Designers We Love: Simon Berndt

INTERVIEWED BY Lindi Brownell Meiring

Talented Cape Town-based illustrator and designer, Simon Berndt (of One Horse Town Illustration Studio) chatted to us about his aesthetic, why music has a big impact on his work and what we can expect to see from him in 2015.

How would you describe your design style?

A graphic illustration style with a nod to traditional printing methods and alternative cultures.

We know this is going to be a difficult question to answer, but which artwork have you most enjoyed creating so far in your career?

Yeah, that is a tough one. There have been a few, but at the top of the list would probably be my Golden Animals European Tour poster and my Black Angels poster for RAM Touring. Not only did I love how they came out, but it was also a real honour to work with two of my favourite bands. 

There is another illustration I did this year that I have not released yet. It’s part of a series and it’s certainly the illustration I’ve spent the longest time working on. It’s been really fun to craft it super intensively over a lengthy period. It’s also one of my favourites.

I also had a lot of fun with the second series I did for KFD, the Zulu Zombie Skateboards.

A number of your artworks relate back to your love for music. In what way does music influence your aesthetic?

I love poster art and album sleeve design: they’re my favourite forms of design. The way type and provocative imagery work together and relate to each other is very cool to me. I’ve always been extremely passionate about music, so poster art is really where my two major passions collide. It’s kind of organic how that has happened.

Art relating to music (and also film) are probably where I find most of my inspiration. The fact that most rock posters were traditionally silk-screened also has a big influence on my style and I like to work as though my art is going to be silk-screened. I often use a minimal colour palette and very few digital effects.

Do you have any exciting projects coming up for 2015?

There is an exhibition I’ve been working on in my own time. It’s still a way off and there’s a fair amount of work to do but I’m hoping to launch it next year. There is also some exciting poster work for the beginning of the year. I’ve got the Psych Night posters for an exciting local band’s tour in January and our next international act in February. I’m also doing a poster for an awesome music festival in the UK that I’m very excited about.

To view more of Simon’s work, visit behance.net/1horsetown.