New York-based artist Aakash Nihalani creates bright optical illusions that blur the line between fantasy and reality.

His vivid artworks are made up of free-standing or wall-mounted sculptural graphic installations made from wood and metal. His black-and-white colour palette is often accented with pops of neon and his work encourages human interaction to complete the full illusionary effect.

See more of Aakash’s striking work in the gallery above, on his website or on Instagram.

(h/t) thisiscolossal.com

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Nando’s is on the look out for its next Hot Young Designer for 2018, only this time with a focus on fabric.

Are you passionate about drawing, graphics and prints? Ever thought of yourself as a fabric designer? Nando’s is running a competition to find a talented designer who can create a range of bespoke fabrics to feature in its restaurants across the globe.

The competition is designed to propel the careers of innovative local artist and designers. You’ll need to enter before 10 May 2018.

For more information, visit hotyoungdesigner.co.za or follow Nando’s Hot Young Designer on Instagram and Facebook.

View the previous entries from the 2016 Nando’s Hot Young Designer Talent Search here, when the competition focused on lighting. The line-up included Thabisa Mjo, whose Tutu 2.0 Pendant Light won the 2018 Most Beautiful Object in South Africa award at Design Indaba.

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George Greaves, a British freelance illustrator based in Bristol, creates bold, graphic designs.

Along with Raphael Greaves, he co-founded Printed Goods, a online store that sells art prints, T-shirts, candles, tote bags and banners.

We chatted to George, who has done work for the Financial Times, Stella Artois and Bandcamp, about colour, architecture and his accessories collection.

How does living in Bristol inspire your work?

Bristol is a great place to be creative. The city is laid back, the pace is slow, which makes it an ideal place for ideas to be created and realised.

How do you go about selecting colour palettes for your pieces?

With colour I very much just play about with it until it looks right and there is balance. I am drawn to pastel and washed out shades – not too much prior thought goes into it.

How has architecture influenced your work?

Architecture has been a huge influence on my work. I have always been interested by the way our environment affects our inner state. In that way, I think it can reflect our inner states very effectively as everyone has experienced the “mood” of a place.

How did your accessories range come about?

The range of accessories came about partly as a solution to a problem (making a living as an artist) as well as being a vehicle for mine and my brother’s work and something I am passionate about. The idea behind Printed Goods is “Bringing Art to the Everyday.” We try to realise creative and unique products at an accessible price point. We believe art and design is for everyone.

What do you have planned for Printed Goods this year?

We have lots of exciting projects we are working on this year. In general, we our focusing on creating lots more original work and working on a variety of new lifestyle products. We plan to work on more collaborations, as the outcome is always a surprise – it is a great way to keep things fresh.

Shop at printedgoods.net. For more information, visit george-greaves.tumblr.com.

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In a collaboration between photographer and projectionist Anton Oilhack and art director Thomas Blanchard, Galaxy Gates sees the viewer taken on a transformative visual and audial journey, as part of the duo’s WeAreColorful series.

Holding each other to the highest possible artistic standards, both Anton and Thomas are artists/painters who continuously search out new mediums to express themselves with.

Reminiscent of the Milky Way, this clip, packed with bursts of colour and dream-like sequences, was created using liquid soap, oil and paint.

“By working with natural mediums for live realisations, immediate and short-lived as life is, it is more or less like a hypnotic fluid mandala offering me an immense field of exploration, which is just waiting to be taken,” says Anton on their website. “Art is for me a way to thank life, a sharing without limits, beyond the borders. Colour is my weapon to continue exchanging freely.”

For more information, visit wearecolourful.net.

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We chat to South African-born, London-based artist Luzelle van der Westhuizen about what inspires Lu West, her successful collection of fine art prints.

How did you get into illustration?

I’ve always been an artist, but I think in the last year or so it’s just finally clicked for me: “I am an artist!” After completing a course in printmaking in London, I’ve found the medium that best expresses my simple, graphic and colourful work. I love interior design and when creating my fine art prints, I always think of how it can complete a space in a beautiful home.

What inspires your work?

Pop art, mid-century illustration and Scandinavian design inspire me. I spend a lot of time looking at beautiful interior blogs to see current trending colours and styles. Living in London, it is such a privilege to have access to the most amazing museums and art galleries in the world, such as the V&A and the Tate Modern. I definitely make use of both for inspiration!

How would you describe your style?

Most of my illustrated work features animals and nature in simple forms and patterns, and fruit and flowers inspired by pop art or nautical themes. I love using bold and bright colours to create whimsical illustrations to make you smile. For my latest print collection, I’m playing around with a lot of simple floral shapes from the sixties.

Who are some of your favourite illustrators?

I seem to gravitate toward the graphic illustrators of the past century. Charley Harper’s ability to capture the essence of animals and nature with just a few simplified graphic lines and shapes is such an inspiration. Alexander Girard’s visual symbols and patterns were extraordinary and his body of work is timeless. Contemporary illustrators that I admire are Lisa Congdon, Heather Moore from Skinny laMinx, Sanna Annukka and Garance Doré.

Do you have a favourite piece of your own?

My favourite piece is “Bigger Boat,” the very first print design that I created. It has been my bestselling design since I started creating prints. I think there is just something very simple and aesthetically pleasing about that little sailboat bobbing in a big blue ocean. That is my goal, to keep creating art with a strong emotional response.

Do you have any exciting plans for the future?

I’m getting involved in more freelance illustration projects, like an upcoming collaboration with a greeting card company in the UK. I love working on my blog, creating mood boards and trend collections. I’m always looking for more beautiful interior stores and galleries to stock my fine art prints, so if you’re interested, please get in touch!

Where can people get their hands on your work?

You can buy my limited edition fine art prints online at lu-west.com. Prints are shipped worldwide and framed options are available for UK delivery.

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Feel like zoning out?

This cool video sees visual communication designer and animator Henning M. Lederer take 55 vintage book covers and bring them to life through animation.

A cool clip for fans of graphic design.

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The Persona Art project, started by Shayne and Ant Vervoort, has adapted the iconic world-wide bathroom symbol into a versatile collection of characters.

“We are all so different and unique as people, and yet across countries and cultures, we have similarities that tie us all together,” explains Ant. “That’s what Persona is about: being wonderfully similar and beautifully different.”

The technicalities of producing one of these recognisable characters can be complicated – Ant’s first image took over a year and a half to produce.

Watch a video about the project below:

Fund their Kickstarter here. For more information, visit Facebook.

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From 76 chosen nominees, the six category winners for the 2015 Designs of the Year Awards have been chosen.

The idea behind this annual event, organised by London’s Design Museum, is to acknowledge work “that promotes or delivers change, enables access, extends design practice or captures the spirit of the year.”

The Architecture category winner is the striking UC Innovation Centre designed by Santiago-based firm Elemental. This 9 000m² building, constructed of wood, glass, steel and reinforced concrete is in San Joaquín in Santiago, Chile – and forms part of a University space.

The other category winners for this year’s awards are as follows:

Digital:  The Ocean Cleanup by Boyan Slat, Jan De Sonnewille PHD and Erwin Zwart

Fashion: Thomas Tait AW13/14 by Thomas Tait

Graphics: Inglorious Fruits and Vegetables by Marcel

Product: Human Organs-on-Chips by Donald Ingber and Dan Gongeun Huh

Transport: Google’s Self Driving Car designed by Yoojung Ahn, Jared Gross and Philipp Haban

For more information about the winners, visit designmueseum.org.

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The Designs of the Year Awards is an annual event organised by London’s Design Museum. The idea behind the awards is to acknowledge work “that promotes or delivers change, enables access, extends design practice or captures the spirit of the year.”

76 nominees have been chosen that fall under six main categories, which include: architecture, digital, fashion, product, graphics and transport. All of the nominees are incredibly impressive ranging from the Google Self Driving Car and Frank Gehry’s Fondation Louis Vuitton to The Ocean Cleanup by Boyan Slat (CEO and founder), Jan de Sonneville PhD (lead engineer) and Erwin Zwart (designer).

An exhibition will be held where all 76 projects will go on show from the 25 March 2015 at the museum. Winners from each category and a main winner will be announced later this year.

For more information, visit designmuseum.org.

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