Ryan Marter has been practicing graphic design professionally since 2015, when he founded his initial firm Multiple Graphic Design. A musician and producer himself, he quickly realized that musicians and bands typically have a hard time finding affordable, yet professional designs to help promote their music, so 2 years later he founded a spin-off company called Arctic Wolf Design that caters solely to the music industry. Knowing how musicians think and what they want has given him a huge advantage and has allowed him to find great success as a musician friendly designer.
The Crafty Musician Blog is proud to feature Arctic Wolf’s Ryan Marter in this month’s edition of Industry Spotlight…
So first of all, tell us the story of Arctic Wolf and why you started a graphic design firm that focuses solely on musicians, bands, and the music industry…
So the story starts way back in 2013. I just left university with an architecture degree and was looking for a full-time position at an architectural firm. It was harder than I thought, and I spent about six months applying for jobs. Fortunately, I was taught the basics of design during my architectural course, so I was able to use these skills and take on some small graphic design jobs to bring in some much-needed income. I eventually landed myself an architectural job, but after nine miserable months, I realized I enjoyed graphic design more!
So I took the plunge and set up my first business, Multiple Design, and spent six months working on it during my evenings and weekends to get it going. I was also producing music on the side as a hobby and used my design skills to create all my branding. I realized how important this was for a new musician. You can’t rely on your music alone. A brand must be developed. And then it clicked and I realized I could help other musicians with their branding.
In 2015 I left my architectural job and started my career as a full-time freelance designer. Most of my earlier clients were small start-ups and bands which I obtained through Twitter and sites like Upwork and PeoplePerHour. After about two years of hard work, I decided to split Multiple Design into two businesses, where one would focus on corporate branding for start-ups, and the other would focus on merchandising and branding for bands, musicians and music-related businesses. This made my marketing and advertising a lot easier as I had a clear target audience! I really wanted a cool name for the new business which would resonate with musicians. I settled for Arctic Fox Design but quickly realized that someone else owned the domains, so Arctic Wolf Design was the next best thing! Running two design businesses is hard work, but they both allow me to do the work that I love for a living.
Wow, that’s a great story! I noticed that you used the word ‘realized’ 4 times, which I think is important because it shows that you were learning things along the way that impacted your decisions. I think we often assume that we should know exactly what we’re going to do and how we’re going to do it right out the gate, but that’s just not how it works. We have to allow for our plans to change… So was it a hard decision to walk away from your Architecture career after only a couple of years removed from earning your degree?
I think I just have a limited vocabulary! To be honest, I spent about six months not knowing what I was doing! I knew how to make things look pretty, but I didn’t know how to run a business, or how important a solid brand is when it comes to success. I guess this has something to do with me not studying graphic design. I have had to learn on the job. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing though – it has allowed me to grow at my own pace and learn from my mistakes.
Halfway through my degree, I realized it wasn’t for me. I naively thought that I would be more comfortable with it when I moved into full-time employment, but it made it worse. I was always drawn to the creative side of architecture, but hated the technical side. I am grateful that my course touched on the graphical side because it gave me a backup career path.
Some days it’s incredibly stressful, but I just have to remind myself of what I have built on my own, and that I probably wouldn’t have it any other way! Designing within the music industry is incredibly rewarding…and I get a huge kick out of seeing people wearing my artwork on their t-shirts!
I’m glad you found something you really enjoy. With all of the different types of music and styles out there, how do you go about designing artwork for a specific artist and genre?
Just like how each music genre has their own sound, they also have their own distinct image and aesthetics. By using certain colors, imagery, and typography, it can help differentiate the genres. For example, if I was designing for a metal band I would use dark colors, often black. The lyrics in metal songs often deal with dark themes, so it’s good to visually depict this. I would showcase a range of serif lettering, often Gothic or Celtic in style. The imagery is usually occult, and I would be applying a distorted or decayed effect to the artwork.
On the other end of the spectrum, if I was designing for an EDM group, I would be exploring futuristic imagery, with bright, eclectic colors. The lettering will be bold, and often abstracted.
I always advise bands to stick to their genres when it comes to design. It allows the fans to know what to expect. Imagine buying what you thought was a pop album, only to find out that its death metal!
Yeah, that would be funny! I actually come from a design background as well, having studied and practiced Industrial Design before moving over to music and web publishing. Do you ever create something like a visual brand language manual for music acts? I’m thinking of something like a document that defines what their genre, style, and persona look like graphically, through colors, fonts, imagery, etc.
I do. When I send over the finished files, I also supply a brand guideline. This document changes depending on what the client purchased, but it usually explains how they can use their logo in print and digital formats. The logo is supplied in color, as well as monochrome and black and white. The document also advises which fonts would work well, and where best to use their chosen colors. Certain fonts and colors work well online, but can look bad printed, so the document lays this all out for them. Branding shouldn’t be scary, so a document like this is vital for bands who are unfamiliar with this process, and helps break it all down for them in easy to understand vocabulary and diagrams.
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Wow, that’s great! I can see that being really helpful and definitely adds value to your services for sure. Are there any graphic design trends that you’ve noticed currently within the music industry?
Music is always evolving, and so are trends in design. In the last two years, there has been a push into the experimental side of design. One example would be glitch art. This is an art form made up of distorted, “pixelated” imagery. The process is pretty random and the results can be exciting. In the past six months, I have worked with five bands who have asked me to depict something similar in style.
Another recent trend that I have noticed is the retro/vintage aesthetic. This style makes use of grainy, desaturated imagery, which recalls back to the Polaroid photos of the twentieth century. It is proving popular with indie bands and acoustic solo artists. Some of my recent projects have made use of candid shots of the band members or scenery, and laying them out to be used as album covers.
I think I’ve noticed the Glitch Art affect being used in videography lately as well. So there are all kinds of things that can be enhanced with artwork. Are there any projects you’ve worked on that stand out where an artist or band asked you to design something out of the ordinary?
On my website, it says I can design anything, and many bands have decided to challenge me on this! I recently got asked to turn one of my logos into a neon sign which the band could use during their live shows. I had never done anything like this before so I was pretty excited to be involved. This was during the Covid-19 lockdown in the UK. Fortunately, I managed to find one business that was still open and could help. The results looked absolutely amazing, and the band was extremely pleased with it.
Some honorable mentions include guitar picks, beer mats, pint glasses, Snapchat filters, glow in the dark stickers, ladies leggings, and a bunch of USB sticks shaped like miniature cassette tapes. One previous client was so happy with my artwork that he had it tattooed on his arm! It’s pretty cool to see the different ways bands use to market themselves.
Wow, having someone tattoo your logo design on their body is the ultimate compliment! What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve seen musicians make with artwork?
The number one mistake I see amongst new bands is plagiarising other artist’s logos or album art. It’s important to stand out, rather than to blend in when it comes to music. Overstuffing the artwork with every theme in the album is also a mistake. From experience, I would advise bands to depict the core values to their audience instead. And finally, more bands need to brainstorm together and come up with a theme that they would all like depicted in the artwork. There’s nothing worse than coming to an end of album illustration before the drummer suddenly decides that the design should be pushed in a new direction. Cohesion amongst band members is vital.
Yeah, I could see you having to regularly ask bands if every member is comfortable with a certain direction. I don’t know if a lot of artists or bands make getting a logo a high priority. How important would you say having a logo is for music acts?
The best advice I can give is to treat your band like a business. You should know your target audience, manage your income, and more importantly, know your brand. Having a strong design not only looks cool, but it also has a significant impact on a bands performance, as it creates familiarity, which creates recognition, which creates trust, which then creates investment. It should be timeless, versatile, striking, and memorable. If it is unique, it will help your band stand out in the industry. The right logo enhances this first impression, providing trust, and helps you stand out among your competitors, which boosts sales, increases profits, and creates a grip on the market.
That’s a really good point. It’s hard to imagine a business being taken seriously without a logo. I guess once you have a logo, that kind of helps put a graphic to your brand and opens the door for a lot of opportunities from t-shirts, hats, and other apparel to stickers, banners, drum skins, etc…
Yes! A logo is a great starting point in visualizing your brand. It is often the first thing bands get done. It’s like laying a concrete foundation for a building, once you have a logo, you really feel like you have started your band. It helps establish your style, as well as the colors and font styles that you can use in your advertising.
Is there any software or resources that you would recommend for musicians or bands that are on a tight budget and are going to design their own artwork?
The Adobe Creative Cloud includes three flagship products containing Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. These are considered the industry standard when it comes to 2D digital design. They can be purchased through a subscription-based service.
There are also plenty of free alternatives which can be used both online and offline to help new musicians to create their own digital designs. These include Gimp, Gravit Designer, Vectr, and Inkscape. I have even heard of bands that use Microsoft Paint to create pixel art covers. Even I still use Microsoft Paint from time to time! It’s by far the quickest and easiest way to crop images.
If your budget is tight and you cannot afford a professional designer, I would recommend looking on sites like Fiverr and Upwork to source an affordable designer. However, you should be careful as there are a few bad eggs on these sites that plagiarize designs. You really don’t want to land your band in hot water with any copyright infringement issues.
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Good advice! You can’t go wrong with the Adobe suite if you’ve got the money, and I know for a fact there are some reputable designers on Fiverr and Upwork as well. Are there any other tips you might have for musicians creating their own artwork? Maybe what they should or shouldn’t do or things to look out for…
Start by doing some really simple sketches of what you want. They don’t have to be amazing, but it just helps to get them out of your head and on paper. Use some colored pens to work out the shades you would like to use. You should have a clear idea of the themes explored in your music and you should be considering which ones you would like depicted.
It’s always valuable to do a little research into what similar bands are doing and how you can learn from them. As previously stated, do not plagiarise! You should be innovative ideas rather than taking ideas. It is also important to consider the visual guidelines that the big streaming platforms ask for when it comes to cover art. They are not there to limit your creativity, but are in place to create a good experience for the fans and avoiding things that could be deemed confusing, incorrect or offensive. Your artwork should be an invitation to your music, not a warning sign that scares them away.
Again, great advice! What can a design firm like yours offer that musician or their friends couldn’t necessarily do on their own?
The knowhow! Apart from the sound of your music, the other way to pull in fans is through branding and merchandising. We are living in an age of streaming, and the artwork which you use plays an essential role in representing your sound before someone even clicks play. Friends may be cheaper, but they don’t have the know-how or experience when it comes to establishing a brand and employing it to catch people’s attention and pull them in.
There is also a technical side that designers know about. This includes supplying the artwork in a format that is good for both digital and print. Professional designers spend a lot of time making sure their artwork will print to the highest quality. And finally, professional designers have a network of other professionals who can offer more to the band. I regularly work alongside t-shirt printers, photographers, banner printers, and web designers.
That all makes sense. Out of all the different things that require graphic design from logos, album artwork, social media banners, apparel, posters, etc., are there any that you would say musicians should not cut corners on and have made professionally if possible?
Preferably all of them, but I understand how tight their budgets are. Logos and album art are probably the most important when getting started. At the very least they should have a logo. This can be used on your first EP or on your social media until you have a bigger budget to move into other mediums.
What advice do you have for musicians looking to hire a graphic designer for a project or series of projects? What kind of things should they look out for and what questions should they be asking their designer?
They should be asking what it is that they would like to depict in their artwork. Do they want a symbol to represent the band, or would they prefer the band name in a fancy or cool font? Or would they like a combination of the two?
They should be considering the colors they would like to use, and how these tie into their band. They should be looking into which font styles they would like. Will they be modern, scripted, futuristic, grungy, etc?
They should also be supplying them with some information about their band, including what genre of music they play and any deadlines they have in mind so they have something to present to their fans during their first big gig. They should also be clear on their budget. Often certain design services can wait until they have the funds to purchase it. And most importantly they should send the designer their music, finished or unfinished. I play every track I get sent, and anything that I visualize when listening, I jot down and refer to when I start the design.
I see. So they should basically get all of their thoughts and ideas out so that you know where their heads are at before you dive in. If an artist or band was going to hire you for a graphic design project, what should they expect?
After supplying me with all the necessary information, I put together a brief so the band knows I am on the same page. I use an easy to understand contract which protects the rights of both myself and the client. These include information about deadlines, print, cancellations, and all the other legal stuff involved. After a signed contract I usually ask for a 50% deposit upfront. I then begin work on the design and acquire feedback from the client regularly. Changes are made until the client is happy with the artwork. The final 50% is paid, and I supply the artwork and transfer the copyright. The artwork is supplied as a JPEG, PDF, PSD, AI, GIF, PNG, SVG, and EPS which is a scalable format that keeps its quality. These formats are ideal for both digital and print. I will also include the fonts too which the band can use as part of their advertising.
That seems pretty straight forward. How would an artist or band go about hiring you for a project?
I can be contacted via email at: arcticwolfdesign@hotmail.com.
I can also accept messages on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Or if you prefer, I can be contacted on the phone. If local to my hometown of Worcester, UK I am always pleased to meet face to face!
Awesome! Well thank you so much for your time Ryan and we wish you the best with your endeavors.
Thank you, it has been a pleasure! I hope my answers will help out any new bands who are interested in hiring a designer.
If you want to read more, check out these Common Visual Branding Mistakes from our friends at Indie on the Move.
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