Rob Downes | Graphic Detail

We caught up with Rob Downes who is our main graphics guy here at Idol. He is responsible for all the weird and wonderful iconic graphics on all our Idol pieces. Rob is always spotted out and about at a fine soiree and always has something interesting to say and wear. (He will be going red now!) Look at him here pulling a silly move and again with his gorgeous girlfriend Wei.....we wanna know just what makes him tick??

Name some of your Idol's dead or alive?
My Idols are Slash and Axl from Guns N' Roses, Van Halen ( he is a guitar God)

What inspires your graphics?
My graphics are mostly inspired by music, and also from books.. I love learning new techniques from other artists old and new. I also just draw inspiration and ideas from day to day life. Every time I leave my house in the East End I see something new and interesting. Just yesterday some guys had turned my roof into a tropical paradise installation... there is always something going on.

What's on your ipod in the studio?
On my i tunes at the moment is Faith No More, The Melvins, Bleach by Nirvana. I have also been listening to a lot of folk and blues.

Who is you ideal celebrity to wear Idol?
Beyonce was amazing, seeing her already in the magazines wearing Idol was great. I would like to go back in time to 1985 and see Kelly LeBrock, from the film Weird Science, wearing Idol. She was hot!!

What's for lunch?
One egg and one evil claw.

Who's at work with you?
No one is at work with me... I am all alone. Sometimes I talk to myself or talk to the TV.

Neat freak or a bit messy?
A bit of both really.. when I'm working and doing illustrations it can get a bit messy until it all gets a bit much i have to really tidy up.. and then i start scrubbing everything.

Where to hang out?
Mostly around the Bars in the East Of London,.. I sometimes Stray to China Town for food.

How many hours of sleep do you run on?
There is no such thing as sleep.. just coffee!!

What can we expect for forthcoming collections graphics?
There will be exploration into the early Punk scene and more retrospective rock based imagery from the music archives