We are proud to kick-start our new merchandise range with the first in a series of t-shirts collaborating with designers and artists we admire.
In the series we ask the artists to provide a design based on the theme, what does music mean to you?
First up is Manchester-based, Emily Dayson.
About Emily
Emily is best known for her work with Manchester Dubstep label Infernal Sounds, providing the beautiful and much loved artwork for their releases.
Being huge fans of her work, we reached out to Emily to be the the debut designer for our ‘What does music mean to you?‘ series where we ask the artist to visually answer that question through their art.
We had a chat with Emily to get her thoughts on the design and some insight into designing.
Tell us about how you got into design work.
I have loved drawing for as long as I can remember and have always wanted to turn it into some kind of career. I went on to study Illustration at Uni, which felt like a natural path for me. Since then I’ve been working on my own projects as well as taking on commissions in my spare time.
What valuable advice would you give to designers just starting out?
After graduating, I decided to work on personal projects, which really helped my style to flourish and improve. This made me more confident in myself and in my work so that I could build up my portfolio and put out more content on Social Media. As a freelancer, I think it’s really important to use tools such as Instagram to find inspiration, build networks and promote yourself. Aside from dedicating your spare time to creating artwork, a huge part of being a Freelance Illustrator or Designer is actually creating your own brand and running a business, so It’s important to clue yourself up in these areas. I’m certainly nowhere near being able to do it as my full time job, but it’s something that I will continue to keep pushing and working at in my spare time, and hopefully it will pay off eventually!
"I wanted to try and capture the vibrations of bass as well as the good vibes and friendly community"
The theme for our collaboration project is ‘What music means to you’ – can you tell us about the journey from idea to completion?
I had a brainstorm of what music means to me, and although I love many different genres of music, I decided to focus on 140 as it was my first love within electronic music. Even to this day, I don’t think anything beats an intimate, bass-heavy dubstep night in a dingy little venue. I wanted to try and capture the vibrations of bass as well as the good vibes and friendly community, which I feel is so unique to Dubstep. I decided to use a Soundsystem stack as the focal point of the design with plants growing from and around it, making a link between Dubstep and the way it has evolved from its roots. Plants are also something that I like to use heavily in my work, so it seemed fitting to involve them. I also included subtle lines of movement and vibration surrounding the stack to visualise the sub-bass feeling that resonates with me so much!
What do you hope people take away from your design?
I hope that people will be able to see the positive energy and vibrations I’ve tried to capture & through the design. It would be great if it resonates with people who have had similar experiences in the dance, or even to open the genre up a little to those who haven’t!
The t-shirt is available to buy now but is only available for the next 3 weeks so make sure you grab one quick! Own it here
And remember to take pics of yourself wearing it and tag us and Emily!
You can also follow Emily on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and support her art by purchasing from her shop here.
Nikki has worked in various positions in the Music industry for over ten years including Artist Management, Booking Agency and Record Label Management. She runs Synchronicity, Spentshell, UKBM and Manages Flowdan.
“Bass does something to me. I absolutely immersed myself in Drum & Bass during my teens and early twenties, and when Dubstep came along I was thrown into that love once again, not just the music, but the whole community surrounding it.
Working in the industry has been a dream for me, and being involved in such a vibrant scene means that I constantly come across incredibly talented individuals who I just want to shout about and that’s what I use the UKBM platform for, to promote talent whether known or new.”
