Q: What did you and Hunter listen to in the car?

Hunter always drove and chose the music. We both liked Jim Morrison.

Click Expand for the Q&A and to watch a YouTube video
 

P.S: If you come across this Ralph, thank you so much. What a privilege it was speaking to you. And here’s to all us ‘crazy’ ones. Sarah Claire XXX

Nicole du Plessis, based in Western Cape,  isn’t a stranger to us, she has a profile on onesmallseed.net and does great work for Blackbird design. You could not say she is just a designer she really knows how to handle herself through Photography too.

Who, to you, is Nicole du Plessis?

I am ultimately a lover of all things art and aesthetic, but hold a special place in my heart for Graphic Design and Photography above all else. I spent three years in an art school doing everything from sculpture, oil painting, drawing and graphic design to photography (both Darkroom and Digital) and using mediums like gouache, oil pastels, charcoal, etc. As much as I love the fine art greats and admire their work, (and constantly look to them for inspiration) I never had an interest to become a fine artist myself, focusing more on graphic design and photography.

Design isn’t just a job or a qualification for me, it really is essentially who I am. It involves looking at the world through a different light, it requires imagination and perception. I design for most of my waking hours, if not, then I am thinking about design, planning a design, or looking at other peoples designs in awe… and then at night I dream about design too.

 
Describe your style and technique to us.

I’ve been told that a lot of my work has a fine art feel to it. For me it’s a combination of fine art elements (I’m pretty much obsessed with textures) and then putting my ideas down in Photoshop and Illustrator. I take so much inspiration from the Swiss Style movement too, even though my work wouldn’t be considered purist, there is definitely an impact to some degree in my work.

International Typographic Style, also known as Swiss Style is a form of graphic design style that originated in the fifties. The focus within the movement is on cleanliness, simplicity and readability. Many of your works show influences of Swiss Style. What is it about the style that you find appealing?

I really feel like these are the designers in our history that really had it all figured out. At least to my personal standards of aesthetic appeal, it really doesn’t get better than a design that is to the point, legible, direct without being in-your-face, minimal and visually appealing.

They would never decorate just for decorating sake. The prime focus is on getting that visual message across as strongly as possible and leaving an impact in a clear-cut, concise way. This is and always will be the very crux of Graphic Design. This focus so easily gets lost these days, which is why I am always looking back to the history of the movement, to remind me of the purpose.
 


 
You reference Armin Hofmann as an example of a designer whose work influences you. Are there other artists who inspire you?

The list is endless. I am constantly on websites like Abduzeedo, Behance, Visualize, etc. looking at the work and getting inspired and seeing what is happening out there in the big bad world. It’s insane the amount of talent out there, it really is a never ending brightly lit tunnel of inspiration and enjoyment. To name a quick three:  Jan Tschichold, Milton Glaser and Josef Müller-Brockmann.

You’ve stated that design doesn’t always have to be frivolous, commercial and soulless. Is there a message behind your work?

Most people tend to associate Graphic Design with Shampoo Bottles and Headache Pills in the aisles of the local Spar. It’s a necessary part of design and every designer will at some point have to create a cereal box or a label for canned Sardines. But ultimately graphic design is just so, so much more than that. It’s not all business cards and letterheads. Some of my work could be defined as frivolous, though a lot of it also contains intense thought processes and emotion too. There is a place and a time.
 

What is the process behind one of your creations?

Generally, I don’t like designing if I don’t specifically feel inspired to do so. Why would anyone else want to look at something that I don’t? I use a computer primarily, my camera and sometimes a scanner too. I always have both Photoshop and Illustrator open at the same time and am constantly dragging/dropping things from one to the other. I tend to do vectors, customize type, build up shapes etc in Illustrator and then pull everything together as a final piece in Photoshop.

Your work showcases the talents of a photographer as well as a graphic designer. Do you feel a particular affinity to either one art form?

My first love will always be Graphic Design, but Photography does come in at a very reasonable second place. The two also often intertwine for me and I have fun trying to blur that line. I feel an affinity to all art forms though, and then all sub-genres within those art forms. I appreciate aesthetics altogether.

How long have you being using graphic design as a medium for artistic expression?

I was messing around with Photoshop 3.0 already when I was about 8. Just playing around and having fun with it. From the age of about 13 is when the interest in “making pretty pictures” really started to grow (I’m 23 now.) Back then I didn’t know what Graphic Design was or that you could actually do what you love and make money with it. My interest in photography came from my Dad, he owned the first Pentax I ever saw (which I later used for Darkroom training.) He would take surfing photographs at places we’d stay around the coast and I just had to pick up a camera and learn more.
 


 
Do you have any favourite works?

I love Armin Hofmann’s Basel Theatre posters, ‘Companions of Fear’ by Rene Magritte, ‘On White’ by Wassily Kandinsky, Pieter Hugo’s photographic series “The Hyena & Other Men,” Shepard Fairey’s ‘Animal Farm’ book cover, Jan Tschichold’s Penguin book covers and Picasso’s ‘Guernica’ to name a few in a very long list.
 

It’s clear that graphic design is something you’re immensely passionate about. What would you say to someone who has very little interest in it as an art form?

If you really take a good look around you, you’d be hard pressed finding much that doesn’t to some degree involve graphic design. From every bit of text you see, (even the most mundane paragraphs of medical compositions,) to the logo on your jeans, the packaging EVERYTHING comes in, the poster on your bedroom wall, the magazine you’re reading, a stop sign down the street, the exam you need to write, the website you’re always on and the menu you’re ordering off. It’s important in our society to convey messages visually, graphic design goes even beyond being just an art form, it’s a practicality and necessity in our society.

What next do you have planned?

I am currently doing freelance work (e-mail me!) and designing as much as I possibly can to keep my portfolio sizable, growing and updated at all times.

Issue 24 of one small seed asks you to ‘Listen to my Colour and Look at my Sound’. Music, motion, words and colour – looking beyond the obvious, our latest issue brings a union of the senses. To follow is an all-inclusive preview of the new issue: a full breakdown of content that resonates with inspiration. Hold on tight…

The human story is told in the language of pop culture. Coca Cola designed Santa Claus and Hugo Boss the uniforms for the Order of the Death’s Head. Jimi played The Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock and the Devil went down to Georgia. David Byrne wore a big suit and Princess Leia that bikini. We couldn’t handle the truth, needed a bigger boat and loved the smell of napalm in the morning. Assorted male models shot JFK, RFK and JR, then Biggy Smalls, Tupac and the Sheriff. And something made Andy Warhol’s Marilyns smile. Maybe it was the hand up the Mona Lisa’s skirt. (Gustav Swart)

This issue’s theme of ‘Listen to my Colour and Look at my Sound’ led us to some odd doors as we sought artists that bridged the divide between the visual and the aural.  An interview with legendary album artist Storm Thorgerson – referred to some as the 6^th member of Pink Floyd – allowed us to revisit the aesthetics of the ’70s, while 21^st Century poster designer Dan Khulken tells us about making posters for bands like Black Keys and The National. Issue 24 is a 30 000-plus words visual explosion, and one such visually exploding artist we spoke to is the infamous Gonzo illustrator and Hunter S Thompson’s partner-in-grime, Ralph Steadman. Another artist that tore through the ’70s and still doing what he does best is Horace Panter – the bass player of The Specials. In this issue, Panter gives us a candid account of his life in music and his life as an artist, from playing with The Clash to his time working as a white van man, he shares memories of his life on a road less traveled.

Our fashion spread this issue comes direct from Tokyo, Japan. Creating a 3D-like effect, reminiscent of Nintendo games and early Star Wars films, Japanese designer Kunihiko Morinaga created his Low Resolution collection around the 8-bit inspired colorful square blocks. Mari Sarai’s lewd black and white nudes feature as this issue’s photography section, her subjects including celebs like Gavin Rossdale’s daughter Daisy Lowe and model Janice Dickinson. We have a feast for the ears in the form of interviews with Kenya’s globe conquering Just a Band and the revolutionary American poet Abiodun Oyewole – the man who robbed the KKK and worked with legendary Jazz musician Gil Scott-Heron on his famous song ‘The Revolution will not be Televised’.

Ever tasted the letter ‘f’? Or smelled the colour blue? Well, some people have! One of our main features this issue is on Synesthesia – the condition that lets people see sound as colour – and trace its path through the methods and madness of some of the brightest stars in the human firmament. Click HERE for a preview of the feature. On the local frontier, we sit down with singer/song writer/actress Sannie Fox, electronic trio Digital Rockit and all four members from Cape Town band iScreamStix. Olmeca Editión Black Tequila joins us in showcasing electronic DJs/Producers, with this issue bringing Blush n Bass and Felix Laband to the party.  We watched architecture dance slowly to visible music in our architecture feature, looking at structures like The Sum of Days, NY; Stillspotting, NY; the Jewish Museum, Berlin; Jetty Square and more.

Ending with the beginning, our cover for Issue 24 is devoted to one of the street artist/videographer Mr Brainwash’s tongue-in-cheek creations. This issue features a six-page interview with the artist, who talked to us from his L.A. home about money, art and Andy Warhol. Showcasing at 34FineArt Gallery in Woodstock, Cape Town is an exclusive selection of Mr Brainwash’s latest artwork, including issue 24’s ‘Madonna’ silk screen on paper with spray paint.

Right, without further ado… Here’s the breakdown for Issue 24 “Listen to my Colour and Look at my Sound”.

FEATURES

American Civil Rights Icon

Abiodun Oyewole: Grand, High Wizard

Founder member of The Last Poets talks about verse, Gil Scott-Heron and robbing the KKK. Click HERE to read our blog ‘The Revolution will not be Televised’ and find out more about the legendary Gil Scott-Heron: a spoken word poet, jazz genius and close friend to Abiodun Oyewole.

Defiant Photographer

Mari Sarai’s Girls on Film

Black-and-white nudes that stare right back and you and challenge the Gaze. Check out a video interview we found with Mari Sarai by visiting onesmallseed.tv HERE.

Aural architecture

Echo Chamber: The Sound of Space

Our investigation of sound and concrete spans the globe and classic art movies. First we took Manhattan, then we took Berlin. Click HERE and visit onesmallseed.tv to watch the video titled Berlin: Die Sinfonie der GroBstadt, which showcases a selection of abstract visual content that portrays the ‘life’ of a city.

Cape Town-based breakout band

iScreamStix: It ain’t Sorbet

A big scoop of local talent

Kenyan Globetrotters

Just an Interview with Just a Band

Meet the voice of East Africa’s ‘superhero’ Makmande. He may not exist but he sure kicks ass

Cross-sensory Exploration

Neuromagic: The Harmony of Synesthesia

We dive into the magical world inhabited by synesthetes: individuals who see, hear, feel, smell and even taste colour. Such people include legends of our time, like Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd, Marilyn Monroe and Vladimir Nabokov to name a few. Click HERE for a preview of the feature and then visit one small seed TV to see a video about this unique condition

Genre-busting rocker

Sannie Fox: Rage with the Machine

This star of stage and screen proves that you don’t have to be a fatbottomed girl to make the rocking world go round.

Gonzo illustrator

Ralph Steadman: Another Freak in the Freak Kingdom

We can’t stop here. It’s bat country

Controversial Pop Artist

Mr Brainwash: Laughing all the Way to the Banksy

We got a call from the man who calls himself ‘Banksy’s biggest piece of art’. We’ve uploaded a snippet of the interview featured in the magazine, simply click HERE and see if you can make out who Mr Brainwash really is…

Jozi Beats

Digital Rockit: The Neon Gods they Made

Local veterans of the electronic scene look forward and back

Classic Album Art

Storm Thorgerson: Dark Side of the Tunes

We get under the covers with the man who designed for bands like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Muse and machineri.

Troubadour’s Poster Boy

Dan Kuhlken: Dreaming of Electric Sheep

The National, The Black Keys, Red Hot Chilli Peppers… just some of the bands that LA-based design team DKNG have worked for

Musical contrasts

eleKTRONIK Dialogues

A new department brought to you in conjunction with Olmeca Editión Black Tequila dedicated to showcasing the best and brightest musical talent.

Ska rocker and painter

Horace Panter: If Music is your Special Thing

The bass player of The Specials went from fame to obscurity and back again

Avant-garde Fashion

Kunihiko Morinaga: Pretty in Pixels

Chic couture meets the chunky pixels of 8-bit arcade games on the catwalk. Check out our interview with Morinaga in the latest issue, and if you’re thirsty for more information on pixel fashion then check out our blog HERE.

DEPARTMENTS

IN STORE

Products for your eyes, hands, and mind…

BOOK REVIEWS

Get the critique on books that will read you.

SELECTED CREATIVES

We reveal the winners for Selected Creatives 06, a showcase of the very best uploaded to onesmallseed.net. Click HERE to check out who made the cut, voted by you on the one small seed network.

FILM REVIEWS

This issue we check out Mike Cahill’s Another Earth; Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar, Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, Tarsem Singh’s Immortals, Lars von Trier’s Melancholia and Paula Van der Oest’s Black Butterflies.

MUSIC REVIEWS

We dissect the beats that are supposed to move your feet.

NOW SHOWING

Issue 24 showcases some of the most gripping videos we found in 2011, including Influencers; Jeff Staple; Earth time-lapse view from Space; Press Pause Play; Morpho Towers: Two Standing Spirals; Brain Eno’s Imaginary Landscapes and Berlin Die Sinfonie Der Grosstadt, a fascinating video that sheds light on the discourse of aural architecture. Click HERE to watch these awesome videos.

THE LAST WORD

We leave this to South African writer duo Headline Payoff and illustration by Mark Venter.