It’s rare you see simple vector illustration work done right but Jack Hughes has a handle on it and is keeping it a touch retro but the stylistic approach and the content are a pitch perfect match.
Matt Chase is a designer & illustrator living and working in Washington, DC. He seems to have a bit of a penchant for the past as his work skews a touch retro but in a good way.
There’s some richly detailed retro-styled work in the Behance portfolio of irish designer/illustrator of Steve Simpson. His rather literal interpretation of smorgasbord makes for the perfect visual pun and it’s accomplished in a style that is an equally perfect fit.
JooHee Yoon has an interesting style that makes every illustration feel as if it has already been printed and the ink may have been running out in the process. It makes the simple stylized imagery feel ‘real’ for lack of a better description. The tactility gives the work an added sense of dimension and pulls the work out of modern pop realm back into the illustration heydays of the 60s and 70s.
Wow I am really digging the retro-styling of Florida based illustrator or shall I say graphic illustrator Justin Mezzell. He’s got his thing dialed and it’s ringing my number.
Photographer Alex Prager has a unique style that harkens back to a time when the right fit, cigarette or hairstyle could make just about anyone look famous so long as the camera captured them at just the right moment in an act of authentic cool.
SF based designer/illustrator Brent Couchman has that familiar minimal retro style happening in his portfolio and he does it very well. I should say his ‘Flickrfolio‘ rather.
Nate Utesch has a loose throwback style that uses broad strokes of ink. It’s a very editorial look that references old school comics and it’s a refreshingly ‘non-digital’ affair.
What I dig about Scott Balmer’s illustrations is that they somehow manage to be current while invoking references to great illustrators from the 60’s and 70’s He’s putting Illustrator to good use.
Homage is a clothing company that specializes in retro sports wear. I know you have probably heard or seen of similar companies but the unique differentiator here is that Homage’s stuff is actually super cool. Most of the tees are very simply designed but absolutely do not stray from the retro aesthetic. I’ll probably spring for the tee above at some point.
Edward McGowan is an illustrator whose technique involves distressing retro-inspired vector illustrations that are often pastel-tinted. His unique brand of imagery has landed him a long list of notable primarily editorial clients.
I have to admit that I am a gushing fan of Sci-Fi illustrator Dan McPharlin. Everything he puts his fingers too just turns into pure magic. He has updated his Flickrfolio recently with new album art for various bands that was completed in his trademark 70’s throwback style and all of it is just beautiful. Dan is the man.
Wow, mark us down as huge fans of the retro comic book-inspired work of North Carolina based illustrator Patrick Leger. His work is bold and colorful but highly accessible from the childlike subconscious memories of every boyhood (or girlhood) comic book and newspaper comic fan.
Spitalfields Life is a blog about the days and discoveries of life in East London. The ‘gentle author’ recently posted a series of old photographs depicting life in London during the 1800s. The collection of pictures came from the ‘Society for Photographing the Relics of Old London’ and are currently held in the archive at the Bishopsgate Institute. It’s a fascinating glimpse of a unique era in the city’s history and will have you wishing you could be fitted for a proper pair of trousers, a waste coat and a crisp black tophat.
Jiro Bevis is an illustrator who knows who he is and how to work comfortably within an accessible signature style that is a twinge 7os psychedelic retro and a load of fun brimming over with distinct personality.
Bandito Design Co posted a few new retro-inspired posters in his Flickr-folio that make great use of color. There is a series of postcards to that are also very very nice. I’m not sure if prints will be available for purchase but I could see some folks being interested if they were.
Eric White’s surrealist paintings reference retro culture in a way that might confuse you for a moment but then sink their teeth in and commence brain melting from there.
Dale Edwin Murray is an illustrator based in East London with a throwback 60’s style that makes his work a lot of fun to look at.
