There is perhaps, no work I'm inspired by more right now than artist + illustrator Oliver Jeffers.

You'll know his work when you see it. It's whimsical and fresh. Funny and quirky. And his type! Oh man, his hand-lettering is perhaps my favorite thing about his work. Oliver is more widely known for his children's books, which—no big deal—have been New York Times bestsellers, but his paintings, hand-lettering and various other side projects are just as lovely.

Working in mixed media, he's known for combining gouache, watercolor, ink, pencil, acrylic and endless other mediums into his pin-legged picture book characters. It all makes me want to get out my art supplies, and have some fun. To me, that's the best indicator of inspirational work.

Belfast born but Brooklyn dwelling, Oliver just released his latest book, Once Upon An Alphabet, and it's a beauty. His latest appearance on NPR is a must listen. He reads excerpts from the book in his soft Irish accent, so yeah...you're going to need to check that out.

And then get the book here. I'll be buying one of each of his books for my nephew, who'll make his grand entrance into the world this spring. That kid needs Oliver Jeffers in his life, me thinks.

[ photos courtesy of Oliver Jeffers ]

Part of becoming a better designer ( slash a generally culturally-aware human being ) is to pay attention to the world. All of it.

As a person with a high level of anxiety, this often causes me great stress. Between school and work, it seems as though most days I am simply trying to remember to put on deodorant and turn off the oven before I leave my apartment for the day. It's true: I've forgotten to do both. And then Malaysian airplanes go and disappear and my WHOLE attention is focused on the fact that a plane literally disappeared from the sky with no one having any trace of its sadly doomed fate.

While its not beneficial to over consume news while hunched over your computer for hours on end ( trust me, if they ever find that flight, you WILL hear about it ), it can be helpful to glean inspiration from the work of the world.

Lately, I've been spending five to 10 minutes per day surfing Pinterest or blogs or random Google searching / stalking those who bring a fresh perspective to their creative work. Those who see things differently that I. It keeps me inspired and motivated and honestly, it's a small slice of me time on those days when I realize I'm wearing swimsuit bottoms and not real underwear.

Yep, that's happened too.

01  HAPPYOLKS : Lovely recipes, even lovelier writing. Kelsey is a gem of a person who reminds me to dig deeper, be better and love more fully.

02  EVA BLACK : Eva is my go-to for lettering inspiration. Whether its handmade in gouache or digital, her type is always spot-on beautiful.

03  ANDA MARIE : This photographer sees things others do not. Her eye for the world is completely soul-affirming. And best of all, I get to call her a friend.

04  ANAGRAMA : Sophisticated, eye-catching, modern + fun design. A branding intelligence group out of Mexico City that is killing it.

05  TINA SMITH : I discovered this newbie designer on Dribbble and was instantly inspired by her sweet lettering / type skills.

06  WES ANDERSON : Obvs, I saw The Grand Budapest Hotel, and it was amazing. The visuals he creates are absolutely one of a kind.

07  INTO MIND : This minimalist clothing blog is an inspiring resource for developing personal style + living a more simplistic life.

08  BIRD IS THE WORD : Another blog that pairs gorgeous recipes with even more gorgeous writing. I want to be Kali's friend.