When it comes to historical influence, I am equally affected by fine arts as I am by design. Throughout it all, I find myself the most attracted to artists and designers in whose work the hand and medium are still evident: works that evoke tactility are the most inspirational to me.
One of my major influences is the Scottish group of artist-designers known as the Glasgow Four, comprised of Margaret Macdonald, Frances Macdonald, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, James Herbert MacNair. Their work draws heavily from both folk art and industry, embodying the contemporary focus on hand-worked design and craft. They also emphasized a “whole systems” approach which I deeply admire: one specific example is the room commissioned for the eighth Vienna Secessionist exhibition in 1900, which was one of the many rooms which Charles and Margaret collaborated to design as a holistic unit. This collaborative approach is one that typifies the Glasgow Four, and which inspires me in my approach to both design craft and the design team.
A designer whose work has been slightly more aesthetically influencing is A.M. Cassandre. His work is simultaneously soft and solid, balancing architectural shapes with the grained gradations of colour that typified the Art Deco period. It is this balance between lightness and solidity that inspires me, and I try to incorporate some of this concept into my work.
Two modern designers who have influenced my aesthetic style come from very different ends of the spectrum. On one side, I can point to Jack Royle, an independent designer whose simplistic and approachable vector illustrations give a simple charm to everyday objects. His expressive use of colour has inspired me to pursue more “friendly design”, and to branch out from the more architectural neutrals with which I am normally more comfortable.
On the other end of the spectrum is the design firm ilovedust, an English group of advertising designers doing product-marketing work for large brands. Their work is highly stylistic and eclectic, and pushes genre design like grunge, cartoon, and glitch art. As someone whose work tends towards the modernist, I appreciate the influence of this decidedly postmodern and forward-looking agency as a balancing force to my simplistic tendencies.
Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Margaret Macdonald, Frances Macdonald, James Herbert MacNair. “Viennese Secession Room,” 1900.
A.M. Cassandre, “Dubonnet,” 1932. Lithograph.
Jack Royle, “Aloe Vera,” Posted to Instagram on May 27, 2019. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx9jrxNgY-A/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
ilovedust, “Jordan Brand Classic,” posted to Instagram on May 2, 2019. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw9yUYBJE3s/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link