DO.t
DO.t DO.t is an e-zine created to promote the work of the great designers whom submit their stuff regularly to the designers of tumblr blog. in here we select a variety of the great work that is showcased on our website and learn some more about the people behind it and what makes them tick. if you’re interested in our work head over to designersof.tumblr.com to see what it’s about.
Index 3 • 14
15 • 22
13 • 34
35 • 44
45 • 54
55 • 64
65 • 74
75 • 86
87 • 98
99 • 106
107 • 118
119 • 128
1•2
Benson Chou
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I’m Benson, a recent graduate from UC Davis. I started off my college career with electrical engineering, but soon realized that it wasn’t my cup of tea. Programming and coding language certainly didn’t taste right; I much prefer 2 tea spoons of ink and sprinkle of doodles. But I didn’t pursuit art or design while I was there, I decided to broaden my horizon and ended up with a bachelor of science degree in Managerial Economics (sorta like “business”). Along side of my academic career, I also ran a clothing brand starting from the beginning of my freshman year in college. It’s called “The Imaginary Zebra.” It merged my passion in design and interest in business into one. The Imaginary Zebra was a dream come true. Now that I have graduated, I’m taking The Imaginary Zebra full time. An ongoing project that I have now is a 365 through tumblr, where I force myself to create something new everyday.
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It all started with Microsoft Paint. I used to make my own business cards with it when I was 8. It was probably the crappiest business card I’ve seen, but it sparked my interest. Then, I got into graffiti during a math class in high school and sold my first graffiti trucker hat soon after. That was when I first discover that art and design can earn me some allowance money. College was the milestone where I really took design seriously and realizing that design is what fuels me to produce work that I feel truly satisfy about (as oppose to essays and research projects.) I founded a clothing brand and started taking more freelance jobs. I’ve been pursuing my passion through my clothing brand and collaborations with other innovative and creative individuals it’s not the easiest route, but definitely the most fulfilling.
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Entrepreneurs and risk takers like Ze Frank, Gary Vaynerchuk, Seth Godin, and Marc Ecko are ones that motivates me to keep going. Designers like Dieter Rams, Brock Davis, Kashiwa Sato, and Artists like Shepard Fairy and Takashi Murakami are who inspire me to produce great work. The currently on going “365” is probably one of the most engaging, time consuming, and rewarding projects. Since I have to create something everyday, it’s quite a challenge, but definitely accomplishing when I look back. Just hope to finish all 365 days. Once it’s done, I believe it’ll be one of my proudest works.
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I would like to continue working with talented groups and individuals to produce innovative work. Keep pushing my brand and take it to the next level with a physical shop and variety of products. If you have a dream, then dream like you mean it.
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Benson Chou website tumblr (365) shop
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Nick Lievendag I’m Nick Lievendag (Tumblr name NickLovelyday so everyone can pronounce it!) I’m a 26 year old Freelance Motion Designer and Concept Creator from The Netherlands. I work under my company name Frame Fridge. I got my BA (Hons) at the Utrecht School of the Arts that also offered an MA course through London, which I graduated from in 2007. Both are in Digital Video Design and focussed largely on the conceptmaking process. I try to use that in my daily work and it has
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helped me in getting hired more and more to create complete audiovisual concepts for clients. I like freelancing because of the variety of work and clients. I’ve done a lot of commercial TV work in the past but lately I’m working on a lot of smaller projects for local businesses and start-ups. Which pays less but offers a lot more creative freedom so I can focus on developing my concept-making skills even more. You can check out my Demo Reel to see what I’ve created over the past years.
click to play on vimeo
click to play on vimeo
Basically I like creating stuff in general and I get the most out of creating stuff for other people. I market myself as a Motion Designer, but I actually do a lot of other stuff on the side like Graphic Design, Illustration, Filmmaking, Photography and Handcrafting silly stuff with friends. One thing that has become a passion for me over the past 2 years is Film Photography - or Lomography as some call it. I think thats because it’s the complete opposite of my daily Motion Design work. I experiment a lot with it and the fact that I usually have no idea of the outcome is very addictive! I started collecting all kinds of old camera’s in my 1960’s Fridge and I use all of them from time to time.
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Another - totally different thing I got into lately are these Creative Business books. My favorite ones are is Seth Godin’s Linchpin and Scott Belsky’s Making Ideas Happen. They’re actually changing the way I work and are making me a little bit more organized each day. Those books also made me share my ideas more openly. I even started sharing complete projects for free recently, like my Instant Camera Kit for Cinema 4D. That has gotten me a lot of attention and - dare I say the word again is getting quite addictive! I write a lot about my passions and things that inspire me on my Tumblog!
As you might expect by now I’m most proud of the projects for which I was asked to come up with a complete concept and produce it as well. One that was especially fun to do was for the Creative Company Conference. I actually got the job because I issued a bug report about the conference’s website and the founder spotted that I’m a Motion Designer in my e-mail signature (never forget the importance of those!). The result turned out great and it got featured on a lot of sites like MotionServed. com. I’m working on some new awesome projects for the company as I’m writing this.
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Although I always tell people that I live from day to day I actually have quite a clear vision of what I want to achieve. I like freelancing but within the coming years I would really like to turn Frame Fridge into a real company. That way I would be able to focus completely on concept creation and still keep the production in-house since I’m very perfectionistic. Actually, I hired my first intern who will start next week. I hope that this will teach me if I can share the work at Frame Fridge with others after doing what I want, when I want for almost 5 years.
click to play on vimeo
Nick Lievendag website 1 website 2 email tumblr behance linkedin vimeo twitter flickr
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Fabian Steidl
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My name is Fabian Steidl. I am a 22 year old digital media designer working and living in Berlin (Germany). Basically I like to do things that matter. Like planting trees. Unfortunately i’m not good with shovels so i tend to work with programs like Photoshop, Illustrator or Indesign instead. Though my work is mostly digital nature i sometimes use an old-fashioned pencil too. In reality, with real paper.
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Ever since i can remember i tried to be creative and express myself in different ways. I think the most inspiring thing throughout this years and my strongest passion is the desire for minimalism and a reduced visual language. For example i admire Caspar David Friedrich’s stunning artworks and always felt tempted to transfer their calmness and peacefulness into digital art and design. Since i’m working with digital files all day i also found a passion in experimental digital art, like animated gifs or the so called glitch art. The last few weeks i’ve tried lots of different ways to edit images (text editors, hex editors, processing...) and i love the effects that can be achieved with it.
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One of the imags i’m especially proud of is one of my latest images. I was fascinated by MoirÊ patterns which occur on monitors or during some printing technics and i tried to include this patterns in my images. For me this was a hole new way of working with the computer. Immediately after finishing i fell in love with the result and the whole digital editing thing.
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Art, design and sociology mean a lot to me and i will probably stick to that direction in life. I always wanted to make design for good causes, so maybe i will even find a way to accomplish that someday, but after all I think the only main theme or plan i have for myself is to do what i love and constantly improve doing it.
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Fabian Steidl website email tumblr twitter
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Glenn Ricasa My name is Glenn Ricasa and I am a selftaught, Jewelry Designer in the Bay Area of California since 2009. It was always a dream of mine to start my own business with designs that I personally handmake. That is when I decided to create, Jazzies & Lilies Designs, named after my daughter Jasmine, the Jazz Dancer, and my favorite flowers, Stargazer Lilies. Jazzies & Lilies Designs was created from my passion of hand-making simple, yet, unique designs.
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a Lil’Jazz, also named after Jasmine, is my Jewelry Line. It’s my first line for Jazzies & Lilies Designs which features a range of jewelry designs to fit any personality from a funky, chic look to a sophisticated style. I put a lot of time and dedication towards my passion to have my customers feel glamorous, fabulous, and beautiful accessorizing with a Lil’Jazz!!
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My inspiration for my Jewelry Designs is Fashion! Every time I go to the mall, look through fashion magazines or just think about fashion, I get a whole lot of ideas rushing through my mind. I don’t draw pictures, and I rarely write down my ideas. I just create them by hand from the image I’ve designed in my mind. This is why my designs are unique and one of a kind. Since my designs are all handmade, not one piece of jewelry will be the exact same.
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In the future, I plan to open my own Boutique in the Bay Area of California. I will definitely have an Accessories Line and a Clothing Line within Jazzies & Lilies Designs. Additionally, I will continue to expand my a Lil’Jazz Jewelry Line.
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Glenn Ricasa ETSY email tumblr
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M^rcØ Puℂℂini I was born and raised in Tuscany, near the sea. I also spent a number of years in Florence. But two years ago I moved to Milan. Creatively there is more opportunity here in Milan than there is in Florence. Unfortunately, because of the economic crisis in Italy there isn’t much opportunity for artists and creative types. Milan is the only city in Italy where there is something to do. All of Italy “creative people” are moving here.
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My passion is linked to various aspects of art. I’ve always been really interested in art since I was very young. My father was a theatrical set designer and an artist. I worked in theater as a child doing everything from a light designer and video and sound designer. Then I became interested in 8bit music and vector graphic illustration and I started working as a videographer to keep my passion alive. Sometimes your work and your passion can go hand in hand.
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I am very happy and proud to have been selected last year from IDN Books for a publication that contains 50 very talented illustrators. The book is called: IDN Extra 03: The New Twenties. Now I am currently working on a video project that is very interesting. It’s related to fashion. It’s a very exciting project for me because it’s very complex in terms of filmmaking and animation.
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I see myself in a beautiful house in the Tuscany countryside with a laptop computer and a fast connection so I can continue working on my projects.
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M^rcØ Puℂℂini email tumblr society6 facebook MYSpace
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SARA KALINOSKI
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I hail from rural northern Minnesota and completed a commercial art/ design degree from the University of Minnesota. I am currently working as a junior interactive designer, and create hand-bound journals for my Etsy shop.
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One of my favorate projects is robot I designed and programmed in a mechanical engineering class during college! This project generated my interest in kinetic art. I also really enjoy creating a variety of books for my Etsy shop and watching it grow!
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I would love to work as a creative director in an ad agency, working on projects that inspire change.
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SARA KALINOSKI Etsy portfolio Email Tumblr
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VITALY LAZARENKO ВИТАЛИЙ ЛАЗАРЕНКО
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I’m Vitaly Virt (Lazarenko - my real last name). I Live in Russia, Tyumen’. I’m studing in Tyumen University at the Department of Management, and working as a freelance illustrator at this moment.
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Drawing is my real passion. I started to work nearly 3 years ago, thanks to my friends for this. My inspiration is every event around me.
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In the next 2 years I have big hairy plans about my work. I hope to open my Business, It will be the first commercial art-studio in Tyumen’.
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VITALY LAZARENKO email portfolio tumblr twitter
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Lee-Ann Donaldson
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I’m Lee-Ann, a 24 year old Graphic Design student based in Reading. I’m currently at Thames Valley University, studying the BA in Graphic Design & Illustration. I love experimenting in my personal work and like to try different things, I do so because I enjoy trying new things but also so I can leave myself open to different kinds of work I can do in the future; I like to think I can be a versatile designer.
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I’ve been creative for as long as I can remember, the earliest thing I remember making was a christmas postcard which my Grandma framed and kept on her bedroom wall for years. From there I’ve always been interested in some form of design - Art, Interior Design, Graphic Design & more recently Illustration. I got into Illustration after I saw Javier Mariscal’s “Drawing Life” exhibition in London in 2009. I loved how his illustrations were so free and child like. I had it in my mind that an Illustrator was someone that could draw something so perfect it’d resemble real life - but I find the most inspiring pieces to be far from that. I’m still building my illustration skills but I’m enjoying it and am constantly being influenced by the huge amount of illustrators showing their works online.
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Most of my work is personal projects that I just work on in my own time - with no reason for them. Often I’ll see something that’ll give me an idea for something and I’ll do it. My London poster print was one of these, and while I was working on it I gradually liked it less as the it came closer to finishing. It wasn’t until I had it printed that I felt really happy with it. Along with that I enjoyed working on and am happy with the outcome of the “Marina and the Diamonds” poster I was asked to make at the end of last year. I’d spent so much time trying to work more traditionally by hand so it was nice to take a break from that and work on something digitally. As far as work for uni goes I really liked my Book Art piece which involved me carving an illustration into a book.
I haven’t got a plan set in stone, I obviously want to graduate and land a great job in industry, but for now I’m focussing on uni and hopefully further developing on the Illustration side of things. I like to always be working on something so for 2011 I’ll be working constantly on my daily doodle 365 project (featured over at Design Splat)
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Lee-Ann Donaldson website email twitter tumblr
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Elyse Van Fleet
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My name is Elyse Van Fleet and I am a graphic design student at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. I am in my last year of study and will be graduating in May. In the meantime I create work for my classes, for my blog, and for my freelance clients. I love anything slightly vintage looking and I love anything with good typography.
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It is a bit cliche for a designer to say that my passion is design but for me it really is true. I eat, sleep, and breathe graphic design. I love every aspect of it from photography, to illustration, to typography. I am constantly looking at design blogs and any place where I can get some inspiration. And I love the satisfaction of my designs going out into the world and people responding positively to them.
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I have alot of stuff going on all the time. Between my classwork and freelance work it seems like I am designing stuff all the time. The projects I really like to work on are the ones for people and businesses that really need it. I am currently working on a project for a small business in Carmel, Indiana called Syd&Harper. They are a small startup that sells vintage and industrial accessories for the home. I started working with them because I created a logo for them and sent it to them randomly. They have taken me in as part of their team and given me free design range to brand their whole business. It has been a really cool experience and it makes me want to do what I do every day.
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I really really hope to have a design job by the time I graduate. So if you know someone that needs a designer let me know! I want to work in a small design firm that feels the same way about small businesses that I do. I want my work to really help out the little guy trying to do something different in the world.
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Elyse Van Fleet website email tumblr behance linkedin
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Ashley Percival
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My name is Ashley Percival. I graduated for Falmouth University last year and now work as a Freelance Illustrator in the UK. I live in Cornwall, this is a beautiful place that is great for inspiration. I have recently started to sell my limited edition prints on Etsy.
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Since making a Tumblr blog and a Etsy shop I have been featured in a limited edition art collective book from a New York company. I have also been contacted to design an image for a new Spa product line. I am really enjoying being a Freelance Illustrator and always thinking of new ideas, I hope to soon get my illustrations on T-shirts and other products. In the future I hope to get my work published in more books and carry on illustrating and enjoying what I do.
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Ashley Percival website email etsy tumblr
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MEG DEVORE
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Hello there, I’m Meg, from KnotTheKnorm. I am from grand ole Kansas and I’m currently a student at a community college and transferring to who knows where after this semester. I am a Christian, a bike rider, and a food-adorer (not for sure if that’s even a word...?). I work at a thrift store, and I love hunting for special treasures! I have loved crafting ever since I can remember. I can recall doing all sorts of beaded jewelry and friendship bracelets in daycare and selling them to the kids there and at my mom’s garage sales. I am not joking when I say that I am a jack of all trades... you name the craft, I’ve probably done it.
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My passion is the hope of someday owning a boutique/shoppe. I would love to have something I could wake up and be excited about doing everyday, and I feel that is by far the most perfect job I could ever have. Of course I am also very passionate about my individual work... My sewing, crochet, and jewelry work are all things that keep me going! My mom got me my first sewing machine when I was maybe 10 or so, and I’ve recently been turned onto that again. A lot of my influence is this dreamland I’ve created in my head, I have the most bizarre thought-process, I swear! When I’m wanting to make something, usually a sewing project, I think of a girl wearing my piece doing some sort of lovely thing like going on a picnic or reading a good book at a cafe.
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One of my favorite pieces of work that I created is probably the dinosaur necklace I made out of brass. It took so much work cutting out each little piece, but it was worth it. Also I am currently working on ring for my mother that has me and my siblings’ birthstones in it. I have a feeling it will be my new favorite!
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In the future I most definitely see myself creating things. Of course, it’s my wish to own my business, but even if that’s not the case I hope to keep crafting in my everyday life. I plan on opening my Etsy shop here soon, who knows after that... I just want to make quality, quirky pieces that gals and guys everywhere will adore!
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MEG DEVORE tumblr email work
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ANDRE DE FREITAS
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My true passion is to entertain, and drawing and photography allow me to fulfill that role. I started drawing out of boredom, but as I got better, soon became something interesting, so I decided to explore that world.
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My biggest influence is cinema, in the sense that, the more cinematographic my photos, or illustrations look, the better.
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I’d like to explore the world of photography a bit more. I kind of see myself as a director of photography in the future, at least I’d like to see me as one.
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ANDRE DE FREITAS tumblr flickr redbubble blogspot carbonmade
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