Much loved the world over, Ed Emberley has been inspiring illustrators, young and old, since the 1970s. Either with crayon and a coloring book, or a more formal artistic approach, his incredible influence is clear.

Fun thing! Courtesy of our bff The Internet, where nothing is lost, I just discovered that there are entire blogs dedicated to archiving vintage album art. Project Thirty Three, Groove is in the Art, and Stereo Sack are three such sites run by Seattle used vinyl shop, Jive Time Records. Everything from jazz to classical to psychedelic abound with a rainbow of colors and cheeky typography, all of which I am filing away as design inspiration fodder.

It's just amazing how well these have aged, design-wise.

Whether it's with graphic design or business planning in general, the tendency to add lots of features, color, graphic elements, bells, whistles, and whizzbangs is incredibly common. It's an irresistible and misleading strategy for people who want their product or project to stand out and aren't really sure how. More often than not it will distract the audience and is going to be more expensive to produce.

So how to cut the fat without the impact? Start by hiring a great graphic designer, limit color choices, and use high quality printing. That will get you there every time. Better still, explore printing alternatives like screenprinting or letterpress. Often times they are on par with traditional offset printing, and in some cases, cheaper if it's a small enough run of prints. Not to mention it affords the obvious wow-factor that just ain't happening over at Ye Olde Copy Center Plus. Plus it supports an age-old craft, and the person behind it.

Still not convinced? Take a look at these beautiful printed pieces, all designed with just one or two colors. Budgets are included for the projects that listed those details.

Single-color offset printed poster by Jude Landry produced for Mississippi State University, total budget $200. More on the design and production costs here.

If something art-related has gone viral, then it would be these geometric patterns. Such a simple colorful idea can be translated into a kaleidoscope of ways, it's no wonder it's contagious. Painting, illustration, collage, branding, and even traditional Nesting Dolls get a modern spin. And yes, there's a bounty of geometric COLOURlovers patterns for drooling over too.

Richard Colman

Most of the info on the internet about Chicago-based Joey Potts is a little dated, but his color schemes are definitely not. The mix of bizarrely detailed characters and retina-scorching color palettes is what makes his work a standout for me. It really runs the gamut too: painting and installation work, custom painted toys and sneakers, and apparel design. He's one of those rare breeds whose work crosses over traditional design and fine art equally.

Ed Paschke (June 22, 1939 - November 25, 2004) was an american painter who spent most of his life in Chicago. Paschke's influence in both his subject matter and pioneering use of color continues to influence artists around the world. (wiki)

Paschke made use of an overhead projector to layer images, which he then rendered using the traditional and time-consuming medium of oil painting. He began with an underpainting in black and white, then addressed it with refined systems of colored glazing or impasto to enliven the optical and physical textures of his painting. With this original and painstaking process he created a formal parallel with the black-and-white-to-color progression in the historical development of printing, film, and television images, at the same time moving the subject matter from the particular to the non-specific to allow a wider range of interpretation. In his later work, once again forms became more solidified, moving back towards certain kinds of psychologized presences and the edgy tension that characterized his earlier work. - New City Art

"Ed was always about helping others. He was humble, sincere, generous and confident. It is Chicago art and artists that benefits most from proximity to Ed." - Paul Klein

One of my long-time favorite artists, Clare Rojas' paintings and installations are sweetly nostalgic, but not entirely pure either; they are a modern mish-mash of street and folk art. Her work is also associated with the hugely influential Mission School that produced such greats as the Barry McGee (aka Lydia Fong), Margaret Kilgallen, Geoff McFedridge, Steve Powers, Shepard Fairey and the fantastic Beautiful Losers film.

Margot Harrington, a.k.a. CheekyMonkey82, is a freelance graphic designer, the editor of COLOURlovers' Print Channel, an art junkie, and all-around collaborator captivated by all forms of making and doing. She documents art and design on the Internet at Pitch Design Union and Mint Design Blog.

Photo by chrispiascik and COLOURlovers

Of all the glorious sundries available on Etsy, interestingly enough, it's not the first place I normally look when I'm in the mood for art and design, or prints and posters. Any artist I tend to find on Etsy is usually referred from another source, typically from one of the many design blogs I frequent when I'm on the hunt some inspiration for my own work and blog. That's not to say that there aren't fantastic gems to be had; there's everything from handmade zines, screenprints, bound books, prints, and letterpress goodies galore. I've picked out my newer favorite finds and a handful of loves that I've been eyeballing for some time. I also put together a few color palettes based off some of the work, feel free to wander over to COLOURlovers and use them in your own work!