Jordi Labanda: Hey Day

by Jordi Labanda (Artist), Tyler Brule (Contributor)

Chic restaurants, modernist lobbies, exotic beaches, retro ski wear, stylish underwear, haute couture luxury accessories--Jordi Labanda illustrates it all in his familiar, faux-naif, super-cool, sophisticated style. Combining the look of comic books ( Archie not Superman ) and little girls' picture books with a dashing retro flair, an elegant line, and a unique interpretation of commercial advertising concepts, Labanda creates seamless, mildly sexy worlds in which everything looks good enough to want and human relations sit front and center. Drawing in gouache on paper with marten-hair brushes, Labanda makes no use of computers. Hey Day is the first compilation of his work, providing a wide, gorgeous variety of the imagery he has created over the last few years.

152 pages, Hardcover

First published May 2, 2003

About the author

Jordi Labanda Blanco estudió diseño industrial en Barcelona, donde después decidió hacerse ilustrador comercial. Desde el año 1994 Jordi Labanda trabajó en diferentes periódicos y revistas procedentes de España, incluindo La Vanguardia, El País, Woman, Elle y Vogue, donde la misma editorial incluía también las revistas americanas como Interview, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, The New York Times, Wallpaper, entre muchísimas otras. Hasta que el año 1995 empezó a trabajar extensivamente en el mercado internacional. Lo que Jordi decidió hacer fue un "Book" para que se conocieran mas sus dibujos, y ser mas cotizado. Pues gracias a una agencia de ilustradores que le dieron un trabajo para dibujar, pudo ir a New York y a otros sitios mas. Los dibujos de Jordi Labanda además de salir en revistas, paginas web, periódicos e incluso en anuncios de televisión, también salieron en portadas de discos de música.

Reviews

[Mackenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those not in the know, Jordi Labanda is a fashion illustrator, His profile in Amazon.com, states that Labanda "since 1994, has worked with several prominent newspapers and magazines in Spain, including La Vanguardia, El Pais, Woman, Elle, and Vogue. In 1995 he began working extensively with the international media, including such clients as Details, Interview, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, The New Yorker, Seventeen, and Wallpaper. Corporate clients include Abercrombie & Fitch, American Express, Covergirl, Geffen Records, Knoll International, Neiman Marcus, Nickelodeon, and Pepsi." His illustrations are as stylish as real designer clothes and the people he draws as gorgeous as real movie stars, models and other celebrities. You can even own Labanda-illustrated stationery from Miquelrius and you're never going to want to stop collecting until you have them all (they are seriously addictive).

This book collects Labanda's illustrations from the various publications mentioned above. Every single one of them is beautifully rendered, the colors vibrant and the lines flawless. Two-dimensional people in a Labanda illustration is always a character, three-dimensional in your imagination. You wonder what kind of story they have, who they really are, and how they're going to move forward... you want them to be real because, although they're just illustrations, they always tell a story. The book is big, heavy and pricey, but they are ultimately worth the quality of Labanda's creative genius.

This, too, is a must-have book for everyone who claims to love fashion. As a collector's item, it's priceless. Even if you're not a fashionista or a Labanda fan, the book will still please you. I'm hanging on to this one for life.

*

Personal note: I received a copy this book from my boss, who brought it back for me from Frankfurt Book Fair as a souvenir. He got it for free from the publisher. Don't you just love book fairs?

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE LOVE LOVE this designer. He creates this fantastic illustrations of fabulous girls and women and puts them on purses, stationary, and clothes. This is a collection of his illustrations.