The first card’s soft, overlaid vector design reminds me of something quite crystalline or bejewelled. I think it fits in well with the message, “Make luck”, possibly suggesting that the recipient creates their own pot of gold, rather than looking for it.

While aesthetically beautiful, I also like the concepts within the type. Again, here in ‘Make Luck’, using the negative space in and around the letters, too. Taking it further in the last image, ‘Twist the Cynical Loop’, she uses pattern in the centre of the C’s form to highlight the letter.

Intelligent, gorgeous, typographical design putting out positive vibes— you can’t go wrong!

© Keetra Dean Dixon, 2011.

Have you always been particularly interested in typography or is it a part of your work that developed over time?

My interest in letterforms has always gone hand-in-hand with my involvement in art and may even have preceeded my committment to illustration.

Are there any elements of your work that you think best characterise your style?

Characterizing an artist’s “style” is best left to independent observers, however, in all my work, I try to achieve a clarity of intent rather than vague or imprecise nature.

What’s your favourite kind of commission to receive?

I love any kind of assignment where the client has enough confidence in themselves to trust me to do my best work.

What are the similarities and differences to how you approach your illustration and typographic work?

While both are preceeded by the development of a concept independent of formal requirements, a significant difference in typographic design is that it is never independent of the text. In other terms, the words to be rendered determine, to la large part, how the finished work will look.

Having already had a successful career for as long as you have, what changes in the industry have affected you along the way?

“Successful career” sounds a little overstated. My ‘career’ ends every time I am without an assignment and begins again with each new one. The type of work I get, whether it is design, illustration, typography, icons etc. varies with trends in publishing. The emergence of the computer as a tool has been to my benefit since I always worked with technical instruments that are analogous to the features that computer software offers. The ongoing backlash against digital technology in art has left me out of the mainstream of current ‘illustration’, but I’m having way too much fun to be concerned.

How do you see what you do changing over the next 10 years?

In order to maintain my interest and inspiration, I’m, hopefully, moving beyond the things I already “can” do towards those I’ve only wished I could. I’m hoping that will lead me into producing art that people wear, use and benefit from in more ways than by simply looking at it.

© Danny Pelavin, 2011.

The project was for Barnes and Noble and, working with art director Jo Obarowski, produced a range of new covers for a set of classic literature. Each book was complete with marbled end papers and matching details, such as ribbons, headbands, and coloured page edges.

Jessica has done a lot of work for books as a typographer and designer. You can see her typographical design and illustration in advertising and editorial work, too.

© Jessica Hische, 2011.

Apart from more typography, you’ll also find some great logo, book, and identity design on the Côme de Bouchony website.

© Côme de Bouchony, 2010.

Once you realise that the theme of the last poster is quite dark, you are drawn in trying to work out the meaning behind each one. It may be dark but it still brings a smile to your face!

© Maggie Li, 2010.

Her bright typography can been seen on a large range of items in store this season, including Christmas cards, bags, gifts, and even packaging for Christmas crackers. Each letter has a theme, tied in with appropriate iconic imagery and gorgeous colour combinations. I think her B’s gold, pink, and brown are particularly melt-in-the-mouth.

Although Kate’s typographical treatments are often used for book covers and advertising campaigns, she also produces intricate paper-cut illustrations, such as the corporate Christmas card seen here. However, if you’re looking for another reason to buy chocolate, you can find her work on a new range of chocolate wrappers and moulds for Moonstruck. Mmmm …

© Kate Forrester, 2010

His work, although incredibly beautiful, has so much put in to to it that it always warrants a second look.

© Raphael Vicenzi, 2010.

I love her bustling designs for The Guardian’s Guide magazine, which are filled to the rim with her drawings and hand-drawn type. However, her other work is as far ranging as her compositions are detailed. She has created designs for various clothing, while at the same putting her pen to more traditional illustration such as figurative drawings for fashion articles.

This previous senior type designer of nine years has designed typefaces for an array of high-end clients, not least of which being for Liberty of London and developing the masthead and typeface for the Telegraph newspapers while working at Monotype Imaging. He has also been interviewed by the BBC and The Independent for his expert knowledge of fonts. Recently, however, he has been producing limited edition prints.

I particularly like his recent print ‘Stars’, based on the Van Gogh quote, I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream. Not only are its swirling forms perfectly balanced but made up out of a multitude of  tiny stars.

A perfect piece of starry design seemed to suit this time of year.

© Seb Lester, 2010.

Teagan was kind enough to talk to Ape on the Moon about her influences and her studio.

How long have you known you wanted to be an illustrator?

I’ve always loved to draw, but didn’t think of it as a possible career path until high school, when I took a graphic design class. I ended up at MCAD two years later, planning on majoring in graphic design, but fell in love with fine art and settled on illustration as my major as a middle ground between the two.

What influences your style?

I love nature, antiquities, old medical illustrations, and typography, and all of these factor into the style I’ve developed. A lot of my aesthetic choices are based on simply enjoying the process of creating a piece — I like drawing tiny, intricate lines so my work has a lot of detail; I like mixing very slightly different shades of color, so my work has a subtle palette.

What is your favourite thing to draw?

Lately I’ve been drawing a lot of insects and soil and bones. Those are definitely my favorites at the moment. I always like drawing any kind of plant life as well.

Please describe your workspace.

I work in a small studio space provided by my school. The walls were white and bare at first and initially I covered them with old maps, and put a rug down and some other things to make the space friendlier, because I can’t work surrounded by white walls. Recently it has grown more utilitarian and my larger charcoal drawings are all that’s really on the walls, since I’ve been running out of space to work. Mostly there are just art supplies everywhere, scribbled notes to myself, material studies pinned to the walls, and some odds and ends like real bones I found and things like that.

What’s next for you?

I’m currently working on a small body of work that’s somewhere in between illustration and fine art, dealing with life cycles. The project is helping me to experiment a lot with different materials and pushing my concepts further, and I hope to keep doing so. I’m also really moving away from digital work for the time being, in favor of charcoal, watercolor, and gouache.

© Teagan White, 2010