Inspiration – Creatives of the World

Australian designer Marita Leuver is best known for her work promoting festivals and public spaces. Strong forms, bold colour and illustrative typography characterise her design sensibility. GSM takes a look... The Leuver Family - creativity throughout Born into a creative family with dad, Peter Leuver, an Art Director, and mum, Joan Leuver, an illustrator, plus four siblings—all of whom are blessed with artistic flair—it is easy to understand why Marita likens her childhood to the American television drama, ‘Mad Men’. Marita studied at Randwick Technical College in Sydney—excelling in the two year graphic design programme. Marita’s sister, and one-time co-designer,...

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If you lived in New Zealand in the late 1960s—70s, chances are you have seen the work of Mark Cleverley in the form of tableware by Crown Lynn. But as we have discovered, Mark was not only a creator of ceramics - but a true multidisciplinary in every sense of the word "Design". Mark Cleverley became one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s leading creative influencers through a six-decade outpouring of ideas and creations—spanning ceramics, architecture, graphics, type design, textiles… the list goes on. In 2014, in recognition of his significant contribution to the profession, The Designers Institute of New Zealand bestowed...

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In this installment of Inspiration - GSM gets up close and personal with contemporary creative influencers 'For The People' - and ask the question...How did you get here? Creative agency For The People (FTP) was founded just eight short years ago in Sydney. The team has since grown—thanks in part to several high-profile projects (including the branding for Ball & Doggett), as well as winning some notable design awards. They now have a presence on both sides of the Tasman, and are one of the studios to watch. But, what has the journey been like reaching this point? GSM asked...

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Her work is characterised by bold blocks of colour combined with a strong sense of form. Australian Lynda Warner has not only built a career championing graphic design in her adoptive home of Tasmania - but has done so at a time where the industry was heavily male dominant. GSM takes a look... How it all started Lynda Warner recognised graphic design was her calling at a young age—when, in the sixth grade, a poster project  introduced her to the world of commercial art. She was hooked. Following advice from a family friend (who was themselves a commercial artist), Lynda...

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The Few of us will leave a legacy as deeply profound as John & Ros Moriarty. Through blending Indigenous & European sensibilities in their design work, they not only helped create the visual expression of ‘Brand Australia’—but have also shown a possible roadmap for the future - a country of many peoples. GSM takes a look… For over 35 years the contribution to ‘visual Australia’ by John, Ros and the Balarinji team has been ground-breaking, to say the least. Both in exposing and celebrating the cultural heritage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to Australia and the world. John...

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In this instalment of Inspiration, GSM moves closer to home. We take a look at Kiwi Graphic Designer, Fraser Gardyne. In Aotearoa New Zealand, few designers in any discipline become household names. The late John Britten (Products) and British migrant David Trubridge (Lighting) represent a select few who have achieved this level of recognition. But that is not to say that our nation has not produced our own crop of home-grown design heroes and heroines. As is our national psyche—they chip away quietly in the background. Fraser Gardyne may not be a household name but most experienced graphic designers in...

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Storm Thorgerson was a British graphic designer responsible for some of the most evocative album covers ever made. Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) and Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy (1973) are prime examples. Having attended high school with Pink Floyd founders Syd Barrett and Roger Waters, it was almost predestined that Thorgerson be a part of the music industry in some way or another. But it didn't start of that way. GSM takes a look at Storm Thorgeson's career and his work... His Career Thorgerson attended the University of Leicester, from where he earned a...

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Ground-breaking Euro-Australian Graphic Designer Gert Sellheim was inducted into the AGDA Hall of Fame in 2019. GSM thanks Graham Rendoth for sharing his previously published story on the life of Sellheim... A European Start Gert Sellheim was born in 1901, in Estonia. At the age of 18, he enlisted and fought in the 1919 War of Independence against Soviet Russia. Following this, his family re-settled in Germany where he studied architecture. First in Berlin, followed by Munich, Gratz, Vienna and Paris. This exposed Sellheim to ‘classical’ architecture as well as avant-garde thinking in the form of the Bauhaus and Art...

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Award winning designer, Stefan Sagmeister, is one of the most imaginative and original creative thinkers around today. Known particularly for his type and handwriting-inspired designs, Sagmeister has created some of the boldest, most innovative, engaging work around. None more so than his use of the human body as a canvas. He makes type come alive, literally! His Background Sagmeister was born in Austria but now lives and works in New York. He began his career path studying graphic design at the University of Applied Arts, Vienna. From there, he received a scholarship to study at the Pratt Institute in New...

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In this issue of GSM INSPIRATION we take a look at the work of San Francisco based lettering artist and designer Erik Marinovich. Erik Marinovich has drawn letters, type and logos for the likes of Nike, Target, Google, Hilton, Facebook, Sonos, Sharpie, The Criterion Collection, Air Canada, Gap, Ford Motor Company..., to name just a few. His passion is type and is a co-founder of Friends of Type. Erik is also co-founder of Title Case, a creative work space that conducts workshops and lectures. Between client work, teaching and side-projects, you’ll find him on the road promoting Keep Fresh Stay Rad and Let’s Go Letter Hunting....

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