Author: Maru Saurer

Introducing Juliette Chrétien

| Maru Saurer

I’ve had the pleasure to work with photographer Juliette Chrétien on numerous occasions. The creative exuberance that she brings to each and every project makes her without a doubt, a joy to work with.

These exquisite and artfully-curated photographs beautifully reflect Juliette’s in-depth understanding of the subject matter, and innate ability to approach a project with a profound sense of curiosity and composition.

On a Seaglass note, it was Juliette’s gifted photography eye that brought the Seaglass brand to life. Our collaboration is celebrated through-out the consolidated platforms –  Seaglass – my graphic design business,  and Looking Glass – the sister platform which encapsulates a curated gallery of creative inspiration. These timeless commissioned pieces beautifully capture the fresh, translucent blueish green hues and unique structure of Seaglass, and powerfully capture the visual message of that which l wish to convey. Thank you Juliette for working your magic.

l warmly invite you, to explore further the unique work from Juliette Chrétien.

Credits images, © Juliette Chrétien

LN16

| Maru Saurer

The Long Night of the Museums was a beautiful and insightful journey, with discoveries have been processed and explored, l felt inspired to create this visual map to capture the evening.

Commencing from the floating wooden platform, l watched a series of short films. A collection of stories bringing together various local professions and artists – compelling in topic in conjunction with the artists individual visual approach to story-telling.

Moving on through-out the evening, l found myself falling down a rabbit-hole via a set of charming book illustrations by Zurich-born artist Hanny Fries, complimented by a live musical performance, extracted from the classic novel… Alice-in-Wonderland...this was duly followed by a colourful ride on Moroccan carpets at the Museum Bellerive – striking in textile medium and traditional craftsmanship!

A few tram stops later, l mused over many an art piece at the Museum Haus Konstruktiv… “Thinking Outside of the Box” – happily leading me to the outside bar to enjoy a colourful drink and engaging conversation under the twinkling stars and fairy lights.

To round off the long night, l slowly made our way up to the Kunsthaus to view the retrospective on the diverse works of artist Francis Picabia.

In the wee small hours, a visual feast for the creative mind, had been fully enjoyed. Food for thought indeed.

*Visual Investigations image: © Elizabeth Hitchman

Spotlight on Annie Atkins

| Maru Saurer

The magic of film has the power to inspire, enchant, captivate and above all else transport us to another world.

The exceptional work of Graphic Designer Annie Atkins (for filming-making), poignantly stands out as a rich example of visual impact with its meticulous attention to detail.

‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ trailer alone grabbed my attention with its quirky and endearing charm…excitedly followed up by watching the film on the big screen. l happily and whole-heartedly confess it was the rich array of graphic design visuals (created by leading graphic designer Annie Atkins and her team) which captivated me from the out-set.

Magnificently amplified by the hand-crafted visual props, the visual story-telling from packaging and stamped documents, to the “artistic” merits of the prison escape map – when handled with care and admired by the characters on-screen is simply beautiful!

l find the creative process within graphic design film-making fascinating, as Annie Atkins explains, the process involves various steps, including script breakdown, continuity logistics, and the production of several copies of one piece to name but a few, with each step holding its own challenges.

l have great respect for the medium and feel inspired by the perspective in which Annie Atkins views her work  – “Look after the little details…you will in some some way contribute to the movie as a whole. It’s our job, people do see it. When we create graphic props and set pieces, we’re not always making them for the cinema audience – these are pieces that are dressed into the sets to create a more authentic experience for the director and actors to work in”

l’m delighted to share a short film link for further exploration of Annie’s film projects and to invite you to listen to Annie describe her graphic design work in her own words. The clips will undoubtedly generate a deeper sense of appreciation for graphic design work within the field of film-making.

Be enchanted!

A sprinkle of season’s greetings…

Image | | Maru Saurer

It has been said that *”Christmas is almost the Olympics of wit for designers, with the toughest competition and past performance to surpass”.

Not wishing to appear twee or over the top, as a designer l like to take the creative direction of raising a smile with a gentle injection of seasonal humour, and the “Christmassification” of an object is an approach l find most fun.

l was recently asked by writer D.B. Miller if l had interest to come up with visual ideas to sprinkle some wintery sparkle onto her corporate identity, (a project l also had the pleasure to co-create) … during our conversation, it became quickly apparent as how best to add a note of seasonal cheer.

*Extract taken from ‘A Smile In The Mind’ by Beryl McAlhone, David Stuart. Published by Phaidon.

IUma – A wonder for all the senses

| Maru Saurer

In Swahili, Uma means fork.

To me *Uma means gastronomic jewel.

Located in Barcelona, Chef Iker Erauzkin & food writer/journalist Anna Yébenes have opened the doors into their imaginative world of gourmet cuisine. Memorable glimpses of Iker’s cooking workshop balanced with a showstopping “pure genius” culinary performance has equated to an unforgettable experience, particularly for the tastebuds.

Uma is indeed a sparkling jewel. An open mind and heart will lead you on a glorious dining adventure, into another sphere … all may not appear as it seems …

Oh such beauty for the senses awaits … !

*Normally l wax lyrical in my postings about creativity which captures my looking glass imagination, but for this particular posting it makes perfect sense not to say too much – smile.

Illustration & exploration

| Maru Saurer

September has happily begun with not-too-distant summer memories of places visited and joyfully explored. Prior to my trip to Spain at the beginning of August, l discovered the exuberant map ‘Barcelona, Spain’ illustrated by Farida Zamanvia the web platform ‘They Draw & Travel‘. Syncroncity at its magical best! Especially since it was just a few days before my flight that l caught sight of this colourful city guide.

Founded in 2011, by brother & sister (design and illustration team, Studio SSS) , Nate Padavick & Salli S. Swindell, ‘They Draw & Travel‘ – younger sibling site to the delicious ‘ They Draw & Cook‘,  is a pure celebration of illustrative maps and travel.

l adore the concept of reflecting the places we love through the visual voice of map illustration. Inviting artists from around the world to illustrate their unique perception of the places they have visited or perhaps even places where they live, Nate and Salli have opened a new window for us to discover and explore, and above all, generated inspiration to record our own travels through map-making.

Having fell under the charms of the incomparable, yet equally compelling Barcelona, and southern region of Andalucia, (2012) the maps (Barcelona, Spain, Farida Zaman / Andalucia, Spain, Benjamin Bay) will long keep aglow the warmth of these places visited.

l warmly invite you to submit a hand-drawn map of your favourite places to the TDAT website, or perhaps have a simple browse as inspiration for your next port of call. l for one, feel inspired to continue drawing, traveling and cooking!

A Snippet from my sketchbooks

| Maru Saurer

A beautifully hand-crafted sketch-book with crisp white pages makes my creative heart sing. To me, these pages excitingly appear as a blank canvas in which l can play, collect and create visual stories.

l tend to start at the end of the book, as well as the beginning, meeting in the middle – l find this process entices the page to maintain a balanced level of visual interest throughout.

Beginning this sketch-book just a few weeks ago has generated a new creative space for the many layers of clippings that l have collected over time. In this posting l’d thought l’d share an artwork piece of a bookmark which l designed to compliment a book gift, and the opening end pages of my new sketch-book.

ln years to come, l feel it will be fun to look through … catching a glimpse of inspired conversations, ideas for design projects, exhibitions visited with family and friends, or simply a lovely reminder of visuals that caught my eye.

Fresh visual air for the creative eye

| Maru Saurer

Founded by wife and husband team, Anna & Nathan Bond, Rifle Paper.Co knows no visionary bounds. Starting out as a small stationary business in 2009 their design journey has rapidly, yet intuitively developed into a global “lifestyle brand” with products galore.

Anna has taken her creative talents to heights of visual impact that packs a stylish punch. l’m impressed how original illustrative pieces have been translated and adapted for different mediums, from gift-wrapping to phone-cases, proving a pattern can travel a visual path with distance.

Two collections which have been picked up on the Looking Glass radar are the recent collaborations with French illustrator, author, and photographer Garance Doré and Lauren Conrad of Paper Crown. Featured above, both give a compelling nod to glamour from a different perspective, a pure reflection of their own unique style.

“We strongly believe life’s personal stories and moments are best told through the gift of a handwritten card or note”. With this ethos, it’s no wonder Rifle Paper.Co are growing their stationary roots and branching out to wallpaper and other homeware products…be sure to check out the carefully crafted gift guide and the enchanting ‘Puffin In Bloom’ book collection.

A welcomed breath of (visual) fresh air for the creative eye.

Animals at large – WWF Together App

Video | | Maru Saurer

The animal kingdom has long fascinated me. My trips to Africa and Asia, have fortunately allowed me to take the opportunity to observe animals in their natural environment. These trips truly hightened my awareness, leaving me with an in-depth sense of awe and wonder. The visual delight (spent one late afternoon in September 2011) of watching a giraffe family slowly meandering against a backdrop of the Tsavo West National Park landscape will be a moment forever etched in my memory.

Thankfully, since 1961, the World Wildlife Fund continues to educate, support and make new discoveries. Their appetite to invite us to learn and contribute knows no bounds, and recently l made the exciting discovery of the creative ‘WWF Together App’ – a visually rich & playful interactive experience.

l warmly invite you to explore the award winning WWF app, enticing you to learn, play and above all generate awareness of the many stunning species who share the planet with us.

Oh, and look-out for the origami animals currently roaming around on the app!