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Championing creativity

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Dptintl-lead — Department International: Deckard

Work / Graphic Design

Graphic Design: Loving Department International’s design experiments

Words by James Cartwright, Wednesday 05 June 2013

Split between New York and London, Department International are the kind of design team the internet was invented for. Bobby Singh and Brian Okarski are a pair of freelance designers who’ve worked for the likes of Nike, Wieden+Kennedy and BMW in their personal commercial practices, but together make wilfully experimental work that blurs graphic design, web art, photography and fashion into one seriously weird but beautifully striking hybrid.

Their Tumblr in particular is packed with proposals for posters, redesigns of men’s magazines and naturally (this is Tumblr after all) no small amount of nudity. More please gentlemen, we love what you’re doing!

Dptintl-1 — Department International: Kaiser

Dptintl-3 — Department International: Rachael

Dptintl-4 — Department International: Holden

Dptintl-5 — Department International: Roy

Dptintl-6 — Department International: Pris

Dptintl-2 — Department International: Deckard

www.departmentinternational.com

Most Recent

Caterina Bianchini on her three processes when designing posters 18 January 2019
Friday Mixtape: illustrator pals Jan Buchczik and Timo Lenzen on their studio tunes 18 January 2019
B.A.M's new identity for White Cube is an “evolution rather than a revolution” 18 January 2019
Mosh Pit Simulator, perhaps the craziest VR game yet, launches later this month 18 January 2019
Fantastic Man releases What Men Wear, an anthology of male dressing in the 21st Century 18 January 2019
Interior Lives documents the unassimilated lives of the largest Chinese population outside of Asia 18 January 2019

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Work / Graphic Design B.A.M's new identity for White Cube is an “evolution rather than a revolution”

London-based design and art direction studio B.A.M recently started work on its identity for White Cube gallery, with an unusual aim: “I have a strong view that an identity, especially for White Cube, should be invisible,” co-founder of the studio David McKendrick tells It’s Nice That. Across its galleries the White Cube houses impeccable artworks and B.A.M quickly identified this as a focal point. In turn, the studio didn’t want to design an identity which would draw eyes away from the likes of Gilbert and George or Tracey Emin, but instead, build the graphic design foundations which would house the artworks, and enhance them too.

Lucy Bourton — 18 January 2019
Work / Graphic Design Genuine collaborations inform Swiss design studio Omnigroup's broad practice

Websites, publications, identities, typefaces – Switzerland-based design studio Omnigroup can do it all. What started out as a loose collaboration between Luke Archer, Leonardo Azzolini, Frederik Mahler-Andersen and Simon Mager, is now a fully-functioning studio working on a variety of projects in the fields of art, design and music.

Ruby Boddington — 17 January 2019
Work / Graphic Design Forget Hollywood, Stefanie Tam’s books showcase the real Los Angeles

Los Angeles: songs, sagas and whole industries have been built within the city. It’s no mean feat to document the self-proclaimed “city of angels” through the landscapes of two-dimensional print, but graphic designer Stefanie Tam achieves this in the form of three books centred around a personal love letter to the city.

Jyni Ong — 17 January 2019
Work / Graphic Design Berlin-based design studio Arc on contrasting typefaces and demanding fair pay

Graphic design studio Arc specialises in printed matter but, occasionally, drifts over into the realms of web and exhibition design. Founded by Joachim Bartsch, Timo Grimberg and Toni Schönbuchner, the Berlin-based studio has an impressive turnover of projects; paying homage to the Swiss school of design with their typography-centred layouts.

Jyni Ong — 16 January 2019
Work / Publication Miner magazine evokes a narrative around men in rabbit suits and internet celebrities

The Taiwanese art director and designer Chen-Huang Chian has released a new publication Miner Volume 1 in aid of “the artists’ love for creation.” The magazine is published by Cave Records, and in each issue, creatives from a variety of disciplines are invited to create work around theme-based issues. The first issue explores the concept of “self-shaping through sampling shapes and symbols in modern society and social media.” Geometric shapes of dense orange are sporadically peppered throughout the highly stylised spreads; contrasting hyper-real photography with blocky graphics, and there’s even a Mickey Mouse dot-to-dot thrown in there!

Jyni Ong — 15 January 2019
Work / Graphic Design Studio Lindhorst-Emme visualises the “disappearance of art” in an exhibition identity

The Berlin-based design studio, Studio Lindhorst-Emme, continues to deliver well-informed design with an attention to detail. In a recent project, the studio designed the visual identity for the exhibition Das Kapital ist weg – Wir sind das Kapital! in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Until its closure a few years ago, the exhibition’s venue was home to Joseph Bueys’ iconic artwork Das Kapital, and the new exhibition aims to maintain the artwork’s democratic intentions that realised a new definition of “capital” beyond its monetary value, instead focusing on human creativity at the centre of economic thought.

Jyni Ong — 14 January 2019

Regulars / Nicer Tuesdays Caterina Bianchini on her three processes when designing posters

Scottish-born, London-based designer Caterina Bianchini joined us at December’s Nicer Tuesdays at the tail end of last year, taking us through the process behind her work which filtered into See You At The Dance, a recent book compiling her poster work.

It's Nice That — 18 January 2019
Regulars / Friday Mixtape Friday Mixtape: illustrator pals Jan Buchczik and Timo Lenzen on their studio tunes

This week’s Friday Mixtape comes from not just one It’s Nice That illustration favourite, but two! While at After School Club in Offenbach during the summer of last year, we had a beer with resident illustrators Jan Buchczik and Timo Lenzen who told us about their love of music, often listening together in their shared studio.

Lucy Bourton — 18 January 2019
Work / Graphic Design B.A.M's new identity for White Cube is an “evolution rather than a revolution”

London-based design and art direction studio B.A.M recently started work on its identity for White Cube gallery, with an unusual aim: “I have a strong view that an identity, especially for White Cube, should be invisible,” co-founder of the studio David McKendrick tells It’s Nice That. Across its galleries the White Cube houses impeccable artworks and B.A.M quickly identified this as a focal point. In turn, the studio didn’t want to design an identity which would draw eyes away from the likes of Gilbert and George or Tracey Emin, but instead, build the graphic design foundations which would house the artworks, and enhance them too.

Lucy Bourton — 18 January 2019
Work / Digital Mosh Pit Simulator, perhaps the craziest VR game yet, launches later this month

There’s a new VR game coming out at the end of this month, and it’s sure to give Beat Saber a run for its money. The brainchild of renowned games designer Sos Sosowski, Mosh Pit Simulator was actually created by accident two years ago when Sos was playing around with simple AI algorithms to programme human models. This serendipitous discovery informs the basis of Mosh Pit Sumlator, whose characters, called “zombies”, flip-flop around in jerky movement according to the code: “if chest is below 1m, bump chest up”. The premise for Mosh Pit Simulator centres around these manic, “brainless, boneless humanoid creatures” in this highly anticipated, albeit slightly mad, new game.

Jyni Ong — 18 January 2019
Work / Publication Fantastic Man releases What Men Wear, an anthology of male dressing in the 21st Century

“I wouldn’t call this a book about fashion. Some men talk about fashion, many simply talk about clothes; there’s a distinction,” explains Eliot Haworth, on the new release from the makers of Fantastic Man: What Men Wear. An anthology of Fantastic Man’s online feature Questionnaire which instigates conversations from one question – “What garment is key to your personal style?” – the publication brings together a selection of insightful figures to create an oral history of male dressing in the 21st Century.

Ruby Boddington — 18 January 2019
Work / Photography Interior Lives documents the unassimilated lives of the largest Chinese population outside of Asia

Currently showing at the Museum of the City of New York, a unique exhibition is filling the walls of the galleries. Titled Interior Lives: Contemporary Photographs of Chinese New Yorkers, this exhibition provides an unseen glimpse into the lives of the largest ethnic Chinese population outside of Asia.

Jyni Ong — 18 January 2019

Work / Illustration Illustrator Isabella Cotier’s characters are a celebration of dressing to express

Illustrator Isabella Cotier’s work has an expressive energy to it that can only really be achieved when you’re working from life. Her depictions of characters observed as they go about their daily lives are funny, vivid, loose and immediate; capturing moments without necessarily being literal.

Billie Muraben — 18 January 2019
Work / Photography Alice Zoo documents the real day-to-day lives of performers in a travelling circus

While on a solo trip through the Argentinian Lake District photographer Alice Zoo chanced across a travelling circus setting up its stage. Both Alice and the performers seemed to have arrived in town at the same time, as the photographer spotted them putting together a Big Top tent as she walked back to her accommodation one night.

Lucy Bourton — 17 January 2019
Work / Film Jenny Schweitzer's latest short is an uplifting account of life in an American retirement home

Those of you with a memory for such things will likely be able to recall the last piece of work by filmmaker Jenny Schweitzer we featured on It’s Nice That. Girls in Chess was, as the title suggests, an exploration of the gender gap in the world of competitive American scholastic chess. It was charming, funny, warm – the sort of short film you foist upon friends and family, knowing full well that they’ll love it as much as you did. Now turning her lens towards an open, honest, and at times hilarious account of life in a retirement home nestled on the shore of the Hudson River in the Bronx, New York. We’re almost certain that her latest project, The Blessings of Aging, will garner the same reaction.

Josh Baines — 17 January 2019
Work / Publication Next 2 Nothing is the how-to manual of tips and tricks for any aspiring filmmaker

In February 2016, London-based publisher and filmmaker Freddie Fraser-Forsyth launched topsafe.tv, a platform to showcase films made without briefs or brand involvement. Through providing this platform, and a resulting collaboration with Stop Play Record, Freddie met a load of people he wouldn’t have otherwise, and received a whole load more cold email submissions from directors. “Through these experiences I learned what the London film industry at grassroots level was like and how difficult it was to make work you love,” he tells us of the decision to start his magazine Next 2 Nothing.

Ruby Boddington — 17 January 2019
Work / Illustration Haleigh Mun on finding her own illustrative style rather than trying to be a “cool artist”

As a visual artist, the pressure to be current and “cool” can weigh you down. Korean born-and-raised, now New York-based illustrator Haleigh Mun tells It’s Nice That about her creative development to embrace her own visual style, whether it’s seen as cutting-edge, or not.

Jyni Ong — 17 January 2019
Work / Graphic Design Genuine collaborations inform Swiss design studio Omnigroup's broad practice

Websites, publications, identities, typefaces – Switzerland-based design studio Omnigroup can do it all. What started out as a loose collaboration between Luke Archer, Leonardo Azzolini, Frederik Mahler-Andersen and Simon Mager, is now a fully-functioning studio working on a variety of projects in the fields of art, design and music.

Ruby Boddington — 17 January 2019

Regulars / Nicer Tuesdays Filmmaker Duncan Cowles on how your own tone of voice can create the best audience reaction

Scottish filmmaker Duncan Cowles took to the stage at December’s Nicer Tuesdays event. With his deadpan humour in tow, Duncan talked us through his collection of films so far, from the infamous The Lady with the Lamp made while he was studying at Edinburgh College of Art, to his more recent Taking Stock for Channel 4’s Random Acts and It’s Not Amazing Enough for TED.

It's Nice That — 17 January 2019
Sponsored / Found in Adobe Stock "Logos date like clothes": Six designers debate what makes an ideal brand identity

This Winter It’s Nice That is partnering with Adobe Stock on a series of articles that celebrate their collection of millions of high-quality images, graphics, video motion graphics, templates, and branding materials. This also includes a large collection of logo and identify motifs and illustrations designers can utilise during the research of a project.

Lucy Bourton — 17 January 2019
Work / Graphic Design Forget Hollywood, Stefanie Tam’s books showcase the real Los Angeles

Los Angeles: songs, sagas and whole industries have been built within the city. It’s no mean feat to document the self-proclaimed “city of angels” through the landscapes of two-dimensional print, but graphic designer Stefanie Tam achieves this in the form of three books centred around a personal love letter to the city.

Jyni Ong — 17 January 2019
Regulars / Nicer Tuesdays Photographer Ronan Mckenzie on the details that go into curating your own exhibition

London-based photographer Ronan McKenzie was our second speaker at December’s Nicer Tuesdays, taking the audience through her portfolio of work to date, honing in on a recent exhibition she put on, I’m Home in October 2018.

It's Nice That — 16 January 2019
Work / Illustration Illustrator José Ja Ja Ja is “fascinated with the possibilities of the medium”

“When I draw, I like to think about the nature and structure of each line. How the concepts and ideas are hidden in their own morphology. And how the metaphors and the allegories are created with it,” says Rotterdam-based artist José Quintanar AKA José Ja Ja Ja. Working across narrative drawings, illustration and books, José’s practice sees him exploring the possibilities of drawing as a tool, and his work has been published by The New York Times, Vice, Esquire and many more.

Ruby Boddington — 16 January 2019
Work / Graphic Design Berlin-based design studio Arc on contrasting typefaces and demanding fair pay

Graphic design studio Arc specialises in printed matter but, occasionally, drifts over into the realms of web and exhibition design. Founded by Joachim Bartsch, Timo Grimberg and Toni Schönbuchner, the Berlin-based studio has an impressive turnover of projects; paying homage to the Swiss school of design with their typography-centred layouts.

Jyni Ong — 16 January 2019

Regulars / Bookshelf Regular Practice's Bookshelf helps inform its microscopic attention to type and print

Regular Practice is a London-based design studio comprising of Tom Finn and Kristoffer Soelling. Having met at the Royal College of Art, the duo has produced project after project with beautiful graphics – and sound concepts to back them up. Including a self-populating work for the identity of their previous college, and an architectural journal for the University of Puerto Rico, a constant across the duo’s portfolio is microscopic attention to experimental type and printing techniques.

Ruby Boddington — 16 January 2019
Work / Art Viviana Troya presents egg-based optical illusions in new work Hatchery

Previous to completing her master’s degree at the Royal College of Art, artist Viviana Troya studied fine art in her native country of Colombia. Having graduated last year, Viviana is now exhibiting as part of the Bloomberg New Contemporaries at Peckham’s South London Gallery, showing her latest work Hatchery until 24 February this year.

Jyni Ong — 16 January 2019
Work / Photography Maximilian Virgili on photographing the romance and randomness of Mexico

For photographer Maximilian Virgili, travel opens up possibilities for his work. Settling in the medium as a documentary, travel-focused photographer, his discovery of this niche was largely “because whenever I travelled I had time to really focus on my work,” he tells It’s Nice That. This time spent in another part of the world melted away any worries the photographer had; he felt confident to try new ideas and the processing of the photographs would happen when he returned home. It gave him the room to do what photographers do best: take pictures.

Lucy Bourton — 16 January 2019
Work / Animation Anyways animates the rich history of Soho and Spitalfields for Fora

London-based creative agency Anyways, a sister company to It’s Nice That and part of the HudsonBec Group, always approaches projects by looking for meaningful ways to display creativity. One of the agency’s most recent projects is two animated shorts for workspace company Fora, announcing its new locations in Soho and Spitalfields. The animations may differ in location and animator, but the historical context and vibrant communities of each area are at the heart of Anyways’ art direction.

Lucy Bourton — 15 January 2019
Regulars / Nicer Tuesdays Christoph Niemann on the mammoth task of designing a mural with 20,000 tiles

Joining us from Germany for the last Nicer Tuesdays talk of 2018 was the renowned illustrator, Christoph Niemann. An illustrator celebrated for his endlessly-brilliant portfolio of books and spot illustrations for publications, Christoph joined us to talk through a larger project: a mural.

It's Nice That — 15 January 2019
Work / Photography Cowboy-centric style and loaves of bread feature in Agnieszka Chabros' latest series

Agnieszka Chabros is a fine art photographer and casting director based in Melbourne. With an impressive roster of clients that includes Novembre, i-D and Vice UK, this highly-commissionable photographer was recently employed by Vogue Italia to photograph a series called Cowboys for the famous fashion magazine.

Jyni Ong — 15 January 2019

Work / Illustration “I've just always liked drawing people”: Haley Tippmann on her observational illustrations

“The most exciting aspect of illustration, I think, is that there are so many different directions to take it,” states New York-born, Germany-based illustrator Haley Tippmann, “there are so many different perspectives and ways of drawing an idea or a feeling, that it feels limitless.” An observational drawer, Haley’s work sees her filling each frame with crowds of strangers, projecting narratives onto their mundane interactions, all in her signature, over exaggerated style.

Ruby Boddington — 15 January 2019
Work / Publication Miner magazine evokes a narrative around men in rabbit suits and internet celebrities

The Taiwanese art director and designer Chen-Huang Chian has released a new publication Miner Volume 1 in aid of “the artists’ love for creation.” The magazine is published by Cave Records, and in each issue, creatives from a variety of disciplines are invited to create work around theme-based issues. The first issue explores the concept of “self-shaping through sampling shapes and symbols in modern society and social media.” Geometric shapes of dense orange are sporadically peppered throughout the highly stylised spreads; contrasting hyper-real photography with blocky graphics, and there’s even a Mickey Mouse dot-to-dot thrown in there!

Jyni Ong — 15 January 2019
Work / Photography José Castrellón documents the workers smuggling fuel from Venezuela into Colombia

The Guajira province of Colombia lies to the north of the country. A desert landscape, it’s bordered by Venezuela and is home to the Wayuu people. It’s an area where trafficking has historically taken roots; from drugs to humans, but also liquor and in recent times, gasoline, largely in part to Venezuela’s heavily subsidised fuel prices in comparison to the highly taxed Colombian ones. As a result, men, women and children fill makeshift containers called pimpinas – plastic bottles, water gallons and whatever they can get their hands on – with fuel to smuggle across the border in cars with modified tanks, designed to carry more than a regular tank would. These people are known as the Pimpineros, and they are the subject of photographer José Castrellón’s latest documentary series.

Ruby Boddington — 15 January 2019
Work / Graphic Design Studio Lindhorst-Emme visualises the “disappearance of art” in an exhibition identity

The Berlin-based design studio, Studio Lindhorst-Emme, continues to deliver well-informed design with an attention to detail. In a recent project, the studio designed the visual identity for the exhibition Das Kapital ist weg – Wir sind das Kapital! in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Until its closure a few years ago, the exhibition’s venue was home to Joseph Bueys’ iconic artwork Das Kapital, and the new exhibition aims to maintain the artwork’s democratic intentions that realised a new definition of “capital” beyond its monetary value, instead focusing on human creativity at the centre of economic thought.

Jyni Ong — 14 January 2019
Work / Photography Betina Du Toit's naturally-beautiful images are “stripped back from the non-essential”

Few photographers present such a consistent portfolio than that of Paris-based Betina Du Toit. Bouncing between studio shots and landscapes, Betina’s images capture a variety of ethereal women. Tones of blue, green, brown and orange provide visual succinctness to her work, locking her subjects in what appears to be never-ending autumn. Groups of girls lounge beneath trees or plunge themselves in rivers but no matter what the location; Betina draws out a natural and effortless beauty in each of her subjects, tying them to their surroundings.

Ruby Boddington — 14 January 2019
Work / Photography Will Marsden provides a voice to the underground scene of artistic rollerskating

Rollerskating. To many people, the activity is seen as a leisurely passed-time that is tried once or twice at a friend’s birthday party or some other kind of themed event. For many of us, little is known about the niche world of artistic rollerskating, but the graceful sport is vibrantly celebrated in underground circles including The London and Essex Artistic Rollerskating Club in London’s Hackney.

Jyni Ong — 14 January 2019

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