TOP RIGHT: Erykah Badu’s production company logo, 2004. This was the first piece of work Helms did after moving from New York to Austin, and he says it was “a valuable lesson that when working in the music industry, always work directly with the artist. Not long after finishing the project it was redesigned, employing transparencies, gradients, and drop shadows!” BOTTOM LEFT: A year-long collaborative project with the band Modest Mouse resulted in a different poster for each live performance. Each limited-edition poster is based on a specific lyric, and allows fans to commemorate not only their favorite performance, but favorite song as well. BOTTOM RIGHT: FOUR DAYS WITH THE KKK, 2003. Helms spent four days with the imperial wizard of the KKK documenting his current agenda and activity. What began as an open-ended photojournalism assignment grew into a book and poster project. TOP LEFT: LUCERO DOCUMENTARY CD/DVD, for East-West Records, 2005. To support the theme of a documentary about the rigorous and taxing effects of touring, the packaging starts clean and devolves into a dirty, worn, beer-stained mess.

Christian Helms, The Decoder Ring Design Concern Latin Name: Aut Viam Inveniam Aut Faciam Age: 29 512.775.6329 | www.thedecoderring.com

For someone who didn’t know design was a valid profession until the end of college, Christian Helms has built quite a niche for himself in the design world. He’s a partner in The Decoder Ring Design Concern, a three-person firm in Austin, Texas, that’s fueled by passion for both music and design. The venture’s client list includes everyone from Modest Mouse and Wilco to MTV and Capitol Records. “It’s really nice running your own shop,” Helms says. “You can keep overhead low and be picky about the work you do take. You can champion good work.”

Helms’ driving force as a designer is at once lofty and humble: “I hope to be able to give a voice to folks who deserve it, whether it’s a company or a group or an individual.” It’s something he strives for in every project, from concert posters to pro-bono pieces with activist bents. One of his long-term goals is for The Decoder Ring to stay small, so the designers can continue to do work they believe in for clients who want to be partners.

Helms’ first degree was in journalism. He spent two years at Portfolio Center and interned for Michael Bierut at Pentagram. Eventually, he landed at John Bielenberg’s Project M—a program designed to show young creative thinkers how their work can have a positive influence on the world. At Project M, Helms got to work with Art Chantry and was heavily influenced by Bielenberg’s

“Thinking Wrong” mantra. “Christian has a rare combination of natural talent, intelligence, personality, and the desire to excel in his career as a designer,” Bielenberg says. “He’s always working it in a good way.”
Michelle Taute