you become a mini expert in the book. Yesterday I posted a TEDtalk from Chip Kidd where he talks through some of his covers. I love hearing the explanation and process behind the designs. Another great resource I've found for inspiring book cover design is a running series of post's on a blog called The Fox is Black(which I mentioned on my favorite blogs post) called Re-covered Books. Some of my favorite entries/winners of this competition are:

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I'm taking a book cover design class on Skillshare taught by Chip Kidd (also one of my design heroes). I love hearing his process and he's also pretty entertaining. For the class I have decided to "re-cover" Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. I'm in the very beginning stages of the process right now, but I think I will be posting my progress and thought process as I work through it here. I really love this book, I recommend reading it over watching the movie.

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Haunting & Beautiful Photographs from Oleg Oprisco

I just ran across this photo set on behance and I know it sounds cliche, but I found them incredibly striking that I had to stop and really examine them. Some of the models are just so unreal looking. The images are equal parts creepy, fairytale, and etherial. They really look like an illustrated children's fairytale come to life and it's breathtaking. The full collection is posted here.