Is No Good Kid an artist?
This text shares my personal view on the difference between artists and designers. I respect other opinions. And in the end, it’s just wordplay. It doesn’t actually matter that much.
The difference (by NGK)
As I see it, an artist is someone with unique style of work. You can tell - that‘s Picasso by one look. Or it‘s a Beatles song by just a few seconds of listening.
I make my living as a graphic designer. And as a designer working for various clients, I needed to develop ability to adapt the visual style to each project individually.
If you hire me, I‘ll learn about you, your work and your intentions a bunch, and then decide, what kind of visuals you need in order to meet your needs, because that‘s what you‘re paying me for: delivering visuals that will help you to fulfill your goals.
Branding for Golden Kettle Irish Pub, No Good Kid 2024
Artists designing
Don‘t get me wrong - there‘s absolutely nothing wrong with artists creating let‘s say logos as client work.
When that happens, the branding is influenced by the artist‘s unique style, and a part of the artist becomes a part of the project (like Voldemort and his horcruxes, although there has to be a better example 😁). And again, that‘s not automatically a bad thing - as long as the client is aware of it.
And sometimes clients even pick artists intentionally, because they like the artist‘s style and want a piece of it for their project. Totally cool.
And to mess it up a bit more, it is possible to be artist and designer in one person. You just have to know which part to turn on, and when.
Book design for AmityAge + Nostr Lounge design for Tanja & The Gang 💜, No Good Kid 2025
What am I?
This is what I wrote for my website:
If van Gogh created 10 brand identities, they would probably look very similar. An artist is usually someone with one specific style of work. That’s not me.
I’m a design chameleon. I can connect with the project, find its unique voice, and put it into visuals.
I also need to mention, that No Good Kid was originally intended as a fluid creative collective, and sometimes when working on a project, I invite other creatives to join in.
For example, I can‘t draw for shit, so when I get a gig where professional illustrations are needed, I simply work with other designers and lead the project as so called creative director, which means I develop the idea and someone else is performing the design. Sometimes those external creatives want to be credited, sometimes they don‘t.
Book design for bitpunk.fm, No Good Kid feat. other No Good Kid 2025
A bit of art anyway
In recent years, I was part of various projects, where I had the opportunity to bring something from my own taste of design, like the evangelistic project Story316, or a lunarpunk zine Dark Forest.
They basically told me to do whatever I wanted with the design. So yeah, I might have gone a little artistic there, meaning there was no design brief for me to follow and I got to come with my own stuff.
But even then, I wasn‘t thinking about No Good Kid first. I did what I believed was best for the project.
Creative photoshooting with mirrors for Story316, No Good Kid 2020
It‘s a gift
We’re all given various talents.
When an artist is given this gift, the note attached says: This is your unique voice - be known as YOU.
In my case, it goes: There - an ability to support OTHERS.
I might chase visual arts in the future. Creating in different styles would help me develop my own design voice. But not just yet.
Stay no good. 🤘🏻💀
NGK
https://www.nogoodkid.com/