All Access

Job no:81378-5 Title : RP_All Access (New PB Verdions) Client : Pro-vision

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175 Size : 203.2(w)254(h)mm Co : M6 (mac J)

Dept : DTP D/O : 22.10.05 (Job no:000000 D/O : 00.00.04 Co: CM0)

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I

still think out of all the disciplines, graphic design is the broadest. That’s why I was drawn

to it. I liked the idea that you could end up designing a typeface, making a film, or even

designing clothes. Potentially, there can be a large crossover into lots of different media—

and that’s a really healthy thing.”

Born in 1973, Tom Hingston grew up in Lewisham, in the southeast part of London. Creativity

runs in his family. “My dad’s a silversmith; my mum a florist. From quite an early age I became

aware that I had some sort of raw artistic talent, and both my parents actively encouraged me

to go off and explore this. They were never concerned that I should concentrate on anything

academic, even though neither of them had ever made a great deal of money doing what they

did. It was about being happy in what you do that’s more important. Experiencing the love

they had of their individual crafts was a big influence on me.”

Being a boy with an interest in the arts, Hingston found himself in a favorable spot. “Up to the

age of about eleven, my mum would often take me to art exhibitions and events. Living in

London is a fantastic resource for that. In my early teenage years I’d take myself—getting the

train after school to go and see shows like Hockney at the Tate and later Neville Brody’s

exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum. That had a really profound effect on me. It made

me realize what a broad area this facet of design was and how much of our culture it affected.”

Hingston left school at the age of sixteen to study at the London College of Printing and later

went on to get his undergraduate degree at Central St. Martins. “Toward the end of

St. Martins, I felt my time in education had reached a point where I could no longer gain

anything from being in an environment like that. For me, the challenge of working and

applying my approach to projects in the commercial environment was far more stimulating.”

“

Tom Hingston has revealed himself to be at the forefront

of a music-packaging renaissance that flies in the face

of shrinking sales and the migration to online music distribution.

Like relics from a future past, his designs shine

with special effects of feature-film quality

and move with a debonair grace that belies his age.

TOM

HINGSTON

1994 1998

NOW

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Dept : D

Job no:81378-5 Title : RP_All Access (New PB Verdions) Client : Pro-vision

Scn :

#

175 Size : 203.2(w)254(h)mm Co : M6 (mac J)

Dept : DTP D/O : 22.10.05 (Job no:000000 D/O : 00.00.04 Co: CM0)

p60

5th Black

1995

22

1996

23

1994 1998

Faze Action, Plans & Designs,

record sleeve One of Hingston’s

early successes, this 1995 sleeve

for the British dance act Faze Action

shows him moving from the neces-

sary simplicity of his flyer work toward

more complex compositions.

“NEVILLE TAUGHT ME A GREAT DEAL.

IN MANY WAYS HIS STUDIO IS

HOW COLLEGE SHOULD HAVE BEEN.

HE ENCOURAGED ME

TO LOOK AT ALL PROJECTS

AS PART OF AN ONGOING

LEARNING PROCESS.”

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