Viktor Koen / Award of Excellence / Communication Arts
Velocity Man takes the Cake
Exhibition poster for Bike Art Thessaloniki in Greece, featuring work by 60 artists, with limited edition prints available for sale. The proceeds went to fund much needed local school painting projects.
"Falling back in love with my gas mask collection is but a healthy kind of thing for a man going through his middle age crisis (getting a new fast car is not an option as I never had a driver’s license) and using one for this image came naturally, as natural as the air we breath in urban environments, especially when riding bikes and often stuck behind a blooming car muffler. Even though the original name for this character was “Bike Rider from Hell”, I optioned for a fin instead of bat wings as this was a piece about cycling and not demonics. After torturing myself for a good poster title through endless showers and dish washing, “velocity” came to me as a perfect double entendre solution while on a bus, enviously watching Manhattan bike messengers wheezing past me.
A few months later, Velocity poster received the Communication Arts magazine Excellence Award. Yes, I called my mother immediately and tried to explain the magnitude in having one of the 168 images to make it in the CA 2014 Illustration Annual issue, out of 4.362 submissions, but she was not impressed."
For more on Viktor Koen, and to see this portfolio click here
Related artist
Viktor Koen
Recent articles
Justin Metz / Prisoner / SKY
Justin Metz worked with the team at Sky creative on the key visual for their new series 'Prisoner'. The artwork is up on 48 sheets around the UK right now. You can see more of Justin's work here
Max Loeffler / All Conditions Express / Nike
Max Loeffler created this excellent illustration for Nike's ACG All Conditions Express out of home campaign. The key visual was adapted too many different formats such as posters, postcards, stickers and various merchandise items. You can see more of Max's work here
Début Welcomes Marcial Rodrigo
Début Art is very excited to announce that we are now representing Marcial Rodrigo! Marcial is an illustrator and infographic designer from Seville, in the sunny south of Spain, who explores ways to fuse information with illustration. Detail-oriented and versatile, he combines simplicity and symbolism to communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively. With a style defined by precise, dynamic lines, his compositions balance visual and conceptual harmony, prioritizing both aesthetics and clarity—creating pieces that connect and invite visual reflection. His professional background, which spans from architecture to design, brings a unique perspective to his work. Now based in Málaga, he works with national and international clients, developing projects that deliver narrative depth and visual coherence. Clients include: El País-Retina, Santilla Editorial, Arup, Oliver Cabell, Fast Company, Modus Magazine, Golf Magazine, Drapers, Which? Magazine, Wunderman Thompson, Garaje de Ideas,...
A Rich Rice Brand Re-design
We are pleased to share packaging illustrations by artist Webb Creative for Oriente, a premium rice brand out of Portugal. Webb Creative was brought on by Firecactus Creative Director John-Paul Hunter who led the brand’s redesign. Inside the V-shaped illustration, which is actually two grains of rice coming together, are Webb’s illustrations. Each rice variant has a different scene, depicting the fifth-generation owners and moments from the business’s history. As Hunter shared with Design Week: “That illustration needed to work hard, we wanted people to see something different every time.” A further dive into the meaning of each illustration can be found on the back of the pack. You can check out details of the redesign and more of Webb Creative’s work here.