Few artistic disciplines capture peoples minds as that of painting. Emotive brush strokes enthrall viewers centuries later, and a painting is often a catalyst for endless discussions. People experience emotions when viewing art, but this effect seems easier - or amplified - when viewing a painting in the flesh, so to speak. Perhaps it’s a raw-ness; the reality that a person stood in front of this canvas and created.

Joe Sorren’s work draws strong emotions via texture and colour. It’s a dreamy world where the subject matter is a little warped - a child would be fascinated - not afraid - by the oddness. It’s a simplicity that draws the viewer in, and once hooked, rewards every moment.

Visit Sorren here.

Furniture design is a field where creativity can go rampant, perhaps most importantly because the real-world environment lends itself to all the senses. Furnishings can dance on the border of practicality. Mass production need not be adhered to and more often than not, an object can become a stand-alone art piece in it’s own right.

The ‘feel seating system’ draws inspiration from the structure of molecules. Each soft ball is connected by an elastic fabric and the whole ensemble can be jiggled around to create any number of positions.

Visit Animi Causa here, but to save you the time - it’s just shy of 3 grand.

There’s an overly descriptive paper by Beatrice Warde which uses wine glasses as a metaphor for good typography. She argues around the “Crystal Goblet” - a good wine glass should neither detract not obscure the wine itself - how would the container influence your impressions on the wine? Iconography is the essense of transparent design. At its best, an effectively communicated signal won’t be given a second thought by a user - it serves its purpose instantly, and the user can move on. At worst, the user is confused - and probably won’t enjoy the wine to its fullest extent.

The art of Wladimiro Bendandi enjoys the visual distinction of iconography to create new, often hilarious meanings. It’s simple, transparent and memorable, with DIY written all over it.

Visit xy-z.it here.

Visual simplicity is a rarity these days, perhaps due to how deceptively difficult it is to achieve. Often not a case to simply create white space, the secret to a minimal visual execution is a very strong idea. In the world of literature, one could refer to it as “writing between the lines”. Perhaps a comparative statement is “ideas between the pixels”.

Phillip Toledano’s photography bounds from strength to strength. Other than the technical brilliance, all his work clearly “starts from an idea”. And stays pure to that idea. It’s inspirational work that works. Amusingly, he spent 10 years as an art director before returning to photography - something which would usually stray the average person from their path. Instead it seems to have cemented the concept of “the idea”.

Visit the portfolio of Phillip Toledano here, and scroll across to view more.

Society tends to avoid abandoned places - many governments pull them down, brand them a hazard, prohibit entry and generally keep peoples attention away from such places. But they offer an isolated world of inspiration. Places where touching a cold wall brings back the history of a busy factory, where beauty can take many forms.

Hashima Island, is about 15km off the coast of Nagasaki, Japan. It was populated for a little under 100 years until 1974 as a coal mining facility, at which point it was shut down and left abandoned. Schools and apartment blocks still exist, enclosed by the sea wall, giving Gunkanjima it’s “battleship island” nickname.

There’s some pictures here, colour ones here and courtesy of google maps, it looks like this from above.