When I first spoke with John Darnielle of ‘The Mountain Goats’ about the aesthetic of his new record, he said he’d like to see a mix of ‘ancient divinity’ and ‘1980s fear’ mixed with ‘a sort of contemporary wicca’, I thought ‘wow – this guys record had better be good!’. He didn’t disappoint. When he sent me the songs (demo’s at first) I could see immediately where he was coming from, the rich tapestry of well crafted lyrics take you along a journey you dare not switch over from.

On a slight tangent, when i was younger a friend of mine had a pirate copy of The Exorcist, I was genuinely scared to have this small label-less Betamax tape in my house, its two white spools staring at me in the darkness, ‘Poltergeist’ had a similar vibe’ – the ‘portal’ in the corner of our homes, where you can literally ‘switch to the other side’. There was something about that 80s supernatural austerity..

I should point out this album isn’t at all death metal (altho John is a big fan), and its always a risk that it might end up looking so bearing in mind the previous two paragraphs. No, this album had to look classy and minimal, invite you to pick up and examine further, saving the chaos til you open the box. It had to be black, except for some delicate spot silver typography of course, something rune-like but with a modern twist, Sam Chirnside had a prototype face that with a tweek here and there worked perfectly. So then, a modern mysticism. John agreed. we were up and running.

John sent me short descriptions of all of the songs (most are not as obvious as the titles suggest) and I then set about filming (on iphone) and sourcing archive footage to take grabs from. There’s something about a video grab, its murky and undefined. I remember reading a book called ‘Reasons for Knocking at an empty house’ by Bill Viola and looking at the sequences of distorted video images therein, they’re unsettling even if they’re not meant to be, I wanted that vibe, like the songs themselves the viewer can then draw there own conclusions, or, if they like, can just turn over.

It was coming together nicely, but i felt was looking a bit too dark, so the original sleeve became an O-card (wraps over the jewel case) and the cover in the case became the familiar pattern found on the back of tarot cards (done as a spot silver on maroon).

I don’t usually write so much on these posts (come back…!) but i thoroughly enjoyed working on this record. Maggie Fost and Merge (the record co) were very supportive, and John Darnielle genuinely made me feel like part of the recording process

Once in a while a job comes along which is a real bear to wrestle, designing the local council logo for the town I live in was one of those occasions. Bradford on Avon is a beautiful part of the country and I feel very lucky to live here, as well as proud of its history and attitude to the future. I was approached by the Council to create a mark which reflect/suggests this positivity, also with a nod to important landmarks of the past. Those who know the area will be aware of the town bridge (built early in the 14th century to replace the broad ford that gives the town its name) and its 17th century lock-up (and possibly a chapel before then). On top is a fish-shaped weather vane: the ‘Bradford Gudgeon’; prisoners were said to be “below the fish and over the water”. For many many years it has been an icon of the town and it would be foolish to ignore this when considering a logo. Often at the banks beside the bridge you’ll find the swans, their nests, and at certain times of the year their eggs, then all being well, their young. So I set about photographing, sketching, distilling elements, going through many changes, always aware of the weight of responsibility when designing some so close to home, until finally coming up with a simple, colourful image which I hope reflects the warmth and optimism of our town. Take a look at the site bradfordonavon.co.uk to find out more or, even better, come visit.

Used on all Council correspondence, buildings and town signage.