Profile: Tim Fox
Design company: Cult loves you
Worked for: 'Sikth', 'Nonpoint', 'Will haven', 'Burn season', 'Akala'
Like many people, you probably have the perception that in order to conquer the music industry as a designer, it would require years of relentlessly working for free, perhaps an MA in Graphic Art Design Direction and mates, brothers, girlfriend getting you a job in her office.
Well you would be right, but there is a quicker way into the industry if you are passionate, dedicated and just damn good enough!
Meet Tim Fox a 24 year-old graphic designer who grew up in Harpenden, a small town just north of London.
Tim was no stranger to music and art from an early age and following school and A-levels, in maths, art and graphic design, he went on to study Design and Art Direction at a Manchester University. While there he taught himself how to use relevant design software and developed an interest in motion graphics while on a student exchange in Austria.
After a move back to London Tim gained some valuable experience in the industry as a graphic designer for a small recording company for UK hip-hop artists.
He also spent his free time working for friends and got his first paid job making a music video for locally based band 'Aconite Thrill'
Tim now runs his own design company while freelancing for various record labels and bands.
R13: Where does your style come from, who are your influences?
T: Defining your own style is hard, as I don't have an objective view on my work. What I think my work looks like in my head is entirely different to what everyone else sees. I think it's fair to say most of my work has a grainy, dirty feel to it. Everything around you is an influence and my ideas can come from ripped posters on tube walls and rusty old road signs to antique photographs. I also love the work of Alphonse Mucha. He's regarded as one of the first contemporary graphic designers, his attention to detail is beautiful and he influenced most of the 60s psychedelic movement.
There are handful of contemporary artists that I admire too, Chris James Hewitt, Nando Costa and Bruce Licher to name a few. Every one of them has their own unique style. I think every designer strives to do the same. I certainly do but I'm not quite there yet!
R13: What do you recognise as the key elements of good design?
T: For me, attention to detail is the most important aspect. So that involves working and re-working all the elements until they fit into place. I like to add tiny details that may never even be noticed.
With vinyl, artists used to get 12" square to play with, which meant a lot more could be put onto a cover. Now designers only get 12cm square (standard CD size) I feel that the small details have been forgotten. I used to stare at album covers like Iron Maidens "Somewhere in Time" and "Chaos AD" by Sepultura trying to find the little extras I hadn't found yet. Derek Riggs (Iron Maiden artist) would put lots of hidden imagery into his covers, (like the man hiding behind the green curtained window on "Killers".)
I guess a second key element would be concept. It has got to say something otherwise I think it's a shallow piece of design.
I'm quite surprised and disappointed at the minority of bands who approach me and don't really have a message or theme they want to present. It makes me question why they are in a band in the first place.
R13: What is your favourite piece of album artwork by another artist and why?
T: It has got to be "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" by Black Sabbath. The artist Drew Struzen went on to create the Star Wars posters, which to a lot of people are the absolute iconic poster. For me the Sabbath cover contains all the key elements. It represents the concept of good versus evil. The detail in the cover is great and is comparable to Mucha's composition style. I also have to mention the cover for Cannibal Corpses "Butchered at Birth" it's one of the most brutal covers I've ever seen. It made me feel sick, fantastic!
R13: Who would you most like to work with?
T: Any of my heroes would be amazing, Zakk Wylde, Pantera, Iron Maiden (although I think Riggs has that covered!) Metallica and Opeth. Also anyone who embraces creativity like Tool or the Dillinger Escape Plan would be great.
Mike Patton would be cool as well. I've been fortunate to work for a great band already with Sikth. They were always gigging around my hometown when I was younger and I thought then it would be great to work for them. Now I've done that I guess I have to start aiming even higher!
R13: What advice would you give to anyone wanting to get into the industry?
T: Well firstly start getting good. Every kid and their mum can use Photoshop, so you need something that is going to stand out. Whether this is in your visual style or in your ability to hit people with a great idea. It doesn't all have to be about beautiful pictures. Make friends with local bands and work for free. It's all about getting noticed so the more you have the more you'll get. Eventually you'll start getting paid. Most importantly make sure you have enthusiasm for what you do. Even when there's no work coming your way, there's no reason why you shouldn't be doing your own thing for the fun of it.
R13: What piece of work are you most proud of?
T: I'm not proud of any of my work! I dislike most of what I do, and when I look back at it, it makes me feel uncomfortable. All I see are mistakes I should have corrected and decisions I was never 100% about. I know a lot of artists and designers that feel this way about their work and it is what drives us to better ourselves because each piece of work has to be better than the last.
But I think my best work so far is the Sikth cover for "Death of a Dead Day" The concept was about transitions – the band's transition musically in style, and literally as they were going through a rocky label change. It had organic, nature vs. industrial, mechanical imagery and the classic good vs. evil in the cover. I'm not sure if many people recognised this but there's a distinct heaven and hell element going on – represented by the sunlight in the clouds and flames in the caves. There's also a scene of nature on the right and the industrial on the left.
R13: How easy is it to get work and is the competition tough?
T: I've never had to pitch against other people so I'm not aware of any competition in a direct sense. There are certainly a lot of designers out there and sometimes I see their work and think "Fuck, that's good! Why aren't I that good?" – I guess that's the name of competition. Thankfully, there is a lot of crap out there, which makes me feel a whole lot better! I have a steady flow of work coming in at all times which I am grateful for and I think as long as the quality is consistent and my work is seen by as many people as possible, it will only get better.
You can check out Tim's work at www.cultlovesyou.com