The Artists Behind Anderson Design Group
Above: Collaborating artist Kenneth Crane (left) paused for this photo with Anderson Design Group founder Joel Anderson on a hike in Great Smoky Mountains National Park while they were doing research for their new book "Wilderness & Wonder."
Anderson Design Group is a small, family-owned business that employs a team of talented designers and illustrators. Some of the brilliant artists behind ADG's 3,000+ original poster designs work in-house at our studio in Nashville, Tennessee. Others, our collaborating artists, hail from all corners of the U.S.A. and even Europe!
Never before have we featured so many of our artists on one page, so we thought it was overdue to provide an artist roundup of the talent behind ADG. (You can see their work on our Poster Art Collections page).
But first, check out the video below for some Mount Rainier National Park travel inspiration! Many of our artists are travel artists, meaning they spend part of the year adventuring around the world to find reference material for future artwork.
Aaron Johnson
Aaron Johnson is a studio artist working on-site at ADG. Aaron was raised in Nashville, where he dedicated his early years to drawing cartoons and making corny jokes. Finding illustration and graphic design the perfect fit for his odd skill set, he attended Watkins College of Art, Design, and Film.
Aaron tells his story of how he arrived at ADG to anyone who will listen:
"In 2012, I went for my dream job as an illustrator, designer, and staff artist at ADG since the world was scheduled to end that year, and I wanted to go out with a bang. The world kept turning, and I kept producing cool illustrations! Now, I focus on illustration, vintage poster art, hand lettering, logo and package design, and fixing the studio's computers when they’re on the fritz. Some of my favorite work for ADG has been for the studio's clients, including MCA Records, Ram Trucks, Coors Light, Uinta Brewing CO., Syracuse University, JMT Spices, Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage, Ellusionist Playing Cards, and many more."
Derek Anderson
Derek Anderson (no relation) works on-site as a studio artist for ADG. During his senior year at Watkins College of Art, Design, and Film, Derek was an all-star intern with Anderson Design Group, producing several posters published in ADG's collections. His stellar work earned him a full-time staff position after he graduated in the spring of 2017. Derek enjoys creating ideas from a narrator’s point of view, deciding what perspective tells the story most effectively.
An avid traveler, Derek loves visiting cool places and then returning to the studio to create art of those places. In his free time, he enjoys exercising his creative muscles through multiple outlets, such as skateboarding with friends and playing music on his guitar. Derek is a sci-fi nerd at heart and lately has taken to creating fictional movie and video game poster art. Derek’s drive and passion for making poster art are fueled by the inspiring people he works with at ADG.
Michael Korfhage
Michael Korfhage has worked on numerous illustrations and designs alongside ADG's Creative Director, Joel Anderson. A Nashville native and a collaborating artist for ADG, Michael has also been involved in illustrating some of ADG's coffee table books, including the award-winning 63 Illustrated National Parks Updated Edition.
Inspired by folk art, mid-century design, and storytelling, Michael has collaborated on over 100 original illustrations for ADG, producing poster art that honors the Golden Age of Illustration and the vintage art that celebrated travel and exploration in the 20th century.
Steven Garcia
Steven Garcia's favorite type of art to create for Anderson Design Group is travel art, especially world travel art. Steven lives and works in Spain, collaborating long-distance with Joel. The two have never met in person, even though they have produced hundreds of posters together over the years. When you type his name in quotes into the search bar, hundreds of beautiful posters and illustrations from iconic travel sites around the world pop up on the screen.
Warning: you probably won't be able to look at Steven's work without booking plane tickets to some of those international destinations!
Arden von Haeger
Arden von Haeger is a humble master of his craft. Acquainted since the 1990s, Joel Anderson once described Arden’s artistic style as such:
“Arden is a modern-day master. His handling of color, light, and shape evoke a feeling of timeless, historic beauty. His compositions remind me of the epic Works Progress Administration-era masterpieces of the Early 20th Century that moved America. Arden’s creations are ingeniously stylized, artfully simplified, and powerfully amplified, enabling him to tell a familiar story in a whole new way.”
ADG is proud to collaborate with Arden to produce a series of vintage-looking poster art. Arden's classic hand-rendered illustration style conveys grandeur, romance, and nuance. His inventive use of color and unique Art Deco styling conjure up a bygone elegance as he celebrates some of America's most iconic destinations.
Annie E. Cauffman
Specializing in mod art expressed via digital painting and rendering techniques, Annie Cauffman is a storyteller who uses words and images to delight in the absurdity and wonder of daily living. In her own words, “I love telling stories that are a little bit silly and painting pictures that are a little bit beautiful.” Annie particularly loves illustrating children’s books, and has recently taken on a collaboration with Anderson Design Group to illustrate American national parks, domestic travel destinations, and international travel sites in her distinct Mid-Century Mod style.
Joel described Annie’s work as follows:
“We created a special collection of mod art some years ago, but it had been awhile since we’d added to it, so you can imagine our joy when we came across mod artist and digital painter Annie E. Cauffman! Annie's bold sense of style and her iconic vintage mid-century mod rendering techniques add a classic jet-age whimsey to our popular travel poster series.”
Equipped with a vast palette of colors and a trail mix of words, Cauffman explores vibrant landscapes of light, shape, and bold design. In her work, she tells stories that navigate novel terrain, weaving together animated details with carefully considered composition.
David Owens
Based in central New York, David Owens is an award-winning illustrator and freelance artist with a passion for the outdoors. David has directed advertising campaigns and has provided creative direction for universities, corporate clients, and dozens of national brands. He also works regularly as an editorial illustrator for magazines nationwide and has several illustration collections available for licensing.
In 2020, Joel and David decided to create a series of travel-themed art and vintage poster art inspired by poster and magazine cover illustrations from the mid-to-late-20th century. The David Owens Collection offers a fresh new interpretation of the iconic scenery we at Anderson Design Group love to celebrate in our travel poster art. David's digital painting technique adds energy, movement, and an adventurous feel to each of his creations. His passion for art and the outdoors is evident in his loose, painterly work.
Kai Carpenter
Kai Carpenter and Anderson Design Group go way back. Joel, the poster art designer and creative director in Nashville, and Kai, the oil painter based in Seattle, are both fans of early 20th-century poster and magazine art. They worked together to create beautiful handcrafted images inspired by the Golden Age of Illustration. Over the years, Kai has produced over 100 gorgeous original oil paintings on canvas which Joel has turned into poster art for his iconic National Parks, American Travel, and World Travel collections.
Kai has also been involved in ADG's coffee table books, including The Art of Kai Carpenter. Since 2015, Kai has collaborated with Joel to create a body of work that celebrates world travel, American culture, national parks, and the joy of life. This book features Kai’s beautiful art, plus sketches, modeling session photos, and inside information about Kai’s techniques and inspiration. Aspiring artists and classic illustration fans alike will enjoy going behind the scenes to see how the art was made and learning how Kai’s ideas were developed into finished works of art.
Check out our blog for more info on the Kai Carpenter and Joel Anderson collaboration!
Kenneth Crane
A little over five years ago, Kenneth Crane, a talented poster artist, digital illustrator, photographer, and painter, embarked on a mission to visit and document all 63 American National Parks. Around that same time, Kenneth contacted ADG to discuss a collaboration.
Joel described his friend Kenneth in a recent interview:
"His sense of composition, color, and light reminded me of the master illustrators of the early 20th century. Kenneth is a true artist. Sure, he's technically skilled at his craft, but he sees and imagines things that the average illustrator would miss. He has an ability to choose a subject and then illuminate what is truly awe-inspiring about it. His 'mind's eye' is what drew me to his work. Then when I met him, I got the added pleasure of discovering a hard-working, cheerful, humble young professional. He's got integrity and a real depth of character, which makes our collaboration all the better. I truly think he will become one of the great illustrators of this new generation."
Kenneth also has his own poster art collection! Check it out here.
Mary Withers Kirkland
An up-and-coming artist with an eye for color, composition, and fluidity, Mary Withers Kirkland has collaborated on several national park illustrations with Anderson Design Group. Mary's art can be viewed here.
Always with an eye out for other artists who appreciate vintage poster art and retro design, Joel was pleased to announce a collaboration with Mary in 2022 on a series of classic National Park posters. Mary's unique stylization, emotive clouds, and lyrical sense of color capture the rare natural phenomena often occurring in the parks.
"I’m a digital visual development artist and freelance illustrator from the USA east coast! I’ve got a knack for bright color, fun characters, and deep-diving into research for world building. I love the weather, crocheting, and anything else that’s hands-on. Find me outside on my porch with my cat, listening to the wind, and painting my favorite characters!"
Nguyen Tran
Excelling in creating wanderlust-inducing travel art, Nguyen Tran renders wistful American and international travel art for Anderson Design Group. Nguyen's Art Deco color palettes and emotive style offer a classic perspective on world travel scenes, providing a sense of nostalgia and travel inspo.
Nguyen uses a digital airbrush effect that resembles the actual airbrush techniques that were popular in the early 20th Century. This elegant embellishment is one of the distinct features of Nguyen's work that caught Joel's eye.
Douglass Cole
Douglass Cole particularly loves creating art of American college towns. His collaboration with ADG has centered around celebrating American travel destinations, especially mid-sized, often vintage, and historic cities that built this nation into what it is today.
Douglass can render mind-boggling amounts of detail in his artwork, so Joel calls on him for busy, intricate scenes that require patience and attention to detail.
Joel Anderson
An artist's roundup wouldn't be complete without referencing the art created by and overseen by ADG Founder and Creative Director Joel Anderson! Joel's path to art begins with him graduating from Ringling School of Art & Design in 1986. Joel moved to Music City and worked at Carden & Cherry Advertising for 7 years, winning an Emmy Award for his work on a CBS kid's show. He co-founded Anderson Thomas Design in 1993, producing countless award-winning creative projects. In 2007, Joel retooled the firm to specialize in illustration, poster art, and publishing.
The Nashville Advertising Foundation named Joel the Art Director of the Year in 2010. Joel launched Anderson Design Group's critically acclaimed National Park Poster Series in 2016, which quickly became an award-winning poster series.
A best-selling coffee table book followed the classic poster art, creating a demand for an entire line of coloring books, coffee table books, calendars, Adventure Guide Books, stickers, and other National Parks gifts and keepsakes. To date, Joel has published 14 books and over 3,000 posters!
A humble hobbyist at heart who's never afraid to crack a good dad joke, when Joel is not serving a client, studying classic poster design, or producing new poster art, he enjoys gardening, woodworking, creative folk art, and spending time with his family. As a fan of Indian food, Star Wars, The Simpsons, all things Southern, Tom Petty, French cuisine, classical music, and peanut butter, you could say Joel has a diverse palette!
In 2019, Joel was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. To compensate for the gradual loss of his fine motor skills, Joel has focused his passion into creative direction—much like a composer/conductor who writes melodies and then leads his orchestra vs. "playing the instruments" himself. This new emphasis on collaboration has brought new meaning to his company's name: Anderson Design Group. As a group, Joel and his creative friends are able to produce amazing works of art that none of them could do alone. Joel is still able to hike and explore, so he continues to travel, take reference photos, and collaborate with his art team to create new artwork which adventurous people from around the world collect to commemorate their favorite memories. Joel says:
"Our fans use our art to tell their stories. When they display our prints, they 'Decorate With Adventure'. So I guess you could say we are all about The Art Of Adventure!"
More Art to Come!
At our last count, ADG had produced over 3,000 original poster designs, plus dozens of products like books, calendars, games, puzzles, stickers, playing cards, apparel items, pillows, blankets, and more.
But we're just getting started.
Stay tuned for more art to come!
-Ren Brabenec
Anderson Design Group Staff Writer
← Older Post Newer Post →