Riley Cran

I found Riley Cran's work through Design Work Life and I love it. The way his style mixes simple and graphic with vintage and retro is fun, trendy, and skillful. I like some of his topics more than others, but overall, his design and illustration are both excellent. The way he handles texture is particularly notable. I love how his textures are pronounced enough to look nice while being subtle enough to let the other design elements do their trick. So I thought I'd share a few snapshots of his work today.

This identity he did for Yardsale is neat. I like the earthy feel the logo and icons have mixed with the bright, happy colors on the t-shirt.

The way the t-shirt has a tic-tac-toe style grid is another fun, cheerful addition!

I'm quite impressed with this logo Riley designed for a dentist's office. I don't typically think of dentistry as a profession that usually has great graphic design to go with it (although I'm very grateful for dentists, of course). Yet this logo is very well done. It incorporates the familiar tooth symbolism while being modern and incorporating good (custom drawn) typography and strong composition.

The bright green is fun, too. It's unexpected for a dentist's office, but I think that's part of what makes this logo interesting.

Some of his other illustrations are nice, too. This streetcar/bus image that is part of a "poster in the works" is well executed but not overly complicated.

And one of my favorites of Riley Cran's work is this iPad wallpaper he did to help tsunami relief in Japan. I think it illustrates (no pun intended) the great combination of simplicity, texture, and even a little retro vibe which is achieved through the color scheme.

What do you think of Riley Cran's work and style? Let's talk about it!