Cybernetic Flowers

Sofia Pusa is a multidisciplinary creative director and illustrator based in London.

For her Zócalo Sketchbook, Pusa gives us an array of crisp, cybernetic flowers to herald the arrival of spring. Note her prominent use of solarization—digital extrapolation of a familiar effect in chemical photography, where extreme overexposure leads to a reversal in tone. In Pusa’s flowers, the color shifts are psychedelic and transcendental, giving the plants a distinctly futuristic twist.

Of the Sketchbook, Pusa says, “For me, flowers are not just beautiful living things but have a deeper meaning of hope, inner strength, and …

| Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Butterfly Vacation

Mercedes Padró is a graphic designer and illustrator based in Illinois. With a paintbrush in hand, she creates whimsical and vivid pieces that visualize the world as she sees it. …

tktk | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Flowering Fish

Zhiyu You is an illustrator and visual artist born in China and based in New York. Combining painting techniques and digital drawing, You’s artistic vocabulary is developed from her Chinese …

Wild Abundance

Farida Zaman is a Toronto-based illustrator and designer. Trained in fine art and illustration, she has found a wide versatility of applications of her style, which has been used in: …

The Great Digital Indoors | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

The Great Digital Indoors

Diana Steinsnyder is a textile designer and creative director based in Southern California. She has designed for a variety of fashion and beauty brands, and you can find her patterns on …

Joyfully Felt Florals | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Joyfully Felt Florals

Karla Field is an independent artist based in Pasadena, California. A graduate of Art Center College of Design, she has worked as a toy designer at Mattel, Hasbro, and Applause Gifts. Under …