INTERVIEW WITH MURNAU DEN LINDEN
Murnau Den Linden Where Illustration Meets Global Storytelling
Murnau De Linden is a creative who began his career as a graphic designer. Since 2009, he's collaborated on massive social media campaigns and productions for Vice, L'Oréal Paris, Universal Music, Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Maestranza Opera House, and Greenpeace, to name a few.
Currently an art director who has led several innovative editorial projects and digital content initiatives, it was his illustrations on Instagram that first caught my eye. Thank you, Eduardo, for the Ninu Nina illustration featured here—it tells the story of a girl traveling from Africa to South America who gets lost somewhere in the Atlantic on her colorful journey. (Sounds all too familiar.)
Interview by Leila Antakly
What or who inspires you?
There are tons of inspiring people from the past and present. Here are just a few:
Historical Masters: Hieronymus Bosch, Zurbarán, Velázquez, Monet, Renoir, Picasso, Dalí, Frida Kahlo, Carlos Mérida
Contemporary Artists: Hassan Hajjaj, James Jean, Jean-Claude Moschetti, Ricardo Cavolo, Shintaro Kago, Stacey Rozich, Zhou Fan
Literature: Herman Melville, Gabriel García Márquez, Julio Cortázar, Laura Esquivel, J.D. Salinger, Eduardo Galeano, Ernest Hemingway, Alejandra Pizarnik
Music:
What are some of the more interesting projects you've worked on?
Probably my collaboration with Instagram to engage with Spanish-speaking communities around the world. Instagram's team discovered a portrait of Gabriel García Márquez that I made as a personal tribute after he passed away. They reached out to chat, and a few weeks later they told me about their new project, Instagram ES, and their desire to commission a brand-new illustration from me that would be used to launch their new channel globally.
Favorite websites, blogs, or publications?
Every day I go on Instagram to check what's new with all the creative profiles I follow—artists, musicians, writers—and I always find someone new on the platform. If anyone interesting highlights an interview or site to check out, I will. Because I love music, I also go on SoundCloud, Bandcamp, and Spotify to discover new music or just get updates on my favorite artists.
How would you describe your design approach?
A naïve style where traditional rules such as proportion or perspective are not strictly followed. It's a powerful style for marketing categories and alternative ways to engage with many different audiences.
Follow Murnaud: Instagram
