#FridayFive with Shillington Design Teacher Nikita Prokhorov

Inspiration can come from anywhere. So, on the first Friday of each month, we’re sharing some of our Shillington team’s favourite things from the past four weeks. This month, Shillington New York Teacher Nikita Prokhorov tells us what was on his radar in November.

1. To Follow: Maria Corte

I tried to find the words to describe how great Maria Corte‘s work is, but I genuinely couldn’t sum it better than she could. So, thanks to Maria for these perfect words about her amazing work:

“Maria Corte’s work is dominated by an interest in the disruption of space through a creative handling of geometric shapes and the breakdown of all classical conventions in the representation of the human body. Her formal search is combined with a singular chromatic sensibility, characterized by the greatest care in the application of singular textures.”

2. To Read: Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

This is one of my favourite novels, and it is one that has a permanent residence on my nightstand. There is no other book that I re-read as frequently as Master and Margarita. It has everything an avid reader could desire—satire, tragedy, comedy, love, good & evil, optimism, history and everything in-between. While a (not so) subtle parody of the Soviet regime and lifestyle at the time, it is also a fantastic fairy-tale.

Check out this great recap and summary. You may want to skim through this before you read the full novel, but I would seriously recommend reading it afterwards.

3. To Go: Pixinity NYC

Remember when games were all in 8-bit? Pixinity definitely does—and they’ve brought it to life. They’ve created 10 rooms of pixel-perfect magic, with over 100 sculptures, pixel art, characters, digital and gaming icons and computer-inspired imagery to spend the afternoon getting lost in. It’s great if you’re looking from some Insta-worthy photos or if you grew up on Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda and want to make yourself feel all warm and nostalgic.

4. To Listen: Lone Digger by Caravan Palace

Caravan Palace is an electronic music band out of Paris. I stumbled across them by accident while browsing a newly discovered genre called ‘electro swing’, which combines the influence of vintage or modern swing and jazz mixed with house, hip hop and EDM. I became quite obsessed with the genre, but Lone Digger remains one of my favourite songs. The video is quite obscure and hilarious at the same time. To sum it up: the entire cartoonish fauna of the African Continent, in addition to some cats and dogs getting into a fight at a bar over some spilled milk.

5. Wildcard: Getting Away From The Screen

As great a resource as the computer can be, nothing beats stepping away from it and looking for inspiration elsewhere. I recently went to the Brand New Conference in Las Vegas. This was their 10th anniversary and the second year I’ve gone (each year it is held in a different city). The speaker lineup was incredible—from pioneers in the industry such as Louise Fili & Steff Geissbühler to modern-day branding and storytelling experts like Forest Young, Felix Oliha and Pupila, among others. The amount of inspiration, energy, and ideas I walked away with is hard to describe. So, if you’re looking for a creative boost, get off the computer—travel, go to a design conference, read a book…and get inspired.

Have a look back at what’s been inspiring our team throughout 2019! And for some drool-worthy visuals from our Shillington students, read 16 handmade album covers and 14 app designs.