This is the page I designed for the book, Words So Leisured: An A-Z of Franz Ferdinand by Helen Chase.

There’s also a wee paragraph in the book about my involvement with the Franz Ferdinand fan club. Hurrah! (I hope it’s alright with Helen that I’ve typed this out here.)

“In keeping with their interest in all things retro, and their desire to communicate with the fans, the band readily agreed to Mark Hathaway’s suggestion that they should set up an old style fan club. The band’s commitment to it was demonstrated with the first issue when fans received a vinyl copy of Swallow Smile, coupled with an acoustic rendition of Take Me Out recorded exclusively for the fan club. Franz Ferdinand fan Kris Heding was approached by Mark and asked to help with the graphic design aspect of the fan club, towards the end of 2005. She says, “Of course, I agreed to do it. At first, I didn’t realize how much involvement I’d actually have, but I’m pretty much responsible for everything ‘arty’ relating to the fan club. I’m very interested in the styles of art that have influenced the designs of their album/single artwork and videos – Constructivism, Bauhaus, Suprematism, the Russian avant garde and the art of twentieth century Soviet propaganda. I’ve been able to create designs that are unique to the fan club, but still reflect the band’s artistic style. The artist Aleksandr Rodchenko has been the biggest inspiration for me. I based the artwork for the Swallow Smile single and the cover of the second issue on his work. Designing the single artwork was the most fun, as it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. Designing for the fan club is great fun and it gives me an opportunity to gain a lot of experience in the graphic design field.”

You can order the book from HMV, Amazon and other music retailers in the U.K.