We hand-picked 10 emerging graphic designers – from Beijing to Beirut – that are creating the most exciting work right now
Studio Safar’s publication design for Crude (2018), an exhibition at Jameel Arts Centre
Words / curation by Francesca Perry
I know we don’t cover a huge amount of graphic design in ICON, but it’s not for lack of appreciation – graphic design shapes so much of how we visually experience the world and communicate. Time to redress the situation, and turn (my) Instagram black holes productive: here, you’ll find the work of 10 of the most exciting emerging graphic designers (and studios) out there, from Beijing to Beirut to NYC. I’ve loved discovering their work, and hope you do too. We’d be remiss if we didn’t big up our very own art director, Robin Farley, whose brilliant work you can check out here, as well as in our magazine.
1. Studio Safar
Studio Safar is a design agency and publisher established in Beirut in 2012. Evoked by its name – ‘safar’ (سفر) is Arabic for ‘travel’ – the studio is concerned with notions of communication across cultural and linguistic barriers, and their research-led work seeks to engage in social and political discourse. The studio also publishes the completely awesome biannual and bilingual design and visual culture journal, Safar. Follow Studio Safar on Instagram
2. Serana Angelista
Left: Absent Examples (2021). Right: Solidarity (2020)
Rotterdam-based Angelista (they/them) works as a visual artist, art director, and graphic designer. Represented by Hama Gallery, Angelista’s work aims to champion multi-perspectivity, break stereotypes, create social awareness, and contribute to the democratisation of graphic design. Follow Angelista on Instagram
3. Raissa Pardini
Italian-born, UK-based visual artist Pardini (she/her) works mainly with music and culture and creates striking, often saturated and playful, work. Some of her poster work was recently added to the V&A’s permanent collection as part of a documentation of the British music scene, and her clients to date have included Apple Music, MTV, Sony, New York Times, WeTransfer, and an array of high-profile musicians. We first met Pardini in our Spring 2021 issue, where she spoke about how she thought Brexit would impact UK-based creatives. Follow Pardini on Instagram
4. Brooke Armstrong
Armstrong (she/her), otherwise known as Strong Design Co, is an Illinois-based graphic designer and visual artist. Her professional work has involved collaborations with Adobe, Selena Gomez and BigBunny; in her personal work, meanwhile, she combines her passion for mental health awareness with design. Follow Strong Design Co on Instagram
5. Vocal Type
Vocal Type, founded by Washington DC-based Tré Seals (he/him) in 2016, is a type foundry that was established to help confront the lack of diversity in the graphic design industry. Its typefaces take inspiration from protest movements and Black culture, and Seals wants his work to help build community. Vocal Type has created bespoke typefaces for political advocacy and social justice organisation Impact Strategies and director Spike Lee’s book, SPIKE (2021). Seals’ first book – Dream in Colour: 30 Posters of Power, 30 Black Creators – is out soon. Follow Vocal Type on Instagram
6. Pay2Play
Beijing-based Pay2Play is a small graphic design founded by Sun Xiaoxi (he/him) and Wang Lang (she/her) in 2019. Their works include publication design, communication design, packaging design and visual identity. In 2021, the studio designed ‘do it’ (pictured), a publication edited by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Cao Dan, and featuring contributions from 108 artists from China/working within a Chinese context. Check out the Pay2Play website and follow Sun Xiaoxi on Instagram
7. Manassaline Coleman
Coleman (she/her) is a graphic designer originally from Liberia and currently based in Bali, Indonesia. She looks to create art that is ‘affirmative, colourful and thought-provoking’, and in May 2020 her Instagram guide to Virtual Protesting went viral. Her professional collaborations have included work with Adobe and Bumble. Follow Coleman on Instagram
8. New Tropical Design Studio
New Tropical Design Studio is a font foundry on the east coast of Australia founded in 2016 by designer Tom Cunningham (he/him). It creates a range of single-weight display typefaces that are both seductive and fun. Cunningham deliberately ensures the fonts he creates are affordable, so they are more accessible for solo designers and small studios, and his work can be found all over the world. Follow New Tropical Design Studio on Instagram
9. Annika Hansteen-Izora
Hansteen-Izora (they/she/he) is a UI, product and brand designer, art director, and artist based in Brooklyn, NY. They head up design at Somewhere Good, a soon-to-launch social media startup founded by Naj Austin, which we featured in our Winter 2021 issue. Hansteen-Izora has also worked with Austin at Ethel’s Club, a community of physical and digital spaces which celebrate people of colour, where they designed and led the visual identity. Follow Hansteen-Izora on Instagram
10. Quentin Swenke
Swenke (he/him) is a visual artist based in New York City and founder of Futura Free. He describes his visual style as a ‘convergence of ethereal dreamscapes and experimentation with colour and typeface’. Follow Futura Free on Instagram
