BISON :: Cape Town’s Sacred Design Beast [exclusive interview]

Bi.son

noun ( pl. same) a humpbacked shaggy-haired wild ox.

The guys over at BISON have a paranormal gift for creating striking art, illustration and design. Their style lies somewhere within the oxymoron of DIY sophistication, and their peculiar layout and edgy type treatments always employ a shameless shift towards the experimental.

Their process uses techniques as bizarre as printing onto ‘non printable’ materials, and utilizing found objects such as human hair in their artworks. Call it odd, but you can’t deny the outcome is something of genius.

They are a Cape Town based studio, and have been featured in Computer Arts [UK], iDN [Hong Kong], and One Small Seed [SA] to name a few.

We caught up with the rare and mystical beast that is BISON, for some telepathic Q&A.

DP: First up, coming from a country with such an array of odd animals, why the name BISON, a creature so alien to us?

B: I originally wanted to use the name for some music I was making about two months before myself and Linsey ever discussed starting Bison. The night after we decided to start something in the line of art and design, the name came back to me and seemed to fit perfectly and I liked the fact that it was born of another very expressive medium, music – something which we are both very passionate about.

DP: You guys have a very unusual style, is there any formula behind your design, or is it spontaneous from the beginning?

B: Usually it is pretty spontaneous and in the moment type thing, or when the inspiration drives it, But sometimes when we deal with corporate clients they often want to see a plan and progress so they can comment on the direction before the end result…we have been fortunate to have some clients who believe in and trust the decisions we make during the design process enough to leave us to our own devices or natural process.

It’s hard sometimes to try find the balance between allowing the project to unfold in a very spontaneous way and brief or timeline constraints.

DP: What tools/media/technology do you use to create your pieces?

B: Photography, flatbed scanners, any mark-making tools like pen, pencil, paint etc, and then there is an Imac and a mac mini.

DP: What would you say is the most important factor in your creative process?

B: Probably subjectivity and intuition. As long as something feels right to you – go with that feeling.

DP: How do you see yourselves within the SA design industry? Would you say that it directly influences you, or are your inspirations somewhat more abstract?

B: We wouldn’t limit our influences to the field of art and design, in any country, just because that’s what we do. Inspiration comes from our experiences everyday; it could be something a friend said, family, nature, music…anything really. Having said that, I think for such a small place we have an amazing amount of creativity flowing though Cape Town and the rest of S.A and that in itself is an inspiration to keep pushing.

DP: How do you see the SA design industry in relation to Europe and the rest of the world?

B: South Africa is hugely underrated when is comes to art and design. We could all identify a Dutch designed poster, a graphic identity from New York or a classic British design…what I like about South African art and design is that although it has strong roots, (on the whole) we don’t have a style that is particular to our geographic situation and culture. It shows that we are using our subjectivity rather than producing what would be expected from a South African designer. Although there is nothing wrong with celebrating our strong heritage and diverse cultures though art and design.

DP: What artist, brand or collective would you most like to collaborate with?

B: Anyone really. When it comes to collabs its usually with the people we meet and just get along with.

DP: What advice would you give to those young’ens that wanna become a BISON when they grow up?

B: Take up a musical instrument, start a band with your friends. Watch Wes Anderson movies. But just be honest and true to yourself, that’s all.

DP: Why did the BISON cross the road?

B: It liked the sound it’s hooves made on the hard asphalt as apposed to the usual soft grass it had become accustomed to.

You heard it! BISON has spoken.

Check out BISON’s way cool website over here, and their Behance folio this side.