Members to Watch: Best of January
WORKING NOT WORKING
One of the top job perks of working at Working Not Working is how easy it is to come face-to-face with the hundreds of incredible ongoing and standalone projects that our members launch each month. Here are just seven such projects from WNW Members that caught our eye this January.
Shantell Martin Collaborates with New York City Ballet
Shantell Martin’s distinct lines are taking her to Lincoln Center for a collaboration with New York City Ballet. The aim of NYC Ballet’s Art Series is “to cross-pollinate the disciplines of performing and visual arts – and their audiences – by annually inviting a contemporary artist to create a site specific work of art in [NYC Ballet’s] Lincoln Center home.” With drawings that regularly incorporate questions like “Who are you?”, “Are you you?”, and “Where are your lines leading you?”, Shantell’s collaboration with NYC Ballet looks to be an exciting multi-form discussion and celebration of where each is from and where both can go. The performances will take place on February 2nd, February 8th, and March 2nd. Tickets are only $35.
Elena Miska and Victoria Herrera’s Brand Design for an Erotica Audio App
When Dipsea, a female-founded tech company and story studio, reached out to WNW Members Elena Miska and Victoria Herrera to create a brand identity system, web design, and printed collateral, there was little hesitation. Dipsea provides a platform for audio content that is catered specifically toward the sensual and psychological wants and needs of women. It’s a market that’s unfortunately undersaturated, which only further enticed Elena and Victoria to take on this unique brief.
Check out our interview with Elena Miska & Victoria Herrera here.
SoulCycle’s #HappinessChallenge
Joanna Gniady
Ariel Davis
Sarah Mazzetti
To celebrate their Apple Music partnership and promote their Happiness Challenge, SoulCycle asked 5 illustrators from around the world to help bring their curated workout playlists to life. Each week in January, SoulCycle unveiled a new playlist with illustrated cover art. Here’s to WNW Members Joanna Gniady, Ariel Davis, and Sarah Mazzetti for contributing their distinct styles to SoulCycle’s initiative.
Aiste Stancikaite’s Colored Pencil Portraits
If you’ve ever scrolled through an illustrator’s Instagram, you can usually get a read on the moment when they discovered their preferred color palette. Their artistic voice can suddenly feel at home when delivered with the right tones. In the case of WNW Member Aiste Stancikaite’s work as of late, it’s a palette of one color at a time, and the result is entirely expansive rather than diminishing.
A Year of Freelance Wars
Freelance Wars is ending. But it was awesome while it lasted. Who knew we all needed an odd couple pairing of Star Wars clips and freelancer frustrations? Shout out to WNW Member Alex Griendling. Brighten your Twitter feed he did.
Pikuniku, a Small-Budget & Beautifully-Designed Game
Pikuniku is a new game developed by collaborative indie studio Sectordub. in which you help peculiar characters overcome struggles, uncover a deep state conspiracy, and start a fun little revolution in this delightful dystopian adventure! Animator Kirsten Lepore created the stop-motion trailer for the game and illustrator Charlotte Mei designed the artwork for the vinyl edition of the soundtrack.
As Charlotte tells our friends over at It’s Nice That, “I loved the playful shapes and colour palette of the game and wanted to abstract them to reflect the dynamic feel of the gameplay and its atmosphere. There was so much to work with, the temptation was to over-complicate things. But it was more true to both myself and Pikuniku to capture the essence of the game which is playful simplicity.”
#AGentaiVaiViver
Papel e Caneta launched a project in Brazil titled A Gente Vai Viver (We Will Live). It was created over the course of a week in conjunction with representatives from agencies (AKQA, Deutsch, Young & Rubicam, J.Walter Thompson amongst others) and Brazilian artists such as Mel Gonçalves (the first trans woman to star in an AVON campaign in Brazil).
“In the middle of an economic crisis, Brazil just came out of the most polarizing elections in its history, and on a global stage, nonetheless. Elected president Jair Bolsonaro earned the nickname of the Brazilian Trump for his explosive and polemic declarations. But beyond the election, the fears go further than just a nickname: the rise in acts of violence against minorities targeted by the hate-filled speech of the president. Therefore, as a way to inspire and help all the people who are scared or suffering intolerance, prejudice, and acts of violence, Papel e Caneta united leaders and young people from different agencies to work together.”