Step into the world of Craig & Karl

In the not so distant past, working on opposite sides of the world tended to be a rather tricky affair but, thanks to Skype, Sydney and New York-based Australian duo Craig & Karl not only make it work but actually find the distance makes them focus on creating their brilliantly colourful designs.

Craig & Karl

"It's always important for us to collaborate during the initial conceptual stage of a project in order to figure out what we'd like to do and how we'd like to do it," Karl Maier tells Phaidon from Sydney. "This tends to take the form of a series of rambling conversations via Skype. Usually as one of us is finishing up for the day and the other is beginning. It allows us to be more productive in a number of ways - we understand that our 'face time', so to speak, is limited which improves our focus."

Craig Redman, who works out of New York, is infamous for his illustrated blogging avatar Darcel Disappoints, which he created on arrival in the city in 2007. He's also collaborated with Parisien boutique Colette and LVMH-owned website Nowness.

Craig & Karl, Darcel Dissapoints for Louis Vuitton and Nowness

Craig & Karl, Neon Lane, Melbourne

More recently, Neon Lane saw Craig + Karl take over Bourke Street in Melbourne's Chinatown with neon and lightbox signs communicating an array of colourful messages. They've just taken over the 72DP car park in Sydney. Drivers are led into the building via a zig zag of colour which gives a taster for the designs within.

Craig & Karl, 72DP Car Park, Sydney

"We aim to communicate a quiet sense of optimism," Maier tells Phaidon. "The car park is a great example as the transformation is so dramatic and it's such an engrossing experience. There is a sense of there being something magical or other worldly to it. We try to impart that on all our work."

Together Craig & Karl have illustrated for the New York Times Magazine, created backgrounds for the Playstation 3 and dramatically re-imagined the faces of Kanye West and Lady Gaga.

Craig & Karl, Kanye West and Lady Gaga (l-r)

They've also worked on three dimensional installations of their pieces, including the over-sized head of Michelangelo Antonioni, the director of the 1966 film Blow Up, installed in the Castle Estense Ferrara, the city of Antonioni's birth.

Craig & Karl, Michelangelo Antonioni's head, Castle Estense Ferrara

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