If you’re like us, you reacted to Justin Bieber singing Metallica lyrics and repping the band on TV with a combination of disgust and resignation. But if he’s going to co-opt metal for his style, at least he’s going about it the right way. Rolling Stone has an interview with logo designer Mark Riddick, who designed his merch. Riddick has not only done art for Metalocalypse, but also designed shirts for the likes of Exodus, Dying Fetus, Suffocation, and many more, and even has several books of his logos. Jerry Lorenzo, who’s designed the Fear of God clothing line and Riddick sat for an interview with the magazine. Riddick said he was initially confused by the request to draw his stuff, but Lorenzo sent him lots of logos as references:
I just sent him tons of metal references from Motörhead to Testament. I wanted him to focus on “Bieber,” as we thought at this maturation stage in Justin Bieber’s career, it was crucial to focus on his last name. For the Purpose logo, we wanted something fun and skate-inspired, which speaks to Justin’s interests and younger fans.
Riddick shared several of the logos that didn’t make it (see picture) that were more metal-looking, but realized that Bieber’s female audience might not like it so much. He says that while some metal fans are disappointed that he’s worked with Bieber, he’d “rather see Justin utilizing a metal-inspired logo made by a real professional from the industry rather than a haphazard interpretation.” Okay, seems legit. So you’d think that he made bank from the pop singer for creating the logos, right? Nope, not so much:
I charged Justin Bieber the same I charge any other client I work with. Some might think this is foolish, since Justin is well off, however, I’m a fair person. I believe in treating others fairly. There is no denying that Justin is a hard worker; his success makes this clear. He has an unimaginable amount of demand on his time; I can’t even fathom being in his shoes. Just because he’s rich doesn’t mean I should take advantage of his wealth. He earned his status and place in society just as I have. He should be treated with the same respect I treat my other clients.
