Based out of Trier, Germany, illustrator and designer Nico H Brausch is known for his surreal, retro-tinged work. This is a style he has developed over the years, honing his technique through art school and a bachelor’s degree in Communication Design, eventually becoming a successful freelance artist with a distinctive aesthetic. These days, his portfolio includes clients such as Wired, Bloomberg Businessweek, Jacobin, and the renowned singer and songwriter Paolo Nutini.

“I see myself more as an illustrator than a designer,” says Brausch of his creative practice. “I appreciate and admire good design, but sometimes I struggle to come up with a good design myself. Sometimes I just like to visualise an idea and draw it without thinking about a layout it has to fit into.”

Despite this, much of the artist’s work involves a mixture of both mediums, with Brausch explaining that “designing a poster, a CD or a record combines the two disciplines from the very beginning.” He continues: “The whole process is a tug of war. What direction to go in? What colours? What fits the mood and how can the type, and especially which type, support that? And then I end up throwing it all out and doing it completely differently.”