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COMMUNICATION ARTS DESIGN ANNUAL 57

Gloria Pizzilli bohan ioulex Stimulant Exhibit

September/October 2016 Twenty-Four Dollars commarts.com

GLORIA

PIZZILLI

By Bonnie Smetts

I

talian illustrator Gloria Pizzilli is a mixmaster at play. Darkness teases light, fluidity pushes geometry, innocence hides danger.

She unleashes her ideas on a cast of characters and blames the complex results on her chaotic mind. “I am a very chaotic woman,” she says, “I’m not so good at doing calm things.” That same energy bursts from her images.

Born in 1983 in the Tuscan city of Prato near Florence, Pizzilli was introduced to drawing by her father, who had worked as a cartoonist before she was born. Never losing his interest in fumetti (comic books), he took her to cartoon exhibitions when she was young, although she hardly needed encouragement.

Early on, she had found her passion for drawing and defined her aesthetic. “I did not want to draw Barbie. I always tried to distort or put some exaggerations in the faces.”

Today the faces she draws appear vaguely Asian. She explains her family’s influence: “I have mixed cousins—half German, half Chinese. I love my melting pot family.” Her mother is German, and her aunt married a Chinese Indonesian. She credits her cousins with igniting her fascination and love of all things Asian.

Her client Daniela Sanziani, formerly illustrations curator at WIRED Italia, now talent manager at Visionar agency in Milan, talks about Pizzilli’s work. “When I got in touch with Gloria for the first time, she was using an illustration style which reminded me of Ukiyo-e, but revisited in a futuristic key.” Sanziani found the right project for the illustrator when a WIRED Italia article about a female manga enthusiast surfaced. Manga, or Japanese comic art, has its roots in Ukiyo-e, the block prints of stylized courtesans and Kabuki actors popular during Japan’s Edo period. Ironically, Pizzilli only recently visited Japan for a five-week residency in woodblock printing near Mt. Fuji, a popular Ukiyo-e subject.

Right: “Crystalline is a limited edition print for Italian decorative lighting company Masiero Group, produced in collaboration with Gusto Robusto.” David Sossella, art director; Gusto Robusto, publisher; Masiero Group, client.

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PACKAGING 1 Matt Goad, designer/creative director GoadAbode Inc., (Oklahoma City, OK), design firm COOP Ale Works, client “COOP Ale Works needed a design for its first Oktoberfest beer. The can calls out the Oklahoma in OKtoberfest with a barrel top, an Oklahoma black bear, and embellishments inspired by German folk motifs and traditions.”

2 (series) Dave Kenny, art director Louis Duarte, creative director Terry Drummond/Alan Madill/Barry Quinn, chief creative officers Charles Glaubitz, illustrator Terry Wykurz, producer Juniper Park\TBWA (Toronto, Canada), agency Miller Lite, client “To celebrate Texas history and California culture, Miller Lite made these cans available exclusively in their respective states.”

3 Nick Agin, art director Marcus Bartlett, creative director Steven Noble, illustrator Larry Vincent, strategist United Talent Agency (Beverly Hills, CA), design firm Born and Bred Vodka, client “Actor and producer Channing Tatum created American craft vodka Born and Bred in collaboration with the Grand Teton Distillery. To position the brand as a more casual vodka—high quality without being highbrow—we captured Tatum’s naturally fun-loving and adventurous spirit through a design centered around the jackalope, a mischievous character rooted in American folklore.”

4 Steve Sandstrom, designer/creative director Robin Olson, project manager Sandstrom Partners (Portland, OR), design firm Stillhouse Spirits Company, client “We conceived a new identity and packaging for Stillhouse Spirits Company’s 100 percent clear corn whiskey and extended line of whiskeys infused with natural flavors.

Historically, corn whiskey’s dangerous appeal has been its illegal distillers and suspicious production methods. With this daring background in mind, we drew inspiration from turpentine and mineral spirits containers to develop a 750-milliliter stainless steel can. The only one of its kind in the entire spirits world, the singular vessel presents a paradigm-shifting concept for such products.”

5 (series) Kent Carollo/Jacqueline Goodman/Mike Harris, designers Mike Harris, art director Randall Smith, creative director modern8 (Salt Lake City, UT), design firm Ritual Chocolate, client “Ritual Chocolate moved its artisan chocolate factory from Colorado to Park City, Utah. With its new mountain home, the chocolatier recognized a need for new packaging and a fresh logo to reposition its products and realign its branding. We designed packaging for nine different bars.

Select colors and foil reflect Park City’s landscape and its silver mining history, and graphics and icons associate the bars with the in cacao beans’ country of origin.”

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SELF-PROMOTION 1 Paul Dunbar/Lillian Ling/Erin Scardena, designers Sucha Becky, art director Pum Lefebure/Jake Lefebure, creative directors Design Army (Washington, DC), design firm Neenah Paper, Inc., client “We wanted to create a mail promotion for Neenah Paper compelling enough to engage people immediately.

Using the power of touch and texture, we created four direct mail campaigns. The perfect-bound book includes three inserts, each using a different die-cut pattern: a multipatterned fan with six blades, an accordion-fold brochure and a do-it-yourself pop-up paper home model.

We used a wide variety of Neenah’s environmental papers to highlight the products’ sustainability and quality while inspiring customers with playful experiences.”

2 (series) Jacelyn Hejtmanek/Matt Slider, designers Parc Masterson, associate creative director Seth Gunderson, creative director Brian Yates, photographer Beth Wheeler, production manager Sullivan Higdon & Sink (Kansas City, MO), ad agency/ client “We build brands to stand out from the flock. So it’s only fitting that we give our clients an un-sheep-like holiday gift as thanks. Last year, we gifted a laser-cut Build Your Own Sheep Head poster covered with various agency tenets and values. Once clients put it together, they had a miniature replica of our office mascot and—more importantly—a fun reminder of all the sheep they slay with Sullivan Higdon & Sink.”

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1. A pattern design for a personal project. 2. An illustration based on Romanian folk tales, commissioned by MullenLowe Romania. Dan Costea, art director; MullenLowe, ad agency. 3. An illustration created for a personal project, an animal alphabet. 4. A book cover for Penguin Random House. Monica BenalcazarCordova, art director; Penguin Random House, client. 5. A painting for a series titled Coffins, shown at La Petite Mort Gallery in Ottawa, Ontario. 6. An illustration commissioned by London-based production company Somesuch & Co., via Central Illustration Agency, to be used as a pitch for the Man on the Moon ad for John Lewis. Ben Priest, Adam & Eve DDB, art director; Somesuch & Co., client. 7. One of three patterns created for Sandra Mansour’s autumn/ winter 2016–2017 collection. Laurent Saad, art director; Sandra Mansour, client.

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