How ‘bout a little inspiration from the graffiti/street art world? Here is the colorful, bold and lively work of France’s Seize. Here is his flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/seizehappywallmaker/
I just happened upon this site while searching for argyle patterns, ha ha! The illos are pretty cool/cute. Pretty sure I have seen the sushi one before somewhere, maybe in another publication. Guess why this one is my fav: