A while ago, I watched the Netflix series Abstract: the Art of Design, in which I discovered the illustrator Christoph Niemann. It’s a really cool episode, I definitely recommend it (watch the whole series while you’re at it!). But after that, I kind of forgot about him, as you do.
Recently though, while watching TED Talks, I came across one he did called You are fluent in this language (and don’t even know it), and then I became kind of obsessed and started watching every single one of his talks.
I started following him on Instagram too, and saw that he had an exhibition opening in Munich from November 2018 to February 2019 so… I think it’s high time I visited my friend who happens to live there! I’ve booked my ticket for the end of January and I really can’t wait! Here’s the exhibition link if you’d like to check it out.
UPDATE: I’ve gone to Munich to see the exhibition, it was great, but unfortunately everything was in German… which I do not speak a word of 
In this video, you can see a sample of his drawings:
He’s giving himself a personal project/challenge that he calls Abstract Sunday: every Sunday, he sits in his office, picks an everyday object and gives it a different meaning. The results are, as always, very smart. It’s a project idea that we should all take on, as practising regularly boosts our creativity and is a good habit to have.
To tell you a bit more about Christoph Niemann, he’s a German illustrator, graphic designer and author of several books, for adults and kids (I wanted to order one for my nephew, the Police Cloud, but it’s gone out of print and the prices on Amazon are crazy!).
After he finished his studies in 1977, he moved to New York where he became Paula Scher’s intern (she’s also in Abstract, and is also amazing). He also counts Heinz Edelmann among his mentors.
His work has appeared on the covers of The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times Magazine and American Illustration, and has won awards from AIGA, the Art Directors Club and American Illustration.
Christoph Niemann is extremely talented and has an amazing sense of humour that you can find in all of his pieces. If you hadn’t heard about him before now, check him out!
You can have a look at his website, where you can learn more about his work, books, exhibitions, etc.
I finished reading his book Abstract City last night and it’s really good!
Here are a couple of videos he did:
Christoph Niemann on the tension between his inner artist and his inner editor
Christoph Niemann: How to Overcome the 3 Fears Every Creative Faces
My Journey in Web Design 