Sandro Rybak envisions new worlds in his textural designs

Hazy textures, fine contrasts and futuristic patterns are just some of the elements that the German designer uses to build his fantasy worlds.

Date
12 December 2022

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Overclocking his mini but mighty Wacom tablet, Germany-based designer and illustrator Sandro Rybak creates texturally rich flat worlds that lean heavily into the fantasy genre. For Sandro, his work is “usually a mix of abstract elements” plucked from anywhere, whether it's alchemistic copper engravings to childhood cartoons, video games to comics. Like his sci-fi inspirations, he finds that his practice zips and zaps all over the place, touching on a medley of unexpected sources. “I get bored very quickly by my work," he states.

So far, his editorial practice has been featured in The New York Times, and his illustrations on album covers like Vienna-based indie pop singer Oska’s debut EP Honeymoon Phase. Wherever it pops up, Sandro’s appreciation for story, space and place is on full display – something he might have picked up from modernist painter Agnes Pelton, which is another inspiration of his. "Everything feels like a whimsical dream state frozen in time,” he says. "I’m trying to give my artworks at least a small sense of a story, so they feel like there might be a whole universe behind the artwork.”

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Sandro Rybak: Illustration for Noema Magazine (Copyright © Sandro Rybak, 2022)

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Sandro Rybak: tiny hurts/personal work (Copyright © Sandro Rybak, 2021)

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Sandro Rybak: Poster for Clouds techno events (Copyright © Sandro Rybak, 2022)

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Sandro Rybak: Supermassive Tangerine/personal work (Copyright © Sandro Rybak, 2020)

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Sandro Rybak: EP Cover for Yukno (Copyright © Sandro Rybak, 2020)

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Sandro Rybak: Album Cover for Pressyes (Copyright © Sandro Rybak, 2022)

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Sandro Rybak: Paolo Nutini Tour Poster (Copyright © Sandro Rybak, 2022)

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Sandro Rybak: OK Boule/personal work (Copyright © Sandro Rybak, 2021)

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Sandro Rybak: Album Cover for Whoiswelanski (Copyright © Sandro Rybak, 2022)

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Sandro Rybak: Album Cover for Melt Trio (Copyright © Sandro Rybak, 2022)

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Sandro Rybak: Crystalys/personal work (Copyright © Sandro Rybak, 2020)

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Sandro Rybak: Illustration for Nature Magazine (Copyright © Sandro Rybak, 2022)

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About the Author

Roz Jones

Roz (he/him) joined It’s Nice That as editorial assistant in October 2022 after graduating from Magazine Journalism and Publishing at London College of Communication. He’s particularly interested in publications, archives and multi-media design. Feel free to get in contact with Roz about ideas you may have for stories from the Global South. 

rj@itsnicethat.com

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