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We know you get inspiration from your peers, your clients, your campuses, and your communities. We also know that hearing from a fellow designer on what they find inspiring can jump start an idea or two. Why not take a look at what some superstars of the design world have to say? UCDA’s Designer magazine offers exclusive interviews with—and articles about—world-renowned artists and designers to inspire you.

ALICE BYBEE
Alice Bybee remains a passionate advocate for non-profits and social responsibility since making the move from full-time do-gooder to graphic designer.

NATALYA BALNOVA
Natalya Balnova is an illustrator, graphic designer and artist. In this interview Professor Balnova—from Queens College, CUNY—shares a little bit about her life, passions and projects.

KENNETH BEST
See how this cooperative effort between Dining Services and art students in the School of Fine Arts at UConn resulted in an online cookbook.

JEAN BEVIER
For twenty years Jean Bevier dreamed of taking the Great American Roadtrip. In 2012 during a sabbatical, that wish finally came true.

JOE CIARDIELLO
Joe Ciardiello has been drawing for as long as he can remember, probably since the age of four. His style is expressionistic, and loose with a sort of musical tone to it.

COMBAT PAPER
Combat Paper New Jersey, now housed at the Printmaking Center of New Jersey (PCNJ), is looking to help do their part to help take care of returning vets by means of therapeutic art.

ELLIOT COWAN
Elliot Cowan is an animator, illustrator, artist, and educator. In this interview, he shares a little bit about his life, influences, and projects.

CHRISTOPHER DARLING
Christopher Darling is an illustrator and educator. His paintings and illustrations have been published and exhibited internationally. Christopher’s current interests and research examine the historical relationships and dynamics between illustration and written content, outsider artwork as High Art, and the impact of art/illustration education within incarcerated communities.

ELIZABETH DELUNA
Elizabeth DeLuna is an Associate Professor of Graphic Design at St. John’s University. She received an MFA in Graphic Design from Yale University and her research focuses on typeface design and motion graphics. Her client list includes: Showtime (where she spent two years as a staff designer), HBO, Cinemax, The History Channel, The Sundance Channel, TruTV, Cablevision and Public Affairs Television, and PBS. In this interview, Professor DeLuna shares a little bit about her life, interests, and projects.

LOU DORFSMAN
Legendary designer Lou Dorfsman died in October 2008 at the age of 90. His career with the Columbia Broadcasting System spanned more than 40 years, and his contributions to the field of visual communications were far-reaching.

RICHARD DOWNS
Richard Downs is known for his many styles—his art combines contemporary aesthetics with printmaking to create timeless images. Besides being an established illustrator, Downs has taught art education for more than 19 years, yet his path to success has been anything but conventional.

MARC ENGLISH
Austin filmmaker/writer Cary Roberts referred to Marc English as “the Stanley Kubrick of design.” Step Inside Design magazine calls him “the Johnny Cash of AIGA,” referring to him as “teacher, preacher, shaman, showman.”

JULIUS FRIEDMAN
Julius Friedman, a longtime friend and honorary member of UCDA, is an internationally known artist and award-winning graphic designer and co-founder of Images design studio in Louisville, Kentucky. Friedman’s work has been featured in major design journals and exhibited in museums nationally and internationally. His work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Art, the National Museum of Poster Art in Warsaw, Poland, and various corporate and private collections. He is a recipient of the Kentucky Governor’s Award in the Arts, and also owned a gallery in Louisville showcasing contemporary artists.

MILTON GLASER
Milton Glaser’s iconic and lasting creations have spawned thousands of imitations. UCDA talks with the design legend.

M. GENEVIEVE HITCHINGS
M. Genevieve Hitchings is an illustrator, designer, and educator. In this interview she talks about her influences and her journey to becoming an accidental natural historian.

DAR HOSTA
Dar is an educator. She is a galvanizer, a cheerleader of sorts, teaching and encouraging both children and adults to create in a variety of venues including school programs, educational conferences, professional development, and workshops.

THOMAS JOCKIN
Thomas Jockin is passionate about type! Thomas is a typographic designer with a BFA in communication design from Parsons School of Design and a postgraduate certificate in typeface design from Cooper Union. Thomas started his own foundry in 2011 with the release of his debut typeface, Garçon Grotesque. Since then, he’s gone on to release two more families: Ductus, a five-weight face whose style is as ancient as it is contemporary; and more recently, Azote, a multiline type family inspired by the 1968 Mexican Olympics that adds lines for weight. Thomas organizes the monthly Brooklyn meet-up and online venue, TypeThursday In this interview Thomas shares a little bit about his life, interests, and projects.

VICTOR JUHASZ
Victor’s life work has brought him a wide variety of experiences. While caricature and humorous illustration comprise the main body of his work, his love of drawing has allowed him to cross over to other aspects of the profession.

AREEJ KHAN
Areej Khan is a designer whose work bridges the social, cultural, and intellectual gaps between the West and the Middle East. In this interview, Areej Khan shares a little bit about her life, interests, and projects.

MO LEBOWITZ
Mo Lebowitz plays bluegrass music. He writes wine reviews. He’s a big fan of Mozart. But above all, Mo knows type. It is hard not to resort to the words “renaissance man” to describe Mo Lebowitz.

MATTHEW LESTER
A Pennsylvania-based photogrpaher and a visual storyteller who captures the excitement of education. As a lifelong learner who loves education, Matt creates images that capture a sense of place and the spirit and energy of the students. Images that are real.

HERB LUBALIN
Talking about his work in the magazine U&lc, Herb Lubalin said, “Right now, I have what every designer wants and few have the good fortune to achieve. I’m my own client. Nobody tells me what to do.”

ANDRÉS VERA MARTÍNEZ
In this interview, Professor Martínez shares a little bit about his life, projects, and his passion for comics.

BRIAN NOYES
Brian Noyes, former art director for Smithsonian, House & Garden, The Washington Post Magazine, and Preservation, left 30 years of magazine art direction to follow his passion for baking.

WOODY PIRTLE
Woody Pirtle impresses with his open-minded, humorous, generous and humble personality.

GORDON R. SALCHOW
An interview with the Emeritus Professor of Graphic Design, University of Cincinnati, about his philosophy of design critiques.

GRANT SCHOL
Grant Schol is a 26-year old Arkansas-born American transplanted in Florence, Italy, which he now calls home. Before making the big jump across “the pond,” Grant worked as a marketing and public relations photographer in higher education. Currently serving as the assistant to the director at Harding University Florence, an international program run by Harding University in the city of Florence, Italy. Grant’s professional passion is melding photography, design, and words together to create something beautiful.

CHRISTOPHER SIMMONS
Christopher Simmons is a designer, writer, educator, design advocate, and principal of the noted San Francisco design office MINE. MINE’s projects have been recognized by numerous awards and features in leading national and international publications.

VANOC DESIGN TEAM
What goes into an Olympic brand? A myriad of partnerships, a diverse population, a host region, and a world of expectations. Visually representing the 2010 Winter Olympic Games carries challenges and lessons of, well, Olympic proportions.

CORINNE VIONNET
Corinne Vionnet created a series of photographic works, entitled Photo Opportunities, from hundreds of snapshots of tourist locations, which she found on the internet.

CHAD WALLACE
Chad Wallace is an incredibly talented, multi-award winning children’s book illustrator, author, and poet who lives in Westchester, New York.

JESSICA WEBER
Jessica Weber and her firm have designed and produced the Juilliard School viewbook for more than the last 15 years. Here Weber shares some of the strategies behind successful publications.

DANNE WOO
Danne Woo is an interactive designer, entrepreneur, educator, skateboard enthusiast, and composer. In this interview, professor Woo shares a little bit about his life, interests, and projects.

ESTHER WU
In this interview, Esther opens up about her transition to design and what she’s learned along the way.