Rob Lowe, who sometimes goes by alias Supermundane, is an industry veteran who has worked with everyone from *Wallpaper to Sleazenation, and even designed book covers for Penguin. His distinctive use of colour and line make him a go-to guy for surreal minimalism. We’re huge fans, so that’s why Creativepool are happy he’s our first in the Focal Point interview series. And he exclusively gave us some new pieces of work to show too. One is a mural at the agency Cake and the other is a psychedelic themed print for the London Illustration Fair.
Could you give us a little insight into who you are and what you do?
I'm Rob Lowe, I'm a graphic artist, illustrator, designer, sometimes I write a bit and make noises on various instruments. I've been in the creative industry for 20 years and have been a full time graphic designer, editorial designer (sleazenation, Good For Nothing, Anorak and Fire & Knives) and now I'm a full time illustrator and artist.
Any particular reason for the alias?
I never really expected to be in a position to make a living out of my personal work and an alias seemed like a good way of producing work in a more anonymous way. Now most people know my real name is Rob Lowe so, sometimes, the alias of Supermundane seems a little redundant but I still really like it and it's useful for separating my more illustrative work and what I consider to be pure art, which I do under my real name.
You seem to favour simple lines and colour, but use them to great effect - how did you develop your distinctive style?
I've always loved simplicity. Even though some of my work can appear complex there is always a simplicity at the heart of it such as limited colour pallets or lines only being 90 or 45 degrees. My work has developed quite a lot in the past five years. Previously I was known for my detailed, organic line drawings. These were developed over the years when I was working full time as a graphic designer. In 2010 I started to look at how I constructed the drawings; taking tiny bits and simplifying them to the point of them just being a few lines and colour. I still wanted these to have the depth and movement of my original drawings but be more geometric. That really started me off on the road to where I am now.
What's your all-time favourite piece of creative work?
This is always a tricky question to answer especially because I do lots of different things. I'm very proud of the work I did on the children's magazine Anorak. Unless you meant my favourite piece of work by someone else? In which case It would be really impossible for me to say. In Watermelon Sugar by Richard Brautigan is a book I have read over and over again and that is definitely up there in my favourites as is the song Murderer by the band Low.
You’ve worked for some really high-profile clients, but what’s the craziest/most inspiring project you’ve ever worked on?
The craziest thing I have worked on would probably be a Noika ad which I actually appear in drawing a massive whale. I had to crawl around on the floor of a huge studio at Shepperton tracing out the shape of a 20 foot whale under very hot lights.
You’re a stalwart in the graphic design game, what are the most interesting changes you’ve seen in the industry over the years?
I haven't worked in a commercial studio for over ten years now so I don't really know how it has changed in that respect. The main changes I have seen though is that people have become more generalists. When I first started there were very specific jobs: graphic designer, illustrator, typesetter, artworker etc. These rarely crossed over. Now one person can be all these things. In fact it is probably expected. The benefit of this is it has allowed me to become what I am today, which is a bit of a generalist.
How do you keep your ideas fresh?
I'm always trying out new things and I'm not really afraid of change. I think once you become dogmatic in your approach then the work will become stale. I am always open to new directions. Often a new series of work can come about through a mistake or from an unrelated project. It's seeing something useful in these things that allows new directions to happen. There is a John Cage quote that sums it up "We're breaking all the rules, even our own rules. And how do we do that? By leaving plenty of room for X quantities".
Do you have a motto?
Not really but I have various statements such as: "My head is full of stuff I do not understand" or "It could be such a simple world".
I'm a fan of the Taoist phrase "It is easier to run a buffalo of a cliff than to beat it to death with a stick." Not that I would ever do either! But do I think there is a lot of stick beating in the creative industry.
What advice do you wish you’d had when you started your first job?
My first job was a graphic designer in a kettle factory. I'm not sure what advice I could have given myself other than to get out of there sooner than I did. I've enjoyed the path my career has taken, it has been very serendipitous at times. I've never really had a proper plan and because of that I have been open to new challenges. This works for me but I could imagine others finding it an unsettling way to live. I guess my advice would be to believe in yourself and be honest with yourself. There's the phrase "if it's not hurting it's not working" but sometimes it might be hurting just because you are doing the wrong thing.
Future Learn: Supermundane
Diary of a Nobody: Supermundane
The Ride: Supermundane
Brummell Magazine, Supermundane
London Illustration Fair, Supermundane
