Maxim Zhestkov is a 22 year-old motion designer based in Russia, Ulyanovsk. His work has a detached, cosmic quality to it. The use of black and white gives it an ethereal art appeal that might not be present in a color version. Apparently, he also does toy design and packaging work as well.

Brand strategy and design group MultiAdaptor does great work. It’s that simple. They keep it clean, light and current without resorting to gimmicks. Their print portfolio has a retro sensibility while using modern forms. Their client base appears to be strictly British, but diverse enough to keep it interesting, ranging from BBC to Ether Music. Their interactive work also shines brightly, with a focus on capturing the personality of their clients.

Be sure to check out their brilliant executions on websites from Michael Bodiam (the logo!) and Ether Music. Inspiration abound!

No, having a cool name isn’t enough, Leesa Leva is one fab illustrator. A self-described “illustrator, insomniac, and puppy cuddler,” she can also apparently design a mean web page as well, as evidenced by her “I Love Birdy” page on Virb, which has drawn a lot of attention. Head on over and browse her portfolio now or skip on over to her blog instead.

If you’re feeling particularly generous today, swing over to Zeitgeist Modern Furniture and snag me one of these lovely Verner Panton-designed Cone Table repros from 1950.

One of the top designers working today, Peter Reid always delivers great visuals to peruse, whether it be his graphic design or photography. I’ve been following him since I worked along side on a project for AOL a few years back and have been keen on checking in from time to time to get some inspiration.

He’s been offline for quite awhile, but has returned with some fresh new eye candy to absorb. Head on over to his portfolio, Our Common, and be transfixed.

Thanks to the kind folks over at Josh Spear for giving love to Filter9 today. It’s a huge honor considering I’ve been an avid reader there for over 2 years. If you haven’t been, Spear and company are trendwatchers extraordinaire, covering the gamut from art to travel to music to books. It’s a must-read for your daily blog browse.

Spear’s site was an inspiration in the initial thinking for September Third. Though they are far more consistent than me and my lil ol’ lone self, it’s the barometer I’ve used to date to set the standard by, and they do it very well. Perhaps someday I will add on here and up the ante, as needed, but so far, so good.

Having sat idle for too long, my old friend and personal design site Filter9 has undergone a transformation. Rather than exist a static collection of music, art and etc, it’s now a flowing collection of music, art and etc that I will be updating continuously as new works roll out.

Featuring my personal art and photography (some of which are available for purchase), it also showcases music from a community of undiscovered artists who forge ahead regardless of the world around them. Oh, and some of my tracks are in there too. (wink).

Here’s to a new F9. Hope you like it.

If you’re lucky enough, you’ve had a mentor or guru or role model worthy of being a source of inspiration for life. I’m lucky enough and that person is my older sister, Deborah, who with her husband Rudy, have had respective flourishing careers as a graphic designer and architect since the 1970’s.

Having met at WED (later WDI), the “Imagineering” design division of Disney, they helped craft the vision at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT Center and then pulled three multi-year stints as an executive design team overseeing the day-to-day creative operations at Tokyo Disneyland, helping to craft that park and the expansion companion DisneySea effort. Post-Disney, they are now continuing to thrive in their own practice, reshaping the global brand for clients like the Tokyo-based restaurant chain Yoshinoya.

By illustrator Charles Tevis and Deanna Lowe. Check out more of Tevis’ work here.

The Urban Outfitters site has always been a good way to check up on current web/design trends. They’ve kept ahead, even, of said trends, by setting their own style, which seems to always be flat and have a cut-out, paste-up sensibility.

The site has never disappointed and I recently discovered that they’ve got a solid blog footing, with a unique twist. It’s a side scroll that is based on blocks of city-centric entries, heavy on the graphics. A fresh take is always nice to see.