Five Ideas: Robert A. Di Ieso Jr.

Five Ideas is a collection of work from GOOD's favorite artists, illustrators, and designers. Some of the of the work you've probably seen, some of it has never been published. Each week, we'll showcase five pieces of work that tell a short story about our most creative friends.

Robert A. Di Ieso, Jr. was born and raised in Orange County, New York, where he received solid experience as a farm hand, stock boy, shoe salesman, camp counselor, and car salesman. He has worked at various design studios that specialize in environmental graphic design. Most recently he spent more than four years at Open under the helm of Scott Stowell.

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A Threat in Every Port

The New York Times Op-Ed Chart

Client The New York Times

High quality four-color offset printing has become the norm for most print projects today. Doing work in one color on newsprint produces a unique textural quality that‘s becoming rare. I enjoyed this piece specifically for two reasons: one the subject matter was interesting to me and provides the readers with valuable information, and two I have a strong sense of pride when doing anything for The New York Times.

Energy Stars
Information Graphic Illustrations

Client Fast Company

I always thought of my self as a designer first and an illustrator second. This piece was the first time I was hired purely for my illustration work.

Stand Clear
The Most Used Subway Systems in the United States and Around the World

Client GOOD

My favorite kind of work to do is information graphics. For me there’s something really thrilling about taking a complicated data set and transforming it into something that allows readers to easily grasp the content in a visually interesting way. This piece specifically was about subway trains which allowed me to geek out on research and photo searches so that I could create as accurate to scale illustrations as possible. You can see all of Di Ieso's work for GOOD here.

Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin
Illustrations depicting exercise and other activities and the foods we eat afterwards (killed)

Client Time; Art Director Cynthia Hoffman

These illustrations were done for an intro to an article about the kinds of food we eat in relation to our everyday activities. One of my favorite things to draw is food. I’m not really sure why, but I just find it super satisfying to draw a perfectly rendered piece of fruit or a cheeseburger. The work was eventually killed when the editors decided to go with a photo-based intro instead.

Your Brain: A User's Guide
Illustrations depicting the development of the adolescent brain


Client Time Inc. Home Entertainment; Art Director Sharon Okamoto

I’m in constant awe of all things science and technology related, so when I was given the opportunity to create an information graphic about the inner workings of the adolescent brain I was totally psyched! Being able to learn things about biology while designing is a damn near perfect combination for me.

Inspiration Hmm… the need to pay rent and buy alcohol! Seriously though it’s hard to pick one thing that inspires me. I guess if I was hard pressed I’d say: learning about the way the universe works as discovered through science, science fiction movies that deal with all things existential; peers that produce work that make me strive to be a better designer; the human race along with the world at large; and, not to sound too hokey, my girlfriend, Rhiannon and my dog, Cisco.