2018 sees a landmark year for Tristan King, owner of Voodoo Design based in Shropshire.
The new year will be his 30th anniversary in the field of graphics, advertising, publishing and branding. Since leaving Stafford Art College with a diploma at 18, Tristan hasn’t known any other job than the role of designer. From junior designer to creative manager right through to business owner, Tristan now runs his own Wellington-based agency specialising in design for print. It’s hard for him to believe that when he started, computers were few and far between and weren’t used for design!
“It’s impossible to show three comprehensive decades of work in a portfolio, as there’s not much I haven’t designed!” Tristan said. “From aircraft graphics to gin labels, there’s been plenty of weird and wonderful projects in between, from caravan importers to educational board games. It’s the variety of work that keeps it all exciting – across all budgets and industries.”
When deciding to go it alone, Tristan explained there was some worry that the big names he’d previously done work for, such as Asda, Arsenal, Stannah and the NHS, would scare off the sole trader, but one-man-bands were (and are) just as welcome as corporate giants like Denso – and treated the same.
He remembers the best perks were whilst working for magazines, with supercar test drives, meeting the odd celebrity and enjoying restaurant and hotel reviews. Magazines have also allowed him to show off his illustrative abilities within special features and on front covers. He’s also illustrated a number of books too, both factual and fictional.
“One down side to my job is when I have to play ‘ghost designer’ for trade customers – much like a ghost writer” he explained. “It’s on behalf of a third party and the end customer doesn’t even know I exist. There’s a lot of design work out there in Shropshire and beyond that’s mine, and even if I’m really proud of such creations, I’m not allowed to shout about it!”
Tristan appreciates design is a really hard industry to break into, and is thankful for enjoying 30 years within it, and looks forward to a few more decades designing, whether it’s undercover or not!
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