Today we’d like to introduce you to Christo Downs.
Hi Christo, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
With 29 years of design industry experience, I am an award-winning creative director and graphic designer living and working in Los Angeles. Born in Cincinnati, I grew up in Phoenix and started my design career in Seattle. After a tour of all of these cities, I finally made my way to my favorite home in Los Angeles in 2004. And still here.
A fun story I love to share about arriving in LA… I met my wife a mere three hours after arriving at LAX. We were introduced by a mutual friend (at a bar) in Santa Monica. We are now raising two teenagers who both excel at Venice High School and we are about to celebrate our 20th Anniversary. For the single readers out there… here’s proof that crazy things can, and do, happen!
Since a very young age, art and design have always been my biggest passions. My uncle in Cincinnati was a very successful graphic designer and his inspiration and guidance were the first nudge in that direction. It is also important to note my deep fascination with music and album cover artwork (Peter Saville’s designs for Factory Records, Joy Division, New Order, OMD; Vaughan Oliver’s work for 4AD Records, et al.) solidified my decision to pursue a career in graphic design.
Over the years I’ve been very fortunate to have worked on a wide variety of design projects with incredible clients from all over the world. Personally, there is one significant design project that stands alone. In 2015, I was hired by Carl Sagan’s wife and creative collaborator on the Cosmos TV series and the Voyager Golden Record, Ann Druyan, to design the logo for the Carl Sagan Institute at Cornell University. As an astronomy and space exploration enthusiast, the opportunity to design the visual representation of the legacy of my greatest hero was both a humbling experience and a lifelong dream come true. The institute was founded to continue Sagan’s work to search for life in the Universe.
Speaking of being inspired by music… while working on multiple collaborations with composers and musicians on the design of various album covers, in 2020 I founded the indie record label, Circa Recordings. Circa represents emerging modern classical composers as well as electronic and avant-garde artists. Here, it is important to explain that I am not a musician. However, the process of creating this record label has now afforded me a unique opportunity to work with artists from every corner of the world – from Iceland to Japan to Iran, Cambodia, Spain, Canada, Malta, Turkey, Germany, England, and right here in the USA. As the label’s creative director I have discovered that the intersection of design and music is my favorite place to create and play.
I believe this profound thought by painter Jean-Michel Basquiat sums up this design/music concept perfectly, “Art is how we decorate space. Music is how we decorate time.”
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Well, yes and no… moving from Seattle, where I had a great network of industry colleagues and clients, to a massive city like Los Angeles with only a few friends and ZERO clients was very intimidating to say the least. However, this is where my girlfriend-turned-wife enters the picture again. She is a veteran of the LA advertising industry community, so very quickly her network became my network just by association.
The old saying “it’s all about who you know” will always be relevant in some way or another as a means for an outsider to break into an industry. That being said, at the end of the day if you can’t deliver the creative and don’t have the talent to back up your reason for being in the room… someone is going to notice and you’re probably not going to be invited back. Nothing is more inspiring than seeing a new creative bring their A-Game and swing for the fences! Los Angeles is home of some of the most incredible talent I have ever seen and collaborated with. Our city wouldn’t be the creative Mecca it is without this inspiring community for which I am so proud and honored to play a small part.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
As a designer, my portfolio is as diverse as my client list. What I find most interesting about this profession is that each project is a new challenge with a new education for the task at hand. I really don’t have a specialty other than the ability to consider the needs of the client, adjust my creative approach to match the challenge and pull from my resources in a collaborative effort with everyone on the team. I’ve found that this holistic creative process – sans creative ego – most often produces an enjoyable dynamic and ultimately quality design.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Authenticity, always.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.christodowns.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/designedbychristo
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christodowns
- Other: https://www.circarecordings.com
Image Credits
My portrait photo credit: Astrid Downs. All other portfolio images are my photographs and digital images.
