How do you work with an artist like Alison Goldfrapp, who has such a strong visual sense herself?
She always comes to a project with a very clear understanding of where she wants a project to get to, but not necessarily a clear idea of how she’s going to get there. How well-formed are her ideas? She’ll always be cutting things out from magazines: imagery she likes, moods she likes. A lot of it in her case is down to how she’s styled as well. The team’s wider than just us. We also work with her stylist Cathy Edwards – she’s fashion director on Dazed & Confused – to pull together the look, not only the way Alison’s styled but also the mood of the photography. How different is that from a pop act, like the Sugababes? It’s different, just like every band is different and every brief is different. A lot of music design is about creating visibility and a defining image, in a sense, that reflects the spirit of the music, or the artist, or the release. It’s very much about creating commercial art that pitches the music in the right area and creates a really good story around the release vi
