The best self-initiated work And who made each one.

The 33 self-initiated projects in the pick, best first by editorial rating. Each comes with who made it, from the credits.

  1. In the Eyes of the Animal

    The credits for In the Eyes of the Animal include Antoine Bertin credited as Field Recordings and Sound Design, executive production by Eleanor Whitley, and production design by Marc Winklhofer.

    Original project

  2. Goodbooks

    Studio
    BUCK

    Goodbooks was made by BUCK, with creative direction by Ryan Honey and Joshua Harvey, and animation direction by Steve Day.

    Original project

  3. Obsessions Make My Life Worse But My Work Better

    Obsessions Make My Life Worse But My Work Better was made by Sagmeister Inc., with creative direction by Stefan Sagmeister, and design by Richard The and Joe Shouldice.

    Original project

  4. Deitch Projects, Banana Wall

    Deitch Projects, Banana Wall was made by Sagmeister Inc., with creative direction by Stefan Sagmeister, and design by Richard The and Joe Shouldice.

    Original project

  5. Beauty = Function

    Beauty = Function was made by Sagmeister Inc., directed by Jessica Walsh and Stefan Sagmeister, with creative direction by Jessica Walsh and one other.

    Original project

  6. Of the Oak

    Client
    Royal Botanical Gardens Kew

    Of the Oak for Royal Botanical Gardens Kew was made by Marshmallow Laser Feast, with music and sound design by James Bulley, and Simon Hendry credited as Sound System Engineer.

    Original project

  7. Beautiful Numbers

    The credits for Beautiful Numbers include music by Space People, production by Art Camp and cinematography by Oliver Lanzenberg.

    Original project

  8. Mango Saxon

    Client
    Oddfellows

    Mango Saxon was made by Oddfellows, with creative direction by Chris Kelly, sound design by Dogbotic and executive production by Erica Kelly.

    Original project

  9. ELEVENPLAY × Rhizomatiks "border 2021"

    The credits for ELEVENPLAY × Rhizomatiks "border 2021" include creative direction by Daito Manabe, music by evala, and Kinya Takayanagi and one other credited as Sound Technical Support.

    Original project

  10. Sinking Feeling

    Studio
    Blue Zoo

    Sinking Feeling was made by Blue Zoo, directed by Mark Spokes, with music by Blue Zoo Choir, Alberto Gatto and 10 others.

    Original project

  11. Beauty Book

    Beauty Book was made by Sagmeister Inc., with creative direction by Stefan Sagmeister and Jessica Walsh, and design by Kevin Brainard and one other.

    Original project

  12. ELEVENPLAY x RhizomatiksS . P . A . C . E .

    ELEVENPLAY x RhizomatiksS . P . A . C . E . was made by Rhizomatiks, with Daito Manabe credited as Music Intro, Naoki Ohnishi credited as Sound Operator, and project management by Kahori Takemura and one other.

    Original project

  13. Treehugger: Wawona

    Treehugger: Wawona was directed by Robin McNicholas, Ersin Han Ersin and Barney Steel.

    Original project

  14. phosphere

    phosphere was made by Rhizomatiks, with music by evala, ELEVENPLAY credited as CAST, and MIKIKO credited as Choreographer / Director.

    Original project

  15. Poetics of Soil: Fly Agaric I

    Poetics of Soil: Fly Agaric I was made by Marshmallow Laser Feast, with James Bulley credited as Music, Sound Design and Spatialisation, and executive production by Carolina Vallejo, Eleanor (Nell) Whitley and one other.

    Original project

  16. Everybody always thinks they are right

    The credits for Everybody always thinks they are right include creative direction by Stefan Sagmeister, illustration by Monika Aichele, and production by Joel Mangrum and one other.

    Original project

  17. No More Stuff

    Studio
    Blue Zoo

    No More Stuff was directed by Simone Giampaolo and Joe Kinch, with sound design by Joe Kinch.

    Original project

  18. AI Sculpting

    AI Sculpting was made by Onformative, with creative direction by Cedric Kiefer, production by Tobias Ziegler and software engineering by Mark Tensen.

    Original project

  19. particles

    particles was made by Rhizomatiks, with graphic design by Hiroyasu Kimura and Megumi Shima, and Daito Manabe credited as Planning and software development.

    Original project

  20. Armour

    Studio
    Blue Zoo

    Armour was made by Blue Zoo, directed by Alex Davy, with music by WMP and art direction by Joe Kinch.

    Original project

  21. dot

    dot was made by Rhizomatiks, with music by Ametsub, KSK credited as Sound manipulation, and MIKIKO and one other credited as Direction / Choreograph by.

    Original project

  22. TT

    The credits for TT include music by krakaur, project management by Takao Inoue, and Rhizomatiks credited as Artist.

    Original project

  23. The Happy Show

    The Happy Show was made by Sagmeister Inc., with creative direction by Stefan Sagmeister, art direction by Jessica Walsh, and design by Jessica Walsh and six others.

    Original project

  24. Things I Have Learned In My Life So Far

    Things I Have Learned In My Life So Far was made by Sagmeister Inc., with creative direction by Stefan Sagmeister, and design by Stefan Sagmeister and Matthias Ernstberger.

    Original project

  25. Having Guts Always Works Out For Me

    Having Guts Always Works Out For Me was made by Sagmeister Inc., with creative direction by Stefan Sagmeister, and design by Stefan Sagmeister, Matthias Ernstberger and two others.

    Original project

  26. NEST

    Client
    London Borough of Culture

    NEST for London Borough of Culture was directed by Ersin Han Ersin, Barnaby Steel and Robin McNicholas.

    Original project

  27. Via

    Studio
    Blue Zoo

    Via was made by Blue Zoo, directed by Izzy Burton, with music by Vince Webb, and 3D by Izzy Burton and three others.

    Original project

  28. Equilibrium

    Equilibrium was made by Ordinary Folk, with creative direction by Jorge R. Canedo E., music and sound design by Ambrose Yu, and production by Stefan Green and one other.

    Original project

  29. Rio 40°

    Rio 40° was made by Ordinary Folk, with creative direction by Jorge R. Canedo E. and Paykhan (Guillaume Roux), and music and sound design by Ambrose Yu.

    Original project

  30. Experimental Typography

    Experimental Typography is credited to Simon Fréour for type design and graphic design.

    Original project

  31. cornell_Box

    cornell_Box is credited to Andy Duboc (Generative art).

    Original project

  32. Confusion

    Confusion is credited to Raphaël Améaume for creative development.

    Original project

  33. Mindspill

    Mindspill is credited to Shrey Kathuria.

    Original project

Who’s behind them

392 people are credited on these 33 projects. 67 of them are credited on two or more.

The studios

8
Sagmeister Inc.
9
RhizomatiksProduct Designer
Creative devSound designIllustration
6
Marshmallow Laser FeastConcept Artist
Concept art
5
Blue ZooProduction Company
4
Ordinary FolkDirector
Direction
2
BUCKIllustrator
Illustration
1
OddfellowsDirector
Direction
1
Onformative
1

Credited on two or more

67
Stefan SagmeisterCreative Director · Designer
Concept artArt directionDirection
9
Daito ManabeCreative Director · Technical Director
Art directionCreative devStrategy
6
MIKIKOChoreo-Director · Stage Direction / Choreography
Direction
5
Motoi IshibashiTechnical Director · Product Designer
Concept artCreative devProduct & UI
5
Muryo HommaInteraction Design Team · Technical Support
UXEditingVideography
5
Eleanor (Nell) WhitleyExecutive Producer
Front-endStrategy
4
Mike JonesExecutive Producer · Producer
4
Dane WinnAnimator · Director
AnimationDirection3D
3
Ersin Han ErsinDirector · Creative Director
Art directionDirection
3
Hideaki TaiHardware Engineering · Circuit Design and Firmware
3
James BulleyComposer · Sound Designer
MusicSound design
3
Jessica WalshDesigner · Producer
Art directionDirectionCopywriting
3
Matthias ErnstbergerDesigner
Type
3
Robin McNicholasDirector · Creative Director
Art directionDirection
3
Saki IshikawaProducer · Product Designer
UXProduct & UI
3
Shintaro KamijoProduct Designer
UXSound designProduct & UI
3
Takao InoueProducer · Project Manager
UXProduct & UI
3
Toshitaka MochizukiProduct Designer
Product & UIUX
3
Yuya HanaiProduct Designer
Creative devProduct & UIUX
3
Ambrose YuComposer · Sound Designer
MusicSound design
2
Anthony Delliste3D Artist · Animator
3DAnimation
2
Antoine BertinField Recordings and Sound Design · Custom Binaural Audio Engine Designer
Sound design
2
Barnaby SteelDirector · Creative Director
Art directionDirection
2
Carolina VallejoExecutive Producer · Producer
2
Chen YuIllustrator · Type Designer
IllustrationType
2
Daniel BrokstadIllustrator · Type Designer
IllustrationType
2
Elaine ThomasComposer
Music3D
2
emmyPerformers(team B) · Dancer
2
evalaComposer
MusicSound design
2
Hiroyasu KimuraGraphic Designer · Brand Designer
BrandArt direction
2
Izzy BurtonDirector · 3D Artist
Direction3DAnimation
2
Jack McEntireLRC · Lighting & Compositing
3DVFX
2
Joe KinchArt Director · Storyboard Artist
Art directionConcept artDirection
2
Joe ShouldiceDesigner
2
Jorge R. Canedo E.Creative Director · Animator
Art directionAnimationVFX
2
Kahori TakemuraProject Manager
2
KAORIPerformers(team B) · Dancer
2
Kyohei MouriProduct Designer
UXProduct & UI
2
Lizzie HicksProducer · Animator
Animation
2
MAIPerformers(team A) · Dancer
2
Manuel NetoAnimator · Designer
AnimationVFX
2
MARUPerformers(team A) · Dancer
2
Matteo Giuseppe PaniIllustrator · Type Designer
IllustrationType
2
Momoko NishimotoProduct Designer
3DAnimationProduct & UI
2
Mona FaniProducer · Designer
Animation
2
NANAKOPerformers(team A) · Dancer
2
Naoki IshizukaProject Manager
2
Natan SinigagliaIn collaboration with · Collaborating Artist
2
Nicolas Le DrenVFX Artist
VFX
2
Pietro Licini3D Artist
3D
2
Quentin Corker-MarinVFX Artist
VFXIllustration
2
Ricardo DrehmerAnimator · 3D Artist
AnimationVFX
2
Richard TheDesigner
2
Santiago CarrasquillaDesigner
Videography
2
Sarah Gamper MarconiHead of Studio
2
Satoshi HoriiProduct Designer · Software Engineer
Creative devProduct & UIUX
2
SAYAPerformers(team A) · Hand Model
2
Sophie Jameson3D Artist
3D
2
Stefan GreenProducer · Scriptwriter
2
Takayuki FujimotoLighting Design · Lighting design
2

Showing the 60 most credited of 67. Everyone else is in the credits of the projects above.

Most credited crafts

More best-of lists by sector