Monday blues setting in? Scroll through these visual treats by Vancouver-based designer and illustrator LAUDER aka James Lauder Marsden and you’ll be feeling Friday five o’clock fantastic in no time!
I haven’t yet seen A Single Man but this poster’s retro aesthetic and intriguing concept makes me want to run to the closest Rogers, grab a bag of Cloddhoppers and get down to business (of course after I finish this post). Lauder says of the piece, “With this illustration, I wanted to capture Tom’s use of desaturation (regular life) & over saturation (heightened emotion) in the film. The reflection in the glasses being the main character’s sort of romantic interest at different points in the film. Whatever I design I try to simplify it to its core idea or feeling.”
One of my favorite tidbits from Lauder’s portfolio is his Drawing A Day concept. We all get busy with our lives and often forget what makes us love what we do, but Lauder keeps his creative fire stoked with this daily exercise (when he can). “As a child I was a huge Jim Henson fan, I loved The Muppets, Sesame Street, Dark Crystal, anything and everything Jim Henson…he’s had a huge influence not just on my style but also on how I see the world. I wanted to visually express the memories from my childhood in these characters…” Honestly, who doesn’t love The Muppets.
Another highlight of Lauder’s work is his nod to pop culture, both past and present, in his typographic series I’d rather look schleppy than preppy (2010). “Inspired by a quote from Sarah Silverman’s dad, this typographic based design was a play on the fashion industry’s push for us to consume the new look. Schleppy derives from the word schlep of Yiddish origin (meaning run-down, dowdy or frumpy)… I thought who better to contrast and play on this than Jewish actress Audrey Hepburn with her classic preppy look?”
LAUDER aka James Lauder Marsden was born 1978, in Yorkshire England and moved to Vancouver in 1981 where he exhibits his art and illustration between fits of popular culture espionage. He is currently working as an artist, freelance graphic designer & part time instructor in the Graphic Design Department at VCC. Check out more of Lauder’s work at astrolauder.com and astrolauder.com/blog.
If you’re a Vancouver-based graphic, web, or industrial designer, typographer, architect, student or lover of all things design, send me your work Leah.Vlemmiks@gmail.com