SomeOne designs a simpler, more coherent visual identity for UK Parliament

“The European perception of the African continent is oftentimes awkwardly undifferentiated, almost as if it was one single country,” explains Sereina Rothenberger and David Schatz of graphic design studio Hammer. Alongside, Sereina’s sister Flurina Rothenberger, a photographer, the pair art direct Nice magazine in an attempt to present the diversity of the multiple realities in African cities.

Raoul Gottschling is a creative through and through. As a child, the German-born, Brooklyn-based designer spent sports classes sketching football pitches rather than fulfilling his duties as goalkeeper. “At one point during my early teenage years my dad introduced me to Photoshop. I used it to design a logo and a bunch of (extremely sick!) graphics for my skate crew. I did my first internship in a design studio in Cologne at 14 years old. I must have made my career choice around my 15th birthday and haven’t looked back since,” Raoul tells It’s Nice That. 


“My work is constantly evolving,” Stockholm-based designer Joanna Burai tells It’s Nice That, “it’s kind of hard to say in terms of pure form because my designs have always been so varied.” When we first spoke to Johanna back in 2016, it was the “jack of all trades and master of all” qualities demonstrated in her portfolio that impressed us so much, and which continue to today.

The portfolio of Mikey Joyce shows how sometimes, not following the traditional route into graphic design can provide a more eclectic output. With just an Instagram account displaying his design flair, Mikey’s work jumps between the silly and the serious as he nestles his way into the design world, adopting the title of a designer, creative director and artist.

When it comes to innovative, experimental type design, Belgium-based Benoit Bodhuin is pretty far ahead in the race. In a previous article about Benoit, we described him as a “progressive designer” and “one to keep an eye on for sure.” Five years later and we are happy to have followed our own advice.

Swindled. It’s one simple word, but one which sparked an entire movement for Services Unknown, a platform run by London’s Superimpose Studio that explores issues facing the creative industries. It’s latest campaign – #Swindled – aims to facilitate a new discussion around Brexit, seeking an outcome that works for everyone. Having originally conceived the campaign for anti-Brexit group Best for Britain, Superimpose Studio decided to produce #Swindled itself after momentum stalled. The studio’s creative director Ollie Olanipekun opens up to It’s Nice That about the independently funded national campaign and the wider implications of Brexit on the creative industries.

“The European perception of the African continent is oftentimes awkwardly undifferentiated, almost as if it was one single country,” explains Sereina Rothenberger and David Schatz of graphic design studio Hammer. Alongside, Sereina’s sister Flurina Rothenberger, a photographer, the pair art direct Nice magazine in an attempt to present the diversity of the multiple realities in African cities.

Raoul Gottschling is a creative through and through. As a child, the German-born, Brooklyn-based designer spent sports classes sketching football pitches rather than fulfilling his duties as goalkeeper. “At one point during my early teenage years my dad introduced me to Photoshop. I used it to design a logo and a bunch of (extremely sick!) graphics for my skate crew. I did my first internship in a design studio in Cologne at 14 years old. I must have made my career choice around my 15th birthday and haven’t looked back since,” Raoul tells It’s Nice That. 


“I like bad drawers, or I like when there are vulnerable elements in a drawing,” says artist Judit Kristensen. From Umeå in the north of Sweden but currently based in Copenhagen, Judit has tried to hang on to some of the less-than-perfect technical details from when she first started working in this style two years ago. “ I guess time has made me a better draftsman – for better and for worse. I prefer empathetic over perfection, and you cant really be voluntarily bad to make a drawing vulnerable. I think that would have an opposite effect.”

“My work is constantly evolving,” Stockholm-based designer Joanna Burai tells It’s Nice That, “it’s kind of hard to say in terms of pure form because my designs have always been so varied.” When we first spoke to Johanna back in 2016, it was the “jack of all trades and master of all” qualities demonstrated in her portfolio that impressed us so much, and which continue to today.

“I got interested in photography during my teenage years when I worked as a performance artist and DJ at various Norwegian goth and metal clubs. I would take pictures of my friends and the people I would meet,” photographer Kim Jakobsen To tells It’s Nice That. After completing a year of sociology and film-making at a Norwegian college, Kim enrolled in the Photography BA at UCA Farnham. There he studied under Anna Fox, Jason Evans and Gareth McConnel, all of which he says played an integral part in shaping his photographic language.

Alexander Medel, an illustrator masterful with pleasing curving shapes, is a creative we’ve shouted about countless times on It’s Nice That. However, we haven’t had the opportunity to shout about him for quite some time as Alexander’s been on an illustration sabbatical of sorts, but now, thankfully, he’s back with a bunch of personal work to share.

“When I began working exclusively in greyscale is when everything seemed to start to make sense,” says artist and illustrator Jesse Draxler of his dark, brooding style that combines collaged photography and painting, manifesting in large-scale paintings or commissioned illustrations. “It’s as if by freeing my mind from having to think about colour I had gained a greater clarity for everything else, like when someone loses a sense their other senses heighten to compensate.” Jesse suspects that his preference for a black and white palette is informed by the fact he’s colour blind, or “colour deficient” as he calls it. “Though I don’t put too much weight behind just that.”

The portfolio of Mikey Joyce shows how sometimes, not following the traditional route into graphic design can provide a more eclectic output. With just an Instagram account displaying his design flair, Mikey’s work jumps between the silly and the serious as he nestles his way into the design world, adopting the title of a designer, creative director and artist.

With their pursed lips, rolling eyes and folded arms, you can almost hear the exasperated sighs of Alessandra Genualdo’s characters through the screen. Largely focussing on women, Alessandra is an expert at capturing the internal world of her subjects, whether they’re showing a moment of vulnerability, contemplation or distinct disapproval.

When it comes to innovative, experimental type design, Belgium-based Benoit Bodhuin is pretty far ahead in the race. In a previous article about Benoit, we described him as a “progressive designer” and “one to keep an eye on for sure.” Five years later and we are happy to have followed our own advice.

“The seed of the idea for Heart Chakra came in the summer of 2015 when I went out to the desert for an art show,” explains Los Angeles-based animator, Angela Stempel. “At the event, there were two [separate] performance art pieces in which artists pulled out crystals from their vaginas.” Completely stunned that two artists had independently come up with this same idea – and fascinated by the allure and mysticism that surrounds them in her new home of L.A. – Angela decided to explore the concept for her graduation film from the Experimental Animation MFA at CalArts.

Swindled. It’s one simple word, but one which sparked an entire movement for Services Unknown, a platform run by London’s Superimpose Studio that explores issues facing the creative industries. It’s latest campaign – #Swindled – aims to facilitate a new discussion around Brexit, seeking an outcome that works for everyone. Having originally conceived the campaign for anti-Brexit group Best for Britain, Superimpose Studio decided to produce #Swindled itself after momentum stalled. The studio’s creative director Ollie Olanipekun opens up to It’s Nice That about the independently funded national campaign and the wider implications of Brexit on the creative industries.

Marco Oggian has wanted to be illustrator since he was just a little kid. Describing his style as “simple, strong, a five-year-old could do better”, it seems that a lot of that energy has stayed with him. Although most small children don’t quite have Marco’s client base, there’s definitely more than a touch of the playful to the Italian illustrator’s colourful approach. But his simple shapes and bright colours are often deployed to highlight more serious issues, from the environment to the war in Syria.

“We would never leave our homes if we didn’t have to. We’d stay at home drinking hot tea while waiting for spring. Life stops in winter. A dense fog clouds the sunlight for a few weeks and we experience months of severe frost,” photographer Alex Vasilyev tells It’s Nice That. Although Alex’s description may resonate with many of you – particularly our New York readers who suffered through this winter’s bomb cyclone – he is, in fact, describing his home of Yakutia, also known as Russia’s coldest region. Winters are long in Yakutsk, the district’s capital, often lasting five months with a temperature of around -40 degrees. 


You may know Denzel Curry as the rapper and songwriter from Florida, America. We imagine it’s far less likely, however, that you know him as the athlete who “trains like a machine” in kung fu, boxing, jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai. It’s stories like these – ones that link sport with cultures like music, food, design and architecture – that form the premise for Good Sport, “a magazine out of left field,” now in its third issue.