The amount of talent and inspired work we find on Instagram never ceases to amaze us, and our ability to offer a relevant tool for quickly animating illustrations and designs requires an inspired team here at Genially.
Today, we bring you 23 picks for graphic designers and illustrators. Among them you’ll find female illustrators depicting strong women, lettering artists whose words bring hope, young talent, and logo experts whose focus on process makes incredible work feel just a little more possible for the rest of us.
Without further ado, here are Genially’s picks for the 23 top up-and-coming graphic designers and illustrators.
Stormy from @_stormae
Stormy’s work highlights the resilience and beauty of America’s Black communities with stunning illustrations and paper cuttings of Black women and men. A Phoenix-based illustrator, her colors reflect warm desert temperatures and landscapes. Her work includes a collection currently available at Forever 21 in celebration of Black History Month.
Lucia from @luciacalfapietra
Lucia specializes in food-related illustrations with a vintage feel. Her upcoming projects include commissions to create packaging and recipe books. She often collaborates with her partner and lettering artist, Nicolò Giacomin.
Design Thinking: awesomely creative solutions
James from @made.by.james
Known as one of the leaders in the logo design industry, James offers his views into his design process. His feed is filled with encouragement for fellow creatives, unique logo design and memorable brand identities.
Vicky from @vicky_barone
Vicky has worked in the greeting card world for over 20 years and uses her lettering to share encouraging messages with the goal of fostering connection in the world. Her designs feature positive phrases that still manage to keep it real. Check out her feed to learn about her Kindness Card project.
Emily from @iliketodesignstuff
Graphic designer by day and illustrator by night, Emily finds freedom in her drawing, sketching her illustrations by hand to maintain the imperfect lines and shapes. She scans her work to add color to it digitally, achieving the clean aesthetic of digital art while preserving the charm of something made by hand.
Sam from @samrudddesign
Sam is a UK-based illustrator and surface pattern designer whose work seems to leap off the page. Her pieces are lively and filled with movement. Artfully cluttered but never clunky, Sam’s illustrations and designs are joyful and beautifully arranged.
Natalia Maca from @natalia.maca
The scenes and subjects that Natalia chooses to illustrate are varied: from faces to landscapes and animals to entire worlds. The variety and her distinct use of form make her Instagram surprisingly unpredictable. Most of her recent work prominently features a combination of coral tones and blues.
Georigia from @georgiamaydesign
Georgia’s work is warm and inviting, drawing from a calming palette of dusty rose, soft blues and neutral tones. She draws inspiration from plants and other natural elements, and loves to spread positivity with her pieces! Check out her feed for florals, positive prints, polar bears in sweaters and new work that is very much in tune with the arrival of Spring.
Rebecca from @rebeccagreenillustration
Rebecca’s pastel colors and sweet storybook characters make for nostalgic illustrations that take us back to classic children’s books. It may be her chalk-like gouache paintings or her unique vision that keep us coming back for more.
Britt from @brittillustrates
Britt’s work in three words: funky, fun, magical. We can’t get enough of her illustrations filled with cheerful colors, awesome hair, and portraits of women you wish you could meet (even if they aren’t real). Spring is inspiring new work filled with bold colors on her Instagram. Don’t miss it.
Martha from @martharatcliffillustration
Martha’s goal is to create relatable quirky illustrations that hit the core of the ‘human heart’, and it is certainly one we feel she has met. She manages to capture vulnerable emotions in deceptively simple illustrations filled with touches of cobalt blue.
Joanna from @winkandwonder
Joanna works to create artwork that resonates in a meaningful way as it uplifts and inspires its viewers. Her work mixes a signature palette of rainbow colors and flowy lettering. The name Wink & Wonder was inspired by the feeling of childlike wonder Joanna hopes to maintain and awaken in her audience.
Cati from @catidaehnhardt
Cati’s style is marked by her use of watercolor and 3-dimensional layouts which result in a look reminiscent of pages in a pop-up book. Her pieces offer sweet glimpses into nature and childhood, and her feed is full of a wide-range of creative pursuits from drawing to ceramics to occasional clothing she has sewn herself.
Jess Miller from @jessmillerdraws
Jess Miller is a Los Angeles based Graphic Designer and Illustrator inspired by the retro style of mid century modern design and the colors she finds in nature. Take a look back at her Christmas series to see a unique take on the holiday in blue, red, and pink illustrations that blew us away.
Doris from @lovelettering_doriswai
If you’re looking for inspiring hand lettering, Doris’s Instagram is the place for you. You’ll find beautifully balanced words written on chalk boards, glass, and almost any surface you can imagine. Her business offers hand lettering work for events, branding and other collaboration opportunities.
Klara from @klarahawkins
Need more joy in your life? Try a stroll through Klara’s feed. Her images are colorful and simply charming, filled with nature in all of its forms. Here’s Leo Locks, one of our favorite pieces.
Olga from @olgamuzician
Olga is a multidisciplinary designer and lettering artist with extensive experience in branding, digital lettering & illustration, graphic design, editorial, tactile and chalk lettering. She started her art endeavors as a painter before transitioning to graphic design and later lettering and illustration. She often uses botanical and other natural elements in her work.
Marine from @marineleonor
Marine’s work is defined by clean lines and bright colors. Her pieces generally feature an individual subject (be it person, animal, food item or plant) against a single colored background. It feels like that cool concept store down the street filled with beautiful items you can’t quite afford except that this time, it’s accessible.
Laura from @airinhtoday
Sure to keep Harry Potter fans happy, Laura’s illustrations are steeped in fantasy and are a welcome escape from reality. She frequently works with black and white illustrations, adding touches of color when she sees fit.
Jess Rose from @jessrose_illustrator
Her illustrations are just the right blend of sweet and spicy. For gorgeous iPad doodles, finished pieces, and your daily dose of endearing animal art, visit Jess Rose’s feed.
Chago from @cha_go
This graphic designer’s feed is full of intimate portraits of New York City and prints with a decidedly vintage feel. The cumulative result? A celebration of urban life as seen through an artist’s lens.
Mariya from @marikadoodles
For adorable illustrations that make you want to grab a blanket and read your favorite children’s books, look no further than Marika Doodles. Mariya’s work is wonderfully whimsical and is sure to have you smiling.
Kilian from @design.kln
At 17, we were just wondering if we’d make it through high school, but Kilian has his sights on higher goals. His Instagram features website landings, app redesigns and other work, and his future looks bright.
At Genially, we are looking forward to seeing what these graphic designers and illustrators make this year and hope you’ll support them in their journey. Do you have a new favorite? Whose work resonated with you the most? Tell us in the comments.
