Even as consumers bemoan the sameness in advertising,
creatives search for that sure-to-stand-out
look/experience/story that connects with the target
and distinguishes their work from the masses. So if
you’re stuck mucking the same design, ponder this
option: “A psychedelic experience is characterized by
the perception of aspects of one’s mind previously
unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind
liberated from its ordinary restraints.” (Wikipedia)
We’re still in the air on the recommended methods
for liberating the mind, but the colors—bold,
bright and neon—flowing from psychedelia should
wow the mind and, as desired, capture attention.
Fascinated with images from the 1960s and ’70s,
illustrator Steven Wilson says, “It was a very free era
for illustration and design, and of course music. … I
love the way everything was so organic in psychedelia,
and your eye was made to dance around the page
as different elements merged into one another.” With
its eye-popping colors, Wilson’s illustration below
certainly has that effect.
“I like the way there were often hidden elements,
and you would discover more the longer you looked
at the images. And this is something I have picked
up on and brought into my own work,” says Wilson.
Recurring themes of inspiration for Wilson are
circus imagery, fairgrounds, tribal body art, psychedelia,
Indian art, fantasy art and ’70s rock posters. “I
tend to look in charity shops and flea markets and
try to find obscure and unwanted books on such
subjects, which I’ll use as reference and inspiration,”
notes Wilson. “I tend to look at the work of older
artists, as opposed to my contemporaries. At the
moment, I’ve been looking a lot at the work of Alan
Aldridge, David Pelham and Push Pin Studios.”
 Hip fonts
Chill with Alba Matter
(relaxed). Start a halcyon
trend with Velcro
(flower power)—both
available at www.fontalicious.com; rave
about Fatso Caps
(heavy) and Hendrix
(spellbound)—free at
www.dafont.com.
|
Discover
Wilson likes his work
“to have a flow through
it so elements merge
into one another, and
the work has a natural,
unforced feel to
it—often with things
obscured or [somewhat]
hidden within
it.” Image 5242707,
liquidlibrary, www.jiunlimited.com |
Multiple personalities
From Cerberus to
Chimera, we’ve been
playing Frankenstein
since time immemorial.
Wilson’s featured
image resembles elements
from Chimera in
Homer’s Iliad: “a thing
of immortal make, not
human, lion-fronted
and snake behind, a
goat in the middle, and
snorting out the breath
of the terrible flame
of bright fire.” Image
5341357, liquidlibrary,
www.jiunlimited.com
(download your
free images at www.dynamicgraphics.com/downloads) |
