Fed up with those artists dreaming of working for Baroness, Mastodon or...let's say …obscure indie-alternative band ? Well, you will be more than happy to discover Frida's work, and maybe not only because she's dreaming of making a poster for ABBA reunion tour (ahhhh....those swedish girls :) ), but also because her world is full of poetry
Most likely something from the vinyl collection. Living in Seattle I am lucky to
have a lot of friends that put out incredible music constantly, I have also
been listening to some spectacular Light in the Attic reissues. And my fiancé
just picked up a sweet Harry Nilsson record today, probably will be in heavy
rotation this month.
Can you tell us
more about yourself, who are you, where are you from, what do you do?
My name is Frida.
I'm a graphic designer and illustrator, most of my work is music or
entertainment related - screen printed gig-poster design being the most
high-profile example of what I do. But I also design identities for fun
companies, music packaging, art prints and the like.
When did you start drawing?
I can't remember
not drawing. One of the first memories I have is being told I need to stop
drawing so much by one of my Montessori school teachers, because that's all I
wanted to do - apparently I hated Math even then.
Did you follow any course or did you improve
by drawing in the margins of your schoolbooks?
I was lucky that
my mother enjoyed drawing and painting herself, so the tools were always
available. Art & English were the only classes I ever excelled in, and I
took as many art classes as was allowed all through school. I'd also tag along
when my mom took the occasional figure study or watercolor workshops. I had
some tough years in my late teens, long story short I became a mother myself at
19. Once my son was born I knew I had to find a way to provide a decent life
for him, and art was all I knew. I took drawing, painting, art history and
print production at a nearby college, but it wasn't until I discovered an
excellent program through Seattle
Central Creative
Academy that I started to
learn what graphic design was. I completed my design & illustration degree
in 2000 and have been designing ever since.
I've been
employed as a designer for various firms and organizations since graduating,
but for the last 6 months have been completely independent, just relying on
freelance and poster art.
Are you
collaborating with magazines/fanzines, regularly?
Not enough, no. One of the
challenges of being a designer is that the work itself takes so much of my time
that I can't really focus on publications or the scene. Happy to be included,
but for the most part I'm oblivious as to what's happening currently.
Where does your
influence come from? Is there any artists/graphists you particularly like, what
are your influences?
One of my biggest influences is my environment. What I see
when I walk outside my door, the color combinations that occur, the
juxtaposition of nature and man-made elements. In addition I'm directly
inspired by the music I happen to be designing for. As far as visual artists go
I feel like my inspiration comes from all over the place: children's book
illustrators Trina Schart Hyman and Elsa Beskow, Swedish painter Carl Larsson,
Art Nouveau posters of Alphonse Mucha, and photographer Uta Barth. Current
poster designers I admire are many, Jeff Kleinsmith, Andy Abero, and Landland
to name a few. But the inspiration I get from other poster designers is more
related to why I became a poster designer, not present in the work itself. When
I see a poster that really blows me away it invigorates me to keep doing what I
love. And it's not a competitive feeling, it's more about admiring people that
continue reaching to produce really great work time and again - and holding
myself to that standard as much as I can as well.
I can't say that I
have a standard way of doing things. If I'm designing a poster, I research the
band and their music pretty extensively. Headphones are a requirement. And then
I have to mull it over for a few days until I finally figure out. The best
ideas come when I'm not stressing out about coming up with the best idea. And
the first solution is not necessarily the right solution.
Do you do
everything by hand or on computer?
50/50 as of late,
but it depends on what the project calls for. Sometimes illustration doesn't
make sense, sometimes it's better to do a trippy collage or to take lots of
photos or just use type. I don't like to box myself in when it comes down to
the finished product. If the process isn't fun or inventive in some way I tend
to get stuck and frustrated.
Anywhere from 1
day to 3 weeks. I just spent an insane amount of hours on a poster for Andrew
Bird recently. It was such an honor to design for him, I wanted it to be
perfect. Sometimes it feels a bit silly, obsessing over one image for so long -
at the end of the day it's just a poster. But posters are my passion.
You have a very
distinctive style, are you doing only what you feel like or if tomorrow
somebody asks you an oil painting with horses running out of water with a
sunset backdrop, is it a problem or are you up for it ?
I keep the client
in mind with every project. However, the clients that trust my abilities and
process end up with a much better outcome. Whenever I get handed a list of
restrictions or a very specific idea it becomes much harder to create work that
I feel attached to or proud of. It really comes down to respect and creative
control. If my expertise is trusted I have an easier time creating something
that kicks ass, for sure.
Through my former
employer(s) I was able to design a lot of posters for bands like Bon Iver, The
Pixies, Fleet Foxes, Rufus Wainwright, Wilco, Joanna Newsom, Sufjuan Stevens,
it goes on and on. Recently I've designed for Justin Townes Earle, Nada Surf,
Andrew Bird... And I'm a Seattle
girl, so I have a soft spot for all the local bands... The Moondoggies, The
Fruit Bats, Grand Hallway, Gold Leaves, Damien Jurado, The Cave Singers, etc. I
was also responsible for commissioning all of the posters for the Sasquatch
Music Festival for 4 years, which was a really great way to meet a ton of
incredible designers.
For which band
would you love to work?
I'd love to get the chance to design an Arcade Fire
poster at some point. And Feist, I love her. Jose Gonzalez and Lykke Li are
also on my list.... and ABBA. No way in hell that would ever happen, but it
would be pretty sweet.
As much as
possible. If I don't like the band it doesn't make sense to design a poster for
them.
What is the most
difficult part in designing a poster ?
Right before I
have my creative breakthrough, which falls somewhere between wanting to cut off
my ear and wanting to jump out the window. And then I usually figure it out and
it's finished pretty quickly after that point.
Do you think you
are part of a "Graphic Scene", if so who else ?
I'm part of a
community of designers that specialize in posters, but that grouping is just
based on occupation. I don't personally identify with being part of a scene,
I'm just an artist trying to figure out how to pay rent by doing what I love. I
have no idea about who or what is hot now, nor do I care. I'm going to be
designing until the day I die... maybe the focus will shift, maybe it won't.
Maybe people will like my work, maybe they won't even notice. I don't waste
time being concerned about where I fit in, I'd much rather focus on creating.
My website: fridaclements.com
My facebook (most of my updating takes place here):
https://www.facebook.com/Frida.Clements.Design
Twitter: @vikingpwr
The best praise
you received lately?
My daughter came
up to me when I was drawing something and said "Woah. That's good!"
I've gotten some really lovely press, but when my kids actually notice what I
do it is definitely awesome. I want nothing more than for my children to feel
free to follow their passion, so I try to lead by example. Life is short, it's
important to do what you love.
I'm just going to
continue to challenge myself, create beautiful work, maybe design for ABBA's
reunion tour someday.
Ha ha.
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