Part two of Collective’s look at sleeve designers.

Andy Votel (Grand Central, DOT, Badly Drawn Boy)
Andy Votel, aka Andrew Shallcross, runs the Twisted Nerve label with Badly Drawn Boy. His most recent design clients include Adidas, XL and Grand Central. Also a DJ, producer and remixer, his latest LP All Ten Fingers was released last year: “When I left school, my career could have followed either design or music. Being fairly knowledgeable about music, and being surrounded by a lot of people making music, I was lucky enough to keep fingers in both pies by designing record sleeves. Visual art and music are the two most natural and profound ways of expressing yourself. The union of the two, via sleeve design, provides an artistic haven for further communication. Sadly, thanks to the rise of mp3, Internet downloads and the general downsizing of music-related art, we run the risk of stifling the ever important manifestation of this relationship.”

Rick Myers (Doves, Lamb, Palaxy Tracks)
Rick Myers started designing record sleeves when Louise from Lamb bought a piece of his artwork and asked him to produce a sleeve for their debut album. All of Rick Myers’ sleeves give out a crafted, melancholy feel, often blurring the disciplines of computer and handmade design. Footprints In The Snow, a more personal project which centres around prints, posters, installations and sculptures, also allows people to own limited runs of his work (see link below). He is currently working on a “new brand called Mary Love”, DVD artwork for Doves, a John Cale sleeve and a collaboration with Martin Rebelski. “My ideal approach has always been based on an emotional response to something. I’ve occasionally had to work outside that ideal, but 99 per cent of the time there’s a very real connection with things I've produced images for.”

Designers Republic (Infra Red Helicopter, Age Of Chance)
The Designers Republic is currently Ian Anderson, Nick Bax, Matt Pyke, David Bailey, Bob Sanderson, Abby Ribbands, Vicki Lewis and Mark Cashman. All their work is credited to The Designers Republic. Based in Sheffield, they’re perhaps best known for their bold designs for Warp. Aside from other music-related projects, they have a diverse range of previous clients in advertising, film and fashion.

Ian Anderson entered the design world during his management of “a band signed to Epic/CBS in 1984”. “The act liked the flyers I’d previously designed for my own club nights in Sheffield. They wanted me to design their covers, keeping everything in-house. As the band disintegrated, more and more people were getting in touch for me to design stuff for them. I realised I was more interested in expressing myself than managing other people’s creativity.” On creating record sleeves, he states: “It’s not important to like the music. It’s important to understand it.”

James Rutledge 16 May 03