Fresh

The reoccurring gender-ambiguous beaked character. The bright-yet-limited color pallet. The whimsical hand-drawn typography and witty, random and often confusing ideas it communicates. All are part of what makes Parra’s work unmistakably unique in the streetwear, music, skateboarding and fine art landscapes which it permeates.

Parra’s work is approachable, bright, funny, puzzling and graphic. Personally, I am a huge fan, and cite him as a large contemporary influence on my own work. One of his posters is tacked up next to my desk here at eROI. It is high time I share the awesomeness.

Take a peek into Parra’s world.  Pictures and video after the jump.

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I love books. I love design. I love me a good book cover!

“But I’m a web designer! What do I care?” you say. Well, so am I my friend!  Looking at media outside of the web is so crucial for inspiration for me, though. It gets me thinking outside the confines of my screen. For some reason, getting away from the media that you typically work with can really generate inspiration.

Book covers are also somewhat similar to the home page of a website. They have to communicate the essence of a story. They have to be captivating enough to grab someone’s attention enough so that they will read the whole story (or browse the entire site, if you will.) Sometimes there is a lot of information to convey, sometimes a little. You have to think about hierarchy. What is most important to communicate? Least?

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Specialization in the creative field can be a double-edged sword at times. It can help us land primo jobs and clients, allow us to develop solid styles, themes and practices in our bodies or work and can eventually (or ideally) carve us niches as experts or authorities in our given field.  Folks become aware of what we are good at, and in which medium and application, and expect each piece to reflect that.  The adverse side to specialization, in my opinion, can be when we find ourselves cornered.  When one day rolls around and we kinda feel like we’d rather be taking pictures than drawing, or find ourselves painting when we should be editing video. We are stuck.  In a perfect world, we apply whatever style, medium or approach that we feel is appropriate—or more importantly, that inspires us and makes us smile, stop and think.  We don’t all live in said world, but some people seem to.  Some creatives seem to never run out of ideas or motivation, and never seem cornered.

Enter the creative that does not let specialization shackle them to the doldrums of repetition. Enter Geoff McFetridge and Champion Graphics.

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