Visualizing Distinct Minimalistic Sceneries With Cristina Lello
Visualizing Distinct Minimalistic Sceneries With Cristina Lello

Having always been fascinated with sensational spaces, Cristina Lello now visualizes the most striking scenes that tell a clear story. As she describes herself, her studio “creates high-impact images from the intersection of interior styling, set design and 3D art.” After graduating with honors in Set Design at the Academy of Fine Arts of Venice, she also started a Master’s degree in Interactive Media for Interior Design while working for Elisa Ossino Studio. She even got appointed as art director for the Iuav research center MeLa Media Lab. Since then, she has collaborated with prestigious brands and agencies on many successful projects. In every project, a minimalistic yet strong style defines her work. We talked with Cristina about her creative approach and the fundamental elements of her projects.

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DesignCaroline MeeusenSet Design, Digital, Interview
Annie Nguyen Helps Bring Brand Visions to Life With Design-Driven Imagery
Annie Nguyen Helps Bring Brand Visions to Life With Design-Driven Imagery

After having worked in advertising and marketing, LA-based artist Annie Nguyen now lets her ideas and creativity run wild as Design Director, now and then venturing into photography and surpassing just graphic design. She has always communicated through visual expression and continues to explore that expression through her clean, minimalistic images where she mostly depicts her two big loves: fashion and architecture, in which she finds order and calm in this fast-moving world. Being born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii Nguyen infuses her approach to projects and clients with kindness and respect always resulting in soothing design. She tells us all about her hobby photography and how she expresses herself visually.

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PhotographyCaroline MeeusenInterview
WENTZ Design: Creating Products That Are an Extension of the Natural Environment
WENTZ Design: Creating Products That Are an Extension of the Natural Environment

Guilherme Wentz’s design story is unlike most designers we speak with. There were no early childhood memories of design, no family lineage in art—Wentz saw a future in business administration, assuming he’d work at one of the local factories in his small town in the south of Brazil. But design still seemed to find him and once it did, it wouldn’t let go. The founder of WENTZ Design has seen exponential success in his design company, which creates Brazilian furniture, lighting, and objects that translates the natural environment into the homes of its customers. With each product, there’s a focus on a simplistic, tropical quality often inspired by the people and places Wentz has interacted with. Now with their first retail store open and plans to expand into the US, Wentz spoke with us about the challenges of running a brand of this scale and why nature plays such a prominent role in his designs.

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DesignErica NicholsProduct, Furniture, Interview
Getting Lost in the Magical Dreamscapes of Laura Hendricks
Getting Lost in the Magical Dreamscapes of Laura Hendricks

Utah-based artist Laura Hendricks is a true photographic magician, creating surreal photo collages that take you down dreamy panoramas. She combines different landscapes to form one image, creating a collage rooted in realism, yet delicately mixed with surrealist elements. Mountains drenched in soft pastel colors make beautiful scenes that enthrall you. Laura takes us through these dreamy worlds and shows us how magical nature can be.

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PhotographyCaroline MeeusenInterview
The Secret Garden of Ruby Barber’s Studio Mary Lennox
The Secret Garden of Ruby Barber’s Studio Mary Lennox

Everything’s coming up roses for Ruby Barber. Founder of floral studio Mary Lennox, named after the protagonist of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s “The Secret Garden,” Barber has gained profound recognition through her intricate floral styling and set design. From creating the scenography for an Hermès dinner at the Grand Palais in Paris to designing streamlined backdrops for the likes of Chanel and Gucci, Barber’s portfolio is as versatile and imaginative as the florals she selects. For her, each flower has its own story, and every design is a reflection of that story and the innate connection we have to the natural environment around us. Every project is unique, every collaboration an exciting challenge—Barber is an artist whose love for and interest in her field never fades. Here, she delves deep into where that love first emerged and why she believes imperfect stems and petals produce the most beautiful results.

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DesignErica NicholsFloral, Set Design, Interview
With Simplicity and Precision, Osman Tahir Captures Minimalistic Timelessness
With Simplicity and Precision, Osman Tahir Captures Minimalistic Timelessness

Based in Sweden, self-taught photographer and retoucher Osman Tahir captures still lifes, interiors, and products with the utmost precision. With the occasional portrait and painting, and his specialized subjects, he holds the viewer’s gaze and portrays elements in their purest form, establishing an effortless, minimalistic beauty. Tahir, under his studio Ostudios, has already collaborated with an impressive client list including IKEA, Domo Design, Alvhem, and many more. Now, talking with Osman, he shares his creative process and talks life lessons.

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PhotographyCaroline MeeusenStill Life, Interview
This Kresta Design Project Reinvents Historic Homes With a Contemporary Perspective
This Kresta Design Project Reinvents Historic Homes With a Contemporary Perspective

Some of the most impressive designs are those that add the most minute touches to an existing space. Architecture and design studio Kresta Design does what most studios veer away from: pay homage to tradition. Made up of architects Cristina Domínguez Lucas and Fernando Hernández-Gil, the studio takes on projects that invoke a sense of curiosity and challenge, often selecting buildings rich with history and character—much like the Rural Guesthouse, in Villalba de los Barros.

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Architecture, InteriorErica Nichols
Walking the Line of Intrigue and Simplicity, Sanna Völker Paves the Way for Furniture Design
Walking the Line of Intrigue and Simplicity, Sanna Völker Paves the Way for Furniture Design

Swedish-born designer Sanna Völker creates in an in-between most artists strive for, finding that perfect balance of raw edge and refinement in each of her designs. Her work, décor pieces and furniture, is grounded in skilled craftsmanship and brought to life with texture and natural beauty. Working in the interface between Scandinavia and Spain, the talented designer also teaches product and furniture design at IED-Istituto Europeo di Design in Barcelona. In our interview, Völker shared with us a look into her creative process and which projects have stood out to her most over the years.

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DesignCaroline MeeusenProduct, Furniture, Interview
Tekla Evelina Severin Finds the Lines in Color Overload and Bold Settings
Tekla Evelina Severin Finds the Lines in Color Overload and Bold Settings

She is a color addict to say the least. Looking at Tekla Evelina Severin’s works–filled with bold, mesmerizing images of people, architecture, objects, and still life–gives away her fervor for remarkable shapes and color combinations. Schooled in interior architecture and furniture design, she now intersperses between photography, art direction, trend forecasting, interior architecture, and set design, leading this marvelous artist to have been recently listed by Dezeen as one of the top ten architectural photographers to follow in the world. During our talk, Tekla took us on her journey to photography and her quest for color.

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PhotographyCaroline MeeusenInterview
Meet the Design Brand Putting an Artistic Twist on Your Home Decor
Meet the Design Brand Putting an Artistic Twist on Your Home Decor

Bringing art into your home doesn’t have to just mean paintings on a wall. NOOM is the newest design brand to make waves by creating art-driven decor ideal for every contemporary home. Founded by designer Kateryna Sokolva and entrepreneur Arkady Vartanov in 2017, the company uses traditional and modern manufacturing to create thought-provoking, statement pieces made almost entirely from metal. Combining function with eye-catching design, NOOM is blazing the trail with innovative products that don’t serve as a supporting element, but instead serve as a focal point to take interior design further into the future.

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DesignErica NicholsProduct
Design Studio Six N. Five Pushes Boundaries to Blur the Lines of Reality
Design Studio Six N. Five Pushes Boundaries to Blur the Lines of Reality

One look at the imaginative works of Six N. Five, and you’ll see why the contemporary design studio has garnered such an impressive roster of clients that includes Samsung and Nike. But Director Ezequiel Pini shares that it’s the personal projects that really push the design studio’s creative explorations, allowing them to create highly-individualized projects that meet client expectations but also encourage the viewers to step into a vibrant, surrealistic world. With 3D design as the gateway to Six N. Five’s poetic composition, the studio has created in a variety of fields including advertising, product design, poetry and editorial. But with new ventures on the horizon, Pini shares with us a unique look into their creative process and how he ensures their team of designers remain curious and creative.

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ArtErica NicholsDigital, Interview
Massimo Colonna’s Artistic Expression of the Ambiguous
Massimo Colonna’s Artistic Expression of the Ambiguous

Italian Digital Artist Massimo Colonna has mastered an impressive skill most artists can’t: creating a personal surrealism that can attach itself onto its viewers. Though the meanings of his work are often left open for interpretation, Massimo creates work that invites the viewer in instead of keeping them at a distance. It’s a skill that Massimo mastered through his delicate balance of reality and surrealism. “I like to play on the thread of reality and not,” he says. “Sometimes I start from a subject, sometimes from a general environment, then from the shapes and light.” It’s in projects like Apathy, Migration, and Ambiguous that Massimo’s expertise is most evident, where each detail is delicately balanced to draw the viewer’s attention from one place to the next. The results? An overwhelming desire to follow wherever Massimo’s mind takes him.

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ArtErica NicholsDigital
Uncovering the Layers of Visual Language With Elisabetta Bongiorni
Uncovering the Layers of Visual Language With Elisabetta Bongiorni

With a prolific portfolio that includes art direction, interior styling, and set design, it’s no wonder why Elisabetta Bongiorni has made such an impact in the design scene. The Milan-based creator views life through a unique artistic lens, one that allows her to dive deep into research and create work that seamlessly blends together all three areas of her expertise. The results are captivating, colorful, and layered with refined detail. From her personal explorations of artistic principles like geometry and balance to collaborative projects that encourage her and her collaborators to step outside fixed roles, Elisabetta strives to find new ways to develop visual language one set at a time.

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DesignErica NicholsSet Design, Interview
Your First Look at the Must-Have Planter by Studio Rem
Your First Look at the Must-Have Planter by Studio Rem

Studio Rem Founder Michael Remerich finds inspiration in the most interesting places. His creative outlets aren’t found in clear blue skies, but, instead, in days clouded with fog, rain, and a peaceful stillness. In Nebl, the Berlin-based designer captures the allure and mystery of gloomy days in an innovative planter that exudes the effortless beauty in simplicity.

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DesignCaroline MeeusenProduct
Atelier AVEUS* Creates Captivating Installations Rooted in Design
Atelier AVEUS* Creates Captivating Installations Rooted in Design

The story of Atelier AVEUS* began three years ago, when French architect and designer Morgane Roux founded this multidisciplinary design studio. Her past studies in architecture and industrial design paved the way for her own business, where she now creates furniture and installations that delve into design and architectural industries. Her projects are rooted in conceptual ideas, where Morgane explores universal themes like memory and connection. “I want my designs to tell a story and be perceived through different levels,” she says. “I try to make each piece beautiful and useful, but above all, meaningful. If the user likes the final aspect of the piece, it is good, but if they also get the visual reference used, or perceive the link with the concept that ruled the designing process, it is even better! I am very attached to the narration within my collections or installations.”

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DesignCaroline MeeusenFurniture
Balancing Artistic Expression and Functionality With Valeria Vasi
Balancing Artistic Expression and Functionality With Valeria Vasi

Barcelona designer Valeria Vasi has always had an eye for forward-thinking art. Growing up in a variety of metropolitan cities like Moscow, Paris, and Barcelona, Valeria developed an approach to design that takes inspiration from a variety of cultures to create unique, stand-alone creations that blend functionality with artistic expression. In our interview, Valeria shares how she developed her style and what artists she looks to for a fresh dose of inspiration.

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DesignCaroline MeeusenProduct, Interview
Dreaming Up Architectural Landscapes With Alexis Christodoulou
Dreaming Up Architectural Landscapes With Alexis Christodoulou

It’s hard to believe that Alexis Christodoulou once considered his 3D design as only a side hobby. Today, the digital artist has garnered a dedicated following of over 100k on Instagram with his detailed, architecturally-inspired imagined landscapes. In inviting shades of pinks, yellows, greens and blues, Christodoulou creates mesmerizing worlds for viewers to step into. Worlds featuring textured surfaces, curved objects, drastic lights and shadows—places where the indoors and outdoors blend seamlessly into one. Not bad for a guy who first taught himself 3D rendering off YouTube tutorials as a way to break up the pace of his copywriting job. Now experimenting in ways to push the boundaries of his artistic medium even further, the Cape Town-based artist gave us a closer look into how he creates and his thoughts on social media.

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ArtErica NicholsDigital, Interview
Take a Look Inside Abdulla Elmaz’s World of Emotional Imagery
Take a Look Inside Abdulla Elmaz’s World of Emotional Imagery

Dubai-based fashion photographer and art director Abdulla Elmaz captures raw emotion in everything he creates. Heartbreak, loneliness, confusion, hope—Elmaz lays it all in his photography, capturing intriguing looks and visions in every theme he explores. Seeing the world through his lens is to discover a surreal world that encourages passionate conversation in the pursuit of meaning. The photographer shared with us his words of wisdom to aspiring artists and why he thinks his work leaves such an impact on people.

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PhotographyCaroline MeeusenFashion, Interview
An Exclusive Look at “Posture Vases” from Bloc Studios and Carl Kleiner
An Exclusive Look at “Posture Vases” from Bloc Studios and Carl Kleiner

Those pictures were of delicate flowers, posed and arranged to create unique shapes and movement. Kleiner’s series came about after experimenting with method to control the positions of the flowers and photograph them in a way that made them look almost alive. For the collaborative project, “Posture Vases,” Cima and Kleiner took the same idea, but expanded upon it with the help of Bloc Studio’s

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DesignErica NicholsProduct