Aesthetic Apparatus took seed when Dan Ibarra & Michael Byzewski first met in 1998 as designers at Planet Propaganda (formerly Planet Design Company) in Madison, Wisconsin. Combining their mutual interest in printmaking and music, the two began to build a groundwork of limited edition hand-printed concert posters that would gain them enough recognition nationally and internationally to convince them in 2002 to uproot to the twin cities and turn their measly late-night beer-fueled hobby into a full-time graphic design studio. As a fully-functioning studio -- able to handle a full spectrum of design projects along with the posters they love so much -- Aesthetic Apparatus has created work for clients such as Blue Q, Stella Artois, Harper Collins, American Cancer Society and Criterion Collection as well as bands such as Cake, Frank Black, Spoon, The Hold Steady, The New Pornographers, Dinosaur Jr, Grizzly Bear and more. Their work has been featured in Print, Step Into Design, Communication Arts, Creative Review, HOW, Print, Rolling Stone, Swindle, Jane Magazine, Readymade Magazine along with handfuls of design book publications and the recent Chronicle Books rock art bible "The Art of Modern Rock."
