Art & Graphic Design
Interview by Ben Z @WI608

Chris Bliss and I connected for the first time back in 2011 through our mutual friend, Nik of Amythest Audio. (http://www.amethyst-audio.co.uk/) Nik and I were in the process of creating a six track EP called Technocrats (http://benz.bandcamp.com/album/technocrats), and Nik (who produced under the alias of Dr. B) mentioned that he had a good friend in Nottingham that was quite the talented artist and would be doing the album art.

“Great! Can he do something art-deco inspired?” I asked.

“Absolutely. This guy is great! He can do just about anything.”

Of course the final artwork turned out so dope that in 2012 I hired Chris to do all of the album design, poster design, and online header design for my new experimental album with German producer, Dejection: Liquid Reflections (http://liquid-reflections.com). So it makes me very happy to be able to do an Upcoming Hip-Hop Q&A with this gifted artist from the UK that crossed my path because of hip-hop.

Start off by telling us who you are & where you’re from.

My name is Chris Bliss (my parents must've had a sense of humour), and I'm from Nottingham, England. Robin Hood country!

When did you first discover your passion for art?

I've been drawing on things since I can remember. I used to love drawing as a kid. I always struggled to figure out how I could make a living from doodling on things, but it seems to have worked out well in a roundabout way. I definitely think that schools should enlighten kids to the possibility of making a living from art. I was mostly told that there was no money to be made in an art career, but the truth is there's so many different paths you can take: graphic design, illustration, fine art, advertising. There are many ways to make a good living from art, and the internet makes it so much easier to get your work out there.

What/who are you biggest influences?

I take influence and inspiration from a lot of sources. It's a bit of a cliché thing to say I guess, but everything from a nice hand-style on a telephone box to a really clean piece of Swiss style graphic design. As a designer I try to stay as open minded and adaptable as possible which sometimes clashes with the romantic idea of keeping a really distinctive style that people will recognize as mine. I think that's something I struggle with sometimes, but I like to think I strike a balance between the two ideals.

How does your work tie into hip-hop and fashion? (Album art, shirt designs, etc.)

I think hip-hop is a huge part of modern culture. I struggled to figure out the path I wanted to take whilst I was in college so graffiti taught me a lot more about myself creatively than I seemed to be getting out of school. With that foundation I looked to apply the lessons I'd learned about composition, colour theory and balance from graffiti into the design work I started to do. In that respect I feel like what I do will always have some grounding in hip hop. Even if I end up painting some kind of countryside landscapes for a living when I hit old age, I'll be trying to cram some kind of hip hop influence into it. On the fashion tip, I think I've always been interested in fashion. From a design point of view there's something amazingly appealing about creating something that someone would like so much that they would wear it.

On the hip-hop note, who are your favorite artists to listen to and why?

That's a hard one! I'm really into the idea of listening to whole albums. Playlists are great for parties and when there's people hanging out and whatever, but if it's just me walking somewhere or getting work done, I'm all about albums — no skipping. For that reason, there are a few albums that get a fair bit of play in my office. There are the "standard response" albums like illmatic, Endtroducing, 36 Chambers, etc., but I try to keep up with new releases too. I've been stuck on the new RTJ (good for when a deadline is close and I need to really get shit done) for a while, but really anytime anyone's stepping with that realness, I'm all ears.

Tell us about Ratchet Clothing and your role with them.

Ratchet Clothing (http://www.ratchetclothing.co.uk) is a clothing brand that was started by my boss, Dhillan, two years ago whilst he was just 16, and it just took off. A year into their journey I was brought on board as the in-house designer to handle shirt graphics. Now I currently work across a lot of areas of design within the brand, whether it be designing the layout of our retails space in Essex, to shirt graphics, designing garments from scratch or even making artwork for fliers or social media. This year we're really upping our game across all areas so it's really fun as no two days are the same — and I'm learning a lot about the fashion industry. I'm borderline obsessed with becoming a better designer so for me it's important that I have something in my 9-to-5 that aligns with my ambition.

What do you hope to accomplish in your career?

I think ultimately I would like to just become the best designer I can be. Not to be better than anyone else but just to be sure in my mind that I've created the best work that I can.

Connect with Chris Bliss
www.chrisblissdesign.co.uk
Instagram.com/fatherblissmas
Facebook.com/chrisblissdesign | Twitter.com/_REWS