Noma's negative space

Noma Bar (b. 1973 in Israel) is a London-based graphic designer whose work you may be familiar with, even if you don't know his name, since over 550 of his illustrations - including more than 60 magazine covers - have been appeared in publications including The Economist, Esquire, and The Guardian. Of his stark style, he says, “I am after the maximum communication with minimum elements.” This is demonstrated by the illustrations above: "Malaria" and "The Ultimate Spider Hunter." Bar is a master at the use of negative space, as the agency that represents him describes: "With a limited pallet he subtly and precisely manipulates shape and form where familiar symbols and pictograms evolve to form new meaning. Negative and positive spaces tessellate creating several images in one, that sometimes need a few moments to see the embedded, sometimes poignant, message." Noma Bar has published a book about his very effective technique which the publisher says "showcases Bar’s singular ability to render complex issues of public policy, global economics, race relations, politics, sex, crime and national identity with deftly selected lines and colors." I just put name and artwork (more examples here, here, and here) together after seeing Noma Bar represented in the engaging and beautifully-produced The Book of Skulls that I received for Christmas from my friend Deb - and that I'm sure will lead to further posts...