28 ottobre 2020

Steampunk cat, moody butterfly or funky mushroom. What fits your mood?

A few weeks ago we proudly launched our artist series [xl]. The new cover designs showcased everything from colourful mushrooms to steampunk cats, from moody butterflies to abstract mountains. Something for every mood.

Not only did we want to bring joy, beauty and inspiration to your journal with different and colourful notebooks, we also wanted to give young European artists the opportunity to display the best of their creativity.

So, here I'd like to give you a little glimpse of the inspiration and design processes behind the artist series...

Andrea Z. Scharf - NYC native in Vienna

Designer of funky fungi (plain) & bliss (dotted)

SPRING

"Both of my cover designs are inspired by the season of spring and specifically the feeling of excitement and potential that comes with the season: new life and new energy. "Funky Fungi" explores this feeling with the use of a vibrant color palette. "Bliss" evokes a more dynamic and free vibe and attempts to convey the feeling of putting possibility into motion." - Andrea

Sesilja Lindell - based in Helsinki, Finland

The designer of dragonfly days (plain) & metamorphosis (ruled)

SUMMER

"The theme I was given for the designs was summer. In my art I approach different themes through nature, and summer is the short but exciting time when everything comes alive, grows and evolves. The lifespans of most dragonflies and butterflies are fairly short. They only take flight for a brief time, a bit like the thoughts and ideas that form in our head -- unless we write them down or decide to make them into something bigger, something finished. In these notebooks your thoughts can fly forever with the dragonflies, or evolve like a butterfly." - Sesilja

María Vallverdú - from Argentina- based in Vienna

Designer of gentlecat (plain) & inspink (ruled)

AUTUMN

"I was heavily inspired by steampunk as well as analogue writing when I was given the opportunity to design these covers. I feel that every illustrator either has a cat or loves cats haha. I used a quill pen and ink for the first part of the illustration and added another layer of water colours later on."- Maria

Ivonne, Janin and Theresia = Salzstein
- from the Austrian mountains

The designers of mountains (dotted) & topography (plain)

WINTER

"Salzstein is an art collective based in Vienna. We find our inspiration in the beauty of pristine nature. In the rough lines of mountain silhouettes. In the patterns the landscape forms. Through our art we want to share our fascination and bring nature closer to the people." -Theresia, Salzstein