Sophie Blackall is an illustrator with a curious preoccupation, notes left for passing strangers. “Their messages have the lifespan of a butterfly,” she explains on her blog. “I’m trying to pin a few of them down.” Ms Blackall does just that: she paints reactionary pieces based on posts in Craigslist’s “missed connections” section and collects them on Missed Connections NY. The Journal recently interviewed Ms Blackall about her work.

How long after you started reading the Missed Connections section did you start making illustrations? What prompted this change – from simply reading to reacting visually?

From the first Missed Connection I read, I saw them as potential paintings. The idea for the series percolated in the wee hours that night and for once I woke up and got on with it! The decision to make it a blog, rather than just accumulate the images for some undetermined project down the line, was purely to enforce self-discipline. I thought that if even one person was looking at the blog, I’d feel obliged to keep producing the work. As all freelancers know, it’s not easy to maintain a personal project alongside all your “actual” work, no matter how enthusiastic you are. I didn’t want this one to go the way of the unfinished novel in the drawer.

The fact that more than one person looked at the blog was, and continues to be, the most extraordinary bonus.

Pavel Fuksa is a Creative Director at the advertising agency JWT Prague and an Commercial Director at Rats Prague, a film production company. He is a visual designer by schooling, and has been illustrating and designing for clients for seven years. The Journal interviewed Mr Fuksa on his latest creative venture, a music video that combines his unique graphic style with his directing skill.

You directed and designed for The Navigators’ music video. Have you ever worked on a project like this before? What was it like to direct the video after designing the matchboxes?

I have never done project like this – this was in my charge from the very beginning till the end. The actual direction wasn’t hard, it was all about the finalized designs, good locations and capable editor (thank you, Petr from asfalt.tv, again.)

Deanne Cheuk is an artist and illustrator from Perth, Australia. She graduated from Curtin University with a degree in graphic design when she was 19 years old.

Cheuk has directed and designed for numerous publications, including a three year stay as art director at Tokion Magazine. Her major clients include Dell, Nike, Levi’s and Target.

Editor’s Note: Yesterday, we announced an upcoming series on Ram’s Ten Principles of Good Design. However, we are still planning content and contacting potential designers and writers. The series will take place over the next few weeks; we apologize if there has been confusion.

We are very excited to be coordinating what we feel will be an important educational exploration on design. Readers may track our progress via our Twitter account.

Jim Tierney is an illustrator and designer studying at University of the Arts in Philadelphia. His Jules Verne book covers, part of a senior thesis project, have been making the rounds on the internet.

“Being equal parts book-nerd and design-nerd, I naturally decided to re-design some classic Jules Verne novels,” Tierney told Faceout Books, a website devoted to book cover design and process.

Faceout Books features sketches with Tierney’s commentary on the entire process.

His concepts are developed with thought and clear intention. Each illustration has conceptual ties to its novel, adding depth to Tierney’s work.

Interactivity is important. Book jackets are more than protective covers: they are a collaboration with the hardback cover. The results are colorful, playful: true to Jules Verne’s classic stories.

Stuart Kolakovic is an illustrator based in Rugeley, UK. His work appears in magazines, on book covers and concert posters. He even designed a skateboard deck. Kolakovic has illustrated for many major clients, including The Telegraph, Wired Magazine and Sony. He is currently working on Lichen, his first comic book.

Color is part of what makes Kolakovic’s style unique: his palette is faded, desaturated. The same teals and turquoises, yellows and oranges are present in many of his pieces. Shapes are simple, geometric and cut-out. Kolakovic applies a subtle texture to his work.

Work in Guatamala City by street artist Above during a South American tour in 2007.

At The Journal we spend a lot of time discussing design. More specifically, we talk about user interfaces, graphic design and typography. To take a break from the norm, Inksie’s Dave gives us a tour of one of his inspirations, street art.

Before the computer, graphic design was necessarily tactile. The primary exports of the industry were things like books, posters and periodicals. Type was physical; images were on negatives; layouts were sketched.

Street art and graffiti get back to these sensuous roots. They are art for the everyday, the masses. They manipulate a reality beyond the digital. They are about seeing things in a different way, about an experience, a message. They are about expression.

What’s best part? Its free.

Illustrator Raúl Colón’s work has appeared in the New Yorker and the New York Times, and he also illustrates children’s books. He was awarded a 2009 Skipping Stones Honor Award and a 2009 Sydney Taylor gold medal for his illustration in As Good As Anybody.

His expert use of color and composition make for moving, dynamic images. His style is simple yet pleasing, and his organic shapes are compelling.