The artists behind the invites: get to know our Flyer partners
We all know that a great party doesn’t begin with passed apps or an extra dirty martini—it starts with a personal, carefully crafted invite. At Paperless Post, to help us create those invites, we aim to uplift and spotlight small artists with stories to tell—creatives eager to explore every corner of life and hone their talents as the world evolves alongside their craft.
We are thrilled to introduce the growing list of artists we’re teaming up with to create one-of-a-kind design collections for our textable Flyer invites. Their unique artwork and designs explore a range of styles, from playful irreverence to lighthearted whimsy to heartfelt poignance. We chose to partner with artists who emanate the heart of Paperless Post’s design-first ethos and who create funny, heartfelt, and relatable artwork that sets just the right tone for everything from low-key get-togethers to big birthday celebrations. Their curious and clever energies radiate from the unique art they create, yielding inventive, textable Flyer invites that are ahead of the curve and suitable for any and all occasions.
Aiden Arata
The Los Angeles-based writer and artist Aiden Arata creates art that pairs playful, irreverent writing with whimsical animal imagery. Inspired by books, walks, and her pets, Aiden’s invites effortlessly bring comfort to anyone who receives one—likely because the designs evoke a sense of reassurance and validation of the thoughts we all might be too nervous to share out loud. She describes her collection as “romantic, silly, and feral,” which speaks to the whimsical lambs, carefree canines, and other animal photographs she incorporates into her work.
Aiden describes how she connects the thread in her Flyer collection’s narrative: “Animals are an obvious throughline—I’ve always loved animals (who doesn’t?), and in our digital age, I’m interested in how nature always finds a way in a deeply unnatural world. These are party animals, just like us. Gatherings are a survival strategy, after all.” That sense of connection is what Aiden’s work is all about. How do we continue to exist in the world? Through connection. How do we connect? By gathering!
What feeling does a host want to evoke in their guests when they open their invite? For Aiden, she hopes her invites will give “the thrill of really good gossip, the relief when someone you can actually talk to arrives, and the warmth of your friend’s face in your hands when you haven’t seen them in so long.” Needless to say, Aiden’s Flyers have hit the mark—she even used one of the invites from her collection for her baby shower! You can browse Aiden Arata’s full Flyer collection here.
emnoelleDESIGN
Meet the mind behind emnoelleDESIGN, NYC-based graphic designer Emily O’Connor. Emily’s designs mix bold vibrance and dry humor, creating an ironic dichotomy. She summarizes her artistic style as “always fun, sometimes mean, and usually mentioning existential dread.” After teaching herself graphic design through YouTube tutorials, Emily realized she did not want to be bound by the invisible design constraints she often encountered in the field.
When asked about her inspiration, Emily shares that Elliot Ulm, a graphic designer she stumbled upon on YouTube, helped her find her niche. She explains, “He was doing something I hadn’t seen before that resonated with me so deeply. He was having fun, not concerning himself with ‘design rules,’ and using design as a vehicle for comedy. I think I started designing posters that same day!” From then on, Emily leaned into the bold, the existential, and the playfully unserious in her work.
Flyer invites from emnoelleDESIGN are inherently fun, with designs that can be used for any event, from casual housewarming parties in a couchless apartment to picturesque potluck dinners with your supper club. When asked about which of her Flyer invites she’d use for hosting her dream event, she muses about a Thanksgiving potluck and shares she would be adamant about following the rules stated in her Flyer to a T: “Honestly, I’d love to throw a Friendsgiving potluck using my Flyer, but actually follow the terms and conditions for real. The idea of everyone voting on the worst dish, and then that person being immediately asked to leave, really makes me laugh.” There is no deficit of laughs in Emily’s Flyer collection, and you can see for yourself by browsing emnoelleDESIGN Flyer invites here.
James Paris
Alt text: A muted blue birthday Flyer with an image of an infant behind a DJ booth and text overtop that reads, ‘Birthday Boiiiiiiiiiiii’. Middle: A purple cocktail party Flyer with orange, purple, and neon green alcoholic beverage illustrations and text overtop that reads, ‘Come for the drinks! Stay for the drinks!’ Right: A pink cookbook club Flyer with multicolored stripe imagery that urges guests to ‘eat,’ ‘drink,’ ‘stay,’ and ‘talk’. All invites sit against a green-blue-yellow gradient backdrop titled ‘James Paris’.
Illustrator and designer James Paris explores tongue-in-cheek wit through his bold, hilarious designs. He describes his artistic style as “colorful, cheesy, and energetic” and shares that his Flyer invite collection is for “bumper sticker lovers” who are just as lively as his artwork. For James, one of the most important functions of an invite is to make guests smile from ear to ear and “brighten their day,” even if only for a brief moment when they open it—and we couldn’t agree more.
When it comes to saying the quiet parts out loud, James is a natural. From a work happy hour invite that urges attendees to “drink on our dime” to a “yap sesh” invite that implores guests to “talk s**t,” his invites speak to the intention behind his work. Life is all about laughing, and on that note, James poses the question: “When you’re inviting your close friend to an event, why not use something to make them laugh?”
On hosting his dream event, James shares, “It would probably be renting out my local movie theatre for a marathon with all of my friends. The movie night Flyer would be best for that, but also ‘Watch Me Eat 20 Hot Dogs’ could work too!” If you’re interested in bold typography, vibrant colors, and humor in every word, explore the full James Paris Flyer collection now.
Punk History
If you have a knack for classical art and a major funny bone, then you’ll love Punk History. The mind behind the popular Facebook and Instagram meme page blends art and humor to create the perfect juxtaposition of refinement and relatability. They describe their Flyer collection as “candid, acerbic, and self-aware,” explaining that honesty is the main narrative seen in each invite.
In utilizing classical art to tell a modern story, Punk History separates themselves from the herd—and refuses to feign perfection. “The Flyers acknowledge the subtext behind celebrations—the nerves about the engagement, the ego in the birthday speech, the angst behind the dinner party,” Punk History shares. “They bring those inner monologues to the surface.” When guests feel seen upon opening their invite, they’re inclined to respond—and with the Punk History Flyer collection, it’s impossible not to feel understood.
After asking about Punk History’s dream event, they share that a “King Lear-style” dinner party filled with guests schmoozing them with compliments and adoration is their idea of a great time. As for the Flyer they’d use, they explain, “I’d probably use either ‘If you don’t RSVP, I swear I will cut my own bangs again’ or ‘Let’s all say something we love about me!’” Browse Punk History’s Flyer collection now to delve into the classically hilarious.
Scorpion Dagger
James Kerr of Scorpion Dagger uses eccentric animations to create a patchwork of medieval art with modern themes. In describing his Flyer collection as “irreverent, silly, and serious in its un-seriousness,” James reveals that he aims to both exhilarate and bewilder his guests. Though contrary to many hosts’ conventional hopes for leaving guests warm and comfortable upon opening an invite, that exhilarating, silly feeling bleeds from his work.
The self-described design style of Scorpion Dagger is “digital collage,” as James uses medieval imagery and a digitized collage style to bring his vision to life in invites for everything from park hangs to Halloween ragers and beyond. When asked about his design inspirations, he answers, “Paintings from the Northern Renaissance. I can stare at paintings by the likes of Bosch, Memling, and Bruegel all day.” James flips the general seriousness of Renaissance art on its head and uses his own designs to create something fresh, exciting, and, in his own words, worthy of “bewilderment.”
His dream event using Flyer? Well, it includes his good friend Spencer, who has a small beachside cottage two hours outside of Montreal. James elaborates on the thought: “I would love to head out there, set up a long table in the sand, and invite all my out-of-town buds up for a big dinner that we all cook together, and watch the sunset. After, we’d swim it off, then sit by a bonfire under the stars. Maybe I should get to making a new Flyer for this one!” While we’re waiting for a bonfire bash Flyer to hit our inbox, you can browse the entire Scorpion Dagger Flyer collection now.
Discover the Flyer for you with Paperless Post
Flyer is all about making gatherings fun with unique customization, easy with invite textability, and exciting with the partners we team up with. Our talented Flyer partners offer a variety of aesthetics in each of their invites. Whether it’s playful irreverence or artful sarcasm, you can find the perfect Flyer that matches your aesthetic—because with Paperless Post, you can find easily shareable invites for all the moments that matter, including the unserious ones.