We have quite a large feature and interview in this month’s XFUNS magazine. It’s a “creative & design magazine” from Taiwan and this month’s fifth anniversary issue featured us alongside people such as Stanley Donwood, Wallzo, Big Active, Hort and Tom Hingston. It’s a lovely magazine and we’re honoured to be included. Oddly enough when we had a piece in Creative Review last year, the cover was the same artwork from Mr. Donwood.
The text was printed in both English and Taiwanese. You can read the interview below and see the whole article here in PDF format.
SPOILED MILK – Russell Quinn
Spoiled Milk is a media collective based in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was co-founded by two graphic designiers, Russell Quinn and Casper Hübertz Jørgensen, in the autumn of 2004 in Bristol, England. The studio later expanded to four people, and it has produced a wide range of work in disciplines that include print design, website construction, illustration, animation, games and short film. Recently, Quinn, who is the studio’s project manager and technical lead, told us more about his latest designs for Jeremy Warmsley’s record sleeve art.
Artist Profile
Name:
Russell Quinn
Age:
28
Horoscope:
Atheistical
City/Nationality:
Copenhagen / British
Art Tools/Technique:
Scissors, crepe paper, pipe cleaners, Photoshop, glitter stars, C++
Favorite Album/EP/Single Art:
Klaus Voormann
Favorite Artist/Musician/Writer:
I was listening to Mount Eerie earlier.
Favorite Type/Genre of Music:
Bleak and woeful, or bubbly and throwaway. Neither includes guns.
Favorite Book:
Denial of Death by Earnest Becker
Favorite Film:
Gulliver’s Travels
Motto:
My school motto was “seize the day”. I had that embroidered on my chest for 7 years. I’m not sure I’ve been associated with one since, which is a shame.
XFUNS：Please Introduce “Spoiled Milk” to the readers of XFUNS.
Spoiled Milk is a small media collective based in Copenhagen, Denmark. We work with a wide range of media from websites, record covers, and traditional print work to online software products and just lately – interior design.
XFUNS：Please introduce yourself briefly, and what is your position in the company?
I am originally from Britain and moved to Denmark two years ago to start Spoiled Milk with my good friend Casper. I am project manager, technical lead, graphic designer and dishwasher loader. I also make sure the windows are shut on the way out.
XFUNS：Can you tell us a little about your studies and how it shaped your work?
I am a computer scientist by education and I spent five years working for Sony writing compilers for the PlayStation. Art was something I did in my spare time and revolved around drawing and making experimental animations. I believe that my hand-crafted and ‘manual’ style developed directly from having to retaliate against my logical and pragmatic side.
XFUNS：What stimulates your creativity?
People and the quirks in their behaviour are a huge influence on me. I also read a lot of textbooks and manuals and like to find little details in their rigid contents that can influence my artwork.
XFUNS：What is your favourite record sleeve art you’ve created in your career?
“I Believe In The Way You Move” from Jeremy Warmsley, because at the time I was obsessed with theoretical concepts about the end of the universe. I spent hours pouring over the theories and the result was cutting the ‘big crunch’ out of tissue paper and using it to illustrate the end of the relationship that’s described in the song.
XFUNS：What is the main concept and key element of your work?
Fragility and a craft aesthetic are common themes. Computers are pretty much unavoidable in modern design, which is why I like making real-world objects and then scanning them in, so everything that’s seen in the final result has actually existed at some point.
XFUNS：What or who is your biggest influence in terms of style?
I always find these questions difficult to answer. I enjoy a lot of styles, but can’t consciously attribute being influenced by them. I mainly thrive on other people’s energy and ideas and if that comes across in their style then it encourages me to run home and create something.
XFUNS：Have you ever confronted any difficulties when creating work?
Musicians are often some of the hardest clients to work with, both from an artistic standpoint and due to the sheer number of people involved in the process. Getting your work approved by the band, the record label, the management, the agent, public relations, and the childhood friend of the bassist can be a very lengthy process. I once spent 12 hours producing a line-drawing of a marching band, only to see it completely discarded in favour of a stock image of a strip light.
XFUNS：Please tell us about Jeremy Warmsley’s “I Promise”, what is the main concept of this design?
Despite the happy pop feel of the song, it is actually about a war veteran who is recalling the time he left his pregnant girlfriend for dead. The warm, playful feeling of the cover matches the style of music, while the poppy fields and small cross hint at the true subject matter.
XFUNS：What techniques are involved during the process of creating this piece?
The poppy field was created from a single flower. I made this from tissue paper, a pipe cleaner and a small piece of an old sock. This was then scanned into the computer many times in different positions and these raw images were used to build up the huge panorama. The small city on the horizon was derived from a cardboard suburb I built for Jeremy’s website.
XFUNS：How do you visualise a record/band/artist?
As you’d expect we always start by listening to the music and researching their current identity and previous artwork. From this we get a general feel of tone and atmosphere, but we enjoy pushing the boundaries of what we can get away with.
XFUNS：What is the future of album art design (CD/Vinyl) as everything goes digital today?
I think the very existence of the album is under threat, never mind the artwork. Playing a group of songs in a predetermined order is a dying habit, along with sitting down at 8pm each week to watch your favourite TV programme. Apple’s attempt to incorporate ‘iconised’ covers onto its iPod seems slightly futile to me. Artwork will, of course, still have its place in posters, videos and associated advertising, but the hardcopy format is already becoming redundant.
XFUNS：What is the most important thing in your life? How does it reflect on your work?
I rarely feel comfortable with what I’m doing or where I am, and as a result always have my sights on the next goal. I would like to think that my work style follows this aspect of my personality.
XFUNS：Would you like to share your current project/future plan with us?
For the next 6 to 12 months I will be attempting to develop Spoiled Milk into a platform where my team and I can have a comfortable environment to work with projects that interest us. We have recently moved into a new studio and expanded to four people, so it’s going to be hard work and determination for the immediate future.
XFUNS：Can you tell us a little of the current/future project of Spoiled Milk.
We’ve just completed a cover, website and music video project for a Copenhagen band called Velour and are about to begin a project of a similar size for another Danish group. Outside of the music industry we’re creating websites for writing communities, murals for offices, games for anti-drug campaigns, and writing our own content management system. In between all this we’re working on a community initiative for our neighbours known only as The Extraordinary Project and a book about being abroad.
XFUNS：Please drop some suggestions to people who want to work as CD/record sleeve designer?
I think everyone knows somebody who’s in a band and wants to put out a CD. If you don’t then buy an instrument and make something yourself! Self publishing your friends’ or your own music is the simplest way to start. Being active in your local music scene could also lead to an opportunity to show what you can do. I was offered my first record sleeve as a result of openly discussing my ideas while on a photography job.
