Illustration

From print to pixels, artists are drawing upon divergent techniques and styles to communicate in bold new ways. Printed media and video games has elevated illustration to an art form, with fashion and digital design among today’s most influential disciplines

Art / 18 Sep 2017

Alpine lines: rare Otl Aicher prints reveal a graphic designer ahead of his time

For Patrick Eley, creative director of design studio dn&co, German graphic designer Otl Aicher has long been a source of inspiration. ‘His work, particularly that of the Munich 1972 Olympics, is a design touchstone for us,’ Eley explains. ‘But...

Art / 12 Jun 2017

Illustrator Brian Sanders offers a rare glimpse into Stanley Kubrick’s creative process

A ramshackle old bank in Clerkenwell has been transformed by architect-turned-gallery director Didier Madoc-Jones into a new exhibition space. Two years ago, the handsome, half-abandoned shell (complete with stray cat in the basement) was crying out for conversion. Didier enlisted...

Art / 8 May 2017

Fine print: Paul Catherall’s architectural linocuts pack a nostalgic punch

Printmaker and one-time Wallpaper* cover artist Paul Catherall is no stranger to hard work. Each one of his architectural prints takes around six weeks to complete – and there are dozens of them in a bountiful new selling exhibition at...

Lifestyle / 16 Jan 2017

Visual feast: tracing Fortnum & Mason’s rich culinary and illustrative history

Founded over 300 years ago, Fortnum & Mason is bound to have amassed a few treasures and accolades along the way – the most recent, a Wallpaper* Design Award for its first-ever cookbook (below). So to Piccadilly, where Fortnum &...

Art / 17 Oct 2016

John Derian’s Picture Book is an eclectic, illustrative feast for the eyes

The cover of John Derian’s first book is entirely absent of text; an enlarged illustrated eye and its finely pencilled brow fill the space with such outsized scale that the image would catch your eye without much effort. You might...

Art / 28 Jun 2016

California calling: Raymond Pettibon embraces sex, sports and surfing

There is no other artist who dismantles – and subsequently pieces together – modern America quite like Raymond Pettibon. Best known for his comic book-style drawings overlaid with charged text, the New York-based artist revels in subverting tropes, from trains...

Lifestyle / 9 Feb 2016

Making scents: Prada bucks convention with a collection of surreal fragrances

In the fickle and constantly turning world of designer fragrances, it’s considered an incredible feat that Prada has yet to put a foot wrong. Now, to rival the exclusive scent collections touted by Chanel, Dior and Tom Ford, the innovative...

Art / 21 Oct 2015

Fun factory: DABSMYLA cover an LA building with psychedelic illustrations

LA-based Australian graffiti artists Dabs and Myla are not averse to a challenge. Working under the studio name of DABSMYLA, the husband-and-wife duo, who have painted everything from city walls and awards show sets to furniture and vases, are always on the...

Design / 11 Aug 2015

Love note: Paperless Post turns Alexander Girard’s designs into greeting cards

The iconic designer Alexander Girard was no stranger to creating textiles, logos, products, buildings and interiors. Today, his enduring legacy has extended to include a collection of stationery – digital, no less. A collaboration between online stationers Paperless Post and...

Lifestyle / 16 Jul 2015

Mad for matcha: South Kensington’s Tombo releases tea range

In Japan, drinking tea is a ritual. The ’Way of Tea’ – the elaborate preparation of powdered green matcha tea – is a quiet ceremony deeply rooted within Japanese culture, which carefully demonstrates harmony, respect, purity and tranquillity through the presentation...

Art / 3 Jul 2015

Nicolas Ouchenir’s ‘portraits-signature’ go on show at Colette

Nicolas Ouchenir is a self-taught calligrapher whose talent surfaced while he was director of a contemporary art gallery in Paris. Obsessive to detail, he hand-addressed exhibition invitations in typefaces he created based on artists’ signatures. It made a big difference...

Art / 24 Jun 2015

Life by 1,000 cuts: Natasha Bowdoin’s work on view at the SCAD Museum of Art, Georgia

Art realised on paper – from Whistler’s delicate etchings, to Degas’ sublime pastels and the distinctive drawing of Picasso – is common enough, but the Houston-based artist Natasha Bowdoin’s work takes the artistry of paper to an entirely new level. Now...