This week I’d like to shift gears from the complex, surrealist art of Jee Young Lee into something completely different. Alessandro Gottardo, aka Shout, is a Milan, Italy-based artist who creates illustrations for advertising campaigns, book covers, magazine layouts, and posters, working for publishers worldwide. Almost all of the work you see here are part of a layout of some kind.
His work has a striking minimalist edge, with a big slice of whimsy and humor served along with it. His style can definitely be termed as playful, but many of his illustrations take on big topics like terrorism, the global economy, renewable energy and world politics. His clever use of simple lines, forms, colors and dimensions make for pleasing, eye-catching illustrations perfect for book or magazine covers. His work has a clean, crisp graphical element that works quite well in the context of publications, whether they be magazines, calendars or books.
In this gallery I’ve concentrated mainly on his art, and this is a very small representation of his work, so visit his website to see to full scope of his amazing work, and to see how the illustrations work as part of the overall layouts.
Stephen Kelly Creative 
Great illustrations! Thanks for introducing Shout to us!
Hi Patricia … you’re welcome, and thanks for the SHOUT out! (bah-dump! thank you ladies and germs…)
How very clever! Tell me, is the nickname “Shout” in English, or translated from the Italian, and if so, what is his Italian nickname? I do like the minimalism, though it’s not usually what you feature. Nice for a change, around the minimalism of a cold time of year, when the tree branches are exposed (here, at least) and everything is minimalist in nature (sorry, Stephen, I can’t speak to the good luck of those of you who live in a warmer climate like San Francisco–he!he!).
Hi Victoria! Geez, I should put that info in the bio. When he first started illustrating for magazines in the early 2000’s he was working with a Canadian representation agency with many creative restraints. He left the agency in 2005 and went solo with the name Shout.
Yes, this is a departure from my normal surrealism flair, but the graphic designer in me just loves how clean and unfussy his work is, with very strong graphical elements. Plus, I always love it when artists do it with humor.
Enjoy these wonderful SF temps for one last day, then it’s off to cold, snowy Philadelphia. Not sure I’m prepared for that. I don’t even think I have a coat heavy enough to withstand that kind of cold … although, I do have a scarf.
What a surprise. I almost didn’t open your post because I didn’t think I would like this artist. Wrong! I love his minimalist style, sense of humor, and ability to say so much with so little. He makes art look easy – like I could do that. But what he does so well is communicate a message without presenting unnecessary distractions. The definition of minimalism?
Hi Pat! It makes me so happy to hear that you enjoyed this work so much. I have to agree with every one of your points … he makes it look so effortless! And yes, I’d say that the lack of distractions, the ability to get right down to it, is one of the definitions of minimalism. Again, glad you liked it against your expectations.
Thanks for sharing his works – they were delightfully smart (and of course, minimal)!
You’re welcome, Angelina … and thanks for visiting my blog!
I saw this piece highlighted elsewhere, and I’m glad you’re highlighting his work here, too! What I like most is his use of negative and/or empty spaces.
Hi Henry. Agreed … i like how clean and unfussy his illustrations are. As a graphic designer, I really appreciate the simplicity of his art.