The road to excess leads to the palace of wisdom.
Dream Up the World You Want to Live In—Dream Out Loud
This song lyric by U2 is supported by a nebulous, ethereal image. Rather than clearly defining what a reimagined world is (which would realistically be different for each person), a surreal, impossible landscape is left dreamy and open for interpretation more in the vein of fine art than commercial art communicating a specific message. Textures bleed in and out of each other to stylistically feel like a form of digital printmaking, while minimalistic gridlike typography accent the composition with a flavor of the contemporary.
I Only Kill to Know I’m Alive—So What?
An over-the-top and darkly expressive lyric by the industrial band, Ministry, this visual needed to be equally emotive. Rather than clearly defining a situation, symbol, or metaphor that acts as reportage, instead a mood is created inline with the tone of the writing. Messy, uncomfortable imagery hints at either predator or prey.
It’s Colder Than a Witches Tit
I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it’s just a circle and a snowflake. A stripped-down, minimal, stark, cold circle and snowflake.
Abraham –Like– Lincoln
Have you ever -like- met someone that -like- uses so many -like- filler words that their speech is utterly destroyed? What if the speech that was destroyed was one of the most famous in history? Does it mean that I’m old if I make fun of contemporary culture and communication? -Like- get off my -like- lawn, kids.
Every normal man must, at times, be tempted...
A sinister quote by American journalist, H.L. Mencken that speaks to eventual universal frustration. And though we may all arrive, occasionally, in this dark place, our pathways there will be unique to our individual situations.
Id, Ego, Superego
Personifying the 3 psychological aspects of an individual (Id: hedonistic self-serving seeker of pleasure. Superego: straight laced upstanding doer of good. Ego: mediator between the two) with found-object assemblage allowed for a sense of personality which, afterall, is kinda what this illustration is all about.
The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend
When brainstorming this there was something charming about the primitive, child-like initial sketches that a more “refined” rendering just lost in translation. Boiling the essence of the idea down to a straightforward and literal (almost rebus-like) visualization that walked you through its meaning makes the understanding of the phrase abundantly clear.
Principles Triumph, They Do Not Compromise –Stalin
Agree? Compromise? Sure (that’s sarcasm). Certain people–maybe even you at times–will feign acquiescence while actually intending quite the opposite. Or certainly feeling as such. Everyone thinks they’re the good guy (see this previously visualized). Your principles are the “correct”, “more important” ones. And should win out at all costs. Someone as megolomaniacal and devious as Joseph Stalin was simply unafraid to say it.
Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen Makes Poo Stew
One of my own favorite things to say, this was tricky to visualize. Make it too real and it looks sophomorish. Make it not-real-enough and you don’t get any emotional gut-punch. Make the food photography too pretty and you COULD interpret it to mean “making something great despite poor conditions”. Make the food photography not pretty enough and it just looks like bad food photography. So grit-it-up and make sure the body language around it feels dire.
