Designer and all round cool person Fifties is under the glare of  the anglepoise lamp. She designed the logo that is used by Soundex and has done a whole load of illustration and graphic design for lots of happy clients so read on and have a look at her work too.

Q - Who Is Fifties?

A - Fifties is a nickname I was given a few years ago buy someone who thought I looked a bit 1950s and it kind of stuck. I think he was very drunk at the time as I don’t think there is anything 50s about me in the slightest! I come from Northern Ireland originally where I lived for many years surrounded by sheep and fields and not a lot else, then I came to England seeking fame and fortune (and a university degree) about six years ago now. I graduated back in 2003 with a degree in illustration and I am still working on the other two.


Q - What do you want to be when you grow up?

A - When I grow up I would quite like to be some kind of designer/DJ hybrid and work for myself.  I think that would be a pretty nice way to make a living!


Q - What makes good design?

A - I think when creating flyer artwork it is important to make your artwork as eye catching as possible.  I tend to try and create a strong initial image/illustration which will attract attention and intrigue the person looking at it enough to read the information about the event it is actually advertising. Originality, legibility and composition are other important factors to consider as well as experimenting with colour and finding what works well together.

To contact Fifties for design work go to her MySpace page


Q - Where do you get inspiration from?

A - As most of the work I do is for either djs or producers I think it is important to listen to the kind of music that they make and draw inspiration from there to get an idea of their ‘style’. Also Deviantart.com is a great site to have a browse though to get new ideas as it features work from thousands of talented artists from around the world.


Q - You do a bit of the DJing as well as making nice things with colours and shapes. Who do you rate as a producer and what's your area of music?

A - I like to play a bit eclectically really. I have tracks in my record collection ranging from deep house to techno but most of the tracks I buy are probably at the techier end of house and breaks. I just kind of buy what I think feels good to listen to and then worry about what goes well together afterwards!  Producer wise I find that Meat Katie & Elite Force always deliver the goods and on the house front people like Switch and the Buick Project never fail to disappoint.

Download this recent mix by Fifties from August '06.

01. Wha Wha Wha - Voltique (Get Physical)
02. Big Day (Booka Shade Remix) - Tahiti 80 (Atmospheriques)
03. Susshols (Falho Brochsicper Remix) - Gabriel Ananda (Treibstoff)
04. Electronic Electro (Andrea Bertolini Remix) - David Amo & Julio Navas (Cyber Production)
05. In My Life - Sound Alliance (Spectrum)
06. Vegas Heat - Hook & Sling (Hussle N Bussle)
07. The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat - Craig Bratley (Robsoul Recordings)
w/DT's Flashapella (Music Man Records)
08. Flash (Timos Maas' Dirty Dub) - Green Velvet (Music Man Records)
09. Black Jack - Plump Djs (Finger Lickin' Records) w/Nothing to Loose Acapella - Kid Blue (Lot 49)
10. Nothing to Loose - Kid Blue (Lot 49)
11. Funk Down Low (Force Mass Motion Remix) - Rob Reng Ft. Ninelives The Cat (Ruff Dog Recordings)
12. Power Cut (Rewired Remix) - Koma & Bones (TCR)
13. Erotic Discourse - Paul Woolford (2020 Vision)
14. Night Falls - Booka Shade (Get Physical)

Q - Got any heroes or heroines?

A - I have a lot of admiration for Roger Dean who was an illustrator/artist mainly operating in the 70s and 80s. He is best known for his stunning album artwork most famously for the band ‘Yes’.  His work is incredibly detailed and captivating which you don’t see a lot of these days especially when it comes to sleeve designs . I find it quite amazing to think of how much time pieces like these must of taken to create in a non-photoshop world!


Q - What is your favourite brief or project so far?

A - Any which have given me free reign to be creative really.  I have been doing a lot of work recently for the Anam Bar in London who have a lot of themed nights such as ‘Clockwork Orange’ and ‘Casino Royal’ which are nice to take a bit of a different twist on.


Q - Ideal holiday?

A - I’ve always wanted to go on holidays to Japan as I have been quite fascinated by both traditional and modern aspects of their culture since I was quite young. I love Japanese art as well and I think that Womb is Tokyo is one of the clubs I would most like to visit before I die


Q - Any other skills or interests?

A - Errrmmm … no, not really!  I like to design things and I have an unhealthy (or healthy?) interest in music that just about takes up all my time at the minute!


Q - Talk us through the work in the mini portfolio you've shared here.

A - Benu’s Phoenix - This is an illustration/logo for German producer Benu. The concept behind it related to quite a personal story from his past, so I had to try as hard as possible to capture the spirit and vibrancy of the bird coming back from the dead.

    All photos and images © Louise O'Donnell 2006