About | Daniel Liévano

Daniel is an award-winning conceptual multidisciplinary artist and author based in Bogotá, Colombia.

Half of my work is about crafting thought-provoking visuals for worldwide renowned publishers, newspapers, magazines, and ad campaigns. Examples of this include designing Haruki Murakami's exclusive collectors' edition books for Folio Society and multiple award-winning collaborations for The New Yorker magazine.

My other half is about writing visual stories I dream about in my spare time. I lean toward personal reflections on general semiotics and the whimsical relationship it has with poetry. Part of that relationship was what many years ago, back in college, gave this portfolio its melodramatic name, life is an illusion. Authors that have profoundly influenced my work include F. de Saussure, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Humberto Eco, and Michel Turnier.

Among some accolades, my graphic novel Gravity was awarded the Gold Medal from The Society of Illustrators in New York and the Seymour Chwast MA-g Award in Zurich, originally judged by Seymour Chwast himself. My experimental book The Mountain of Reality is listed on Arcadia Magazine as among the best 2018 books published in Colombia.

I seldom run workshops and lectures near my hometown.

This is a Skillshare Class I give about How to brainstorm visual ideas.

Selected Clients

Folio Society UK
The New York Times
The New York Times Magazine
The New Yorker
Harvard Business Review
Harvard Divinity School
The Guardian
The Atlantic
The Economist
ProPublica
Harper's Magazine
Emergence Magazine
Penguin Random House
The Washington Post
Metaleap Creative
Curaprox
The Sunday Times
The Boston Globe
The Lancet
Point Five Studio
Pentagram
Fine Acts
Area 23/FCB Network
El Espectador
Radioambulante
WeTransfer
Guideposts
Commercial Observer
Vanderbilt University
Amagord
The American Lawyer
El Malpensante
Editorial Norma
Vice

Awards

Gold Medal - SOI

Society of Illustrators of New York 2020
Book Category - Graphic Novel - "Gravity"

Overall Professional Winner - World Illustration Awards AOI

The Association of Illustrators AOI 2022
"Sound Wild and Broken"

Silver Medal SOI

Society of Illustrators of New York 2022
Book Category - "Kafka on the Shore"

World Illustration Award AOI

The Association of Illustrators AOI
"Sounds Wild & Broken" -
Science & Technology Award 2022

World Illustration Award AOI

The Association of Illustrators AOI
"WeTransfer roadmap to Sustainability" -
Science & Technology Award 2020

Seymour Chwast MA-g Award

The Museum of Avant-garde 2021
"Gravity" - Graphic Novel

Silver Medal LAD

Latin American Design Awards 2022
"Kafka on the Shore"- Editorial Category

Bronze Medal LAD

Latin American Design Awards 2018
"La vida es ilusión Vol. 2"
Illustration Category

Honors

American Illustration 2020
Communication Arts Award of Excellence 2020
World Illustration Awards Shortlist 2020
Best Books of the Year List Arcadia
Communication Arts 61 Shortlist - 2019
3x3 Honorable Mention 2018
Communication Arts 60 Shortlist - 2018
Society of Illustrators 60 - 2018
3x3 Honorable Mention - 2017
Communication Arts 58 - 2017
Society of Illustrators 59 - 2017
Lápiz de Acero 2017 Finalist
Lápiz de Acero 2016 Finalist
Lürzer's Archive 200 Best Illustrators
Worldwide 2016-2017
American Illustration 35
Latin American Illustration 4