Tom Jansson of Tom’s Design Vault is known for his artistic graphic designs featuring a rad combination of retro cartoon characters and legendary hip-hop albums. His undeniable creativity has allowed him to reconstruct albums from some of rap’s most notable names like Kanye West, Kid Cudi and Lil Uzi Vert.
Tom refined his art practice while in college, studying architecture and designing apparel graphics on the side. When the pandemic struck, the 23-year old took his artistic abilities to the next level by coming up with the idea to create his legendary, album-inspired graphics. “I used this increase of free time locked inside to work on my art.” A redesigning contest for Barter 6, Young Thug’s 2015 album was what started it all. Tom put his skills to work by reimagining the monumental cover with a playful twist. “I showed my friends I was living with the pieces, and one had suggested making an Instagram to show off my different art, so I created Tom’s Design Vault.”
Sheesh Magazine dove into the artistic mindset of Tom Jansson to grasp a deeper understanding of this creative individual and how he began his graphic design journey.
Q: How did you come up with the idea of tying hip-hop albums and cartoon characters together?
TOM JANSSON: “The idea to incorporate 90s cartoon characters in album art was inspired by a bunch of Marvel Comics a few years back, where they reimagined iconic hip-hop album covers with Marvel Superheroes. I thought that was so creative and it made me think, well what if I started to incorporate the cartoons I grew up watching into different covers.”
Q: What is your favourite album artwork graphic you have designed?
TOM JANSSON: “Either the Spongebob Squarepants x Coloring Book or the Rugrats x Goodbye & Good Riddance. Those two are probably my favorites because they incorporate such a super specific element from each show that people can recognize and associate with it when they see it (the novelty hat Spongebob buys from Mr. Krabs in one episode or the Reptar car from the Rugrats Movie) with the basic elements from the original covers to tie the whole reimaging all together.”
Q: What drew you to hip-hop in the first place? Is it your favourite genre of music?
TOM JANSSON: “It’s without a doubt my favorite genre of music. I listen to all genres, but hip-hop is definitely my favorite. So when I started making album art, I wanted to design the cartoons I watch with the music I listen to on a daily basis.”
Q: Who are your favourite musical artists?
TOM JANSSON: “I’d have to say my favorite artists in no specific order would have to be A$AP Rocky, Action Bronson, Kanye West, Lil Uzi Vert, and Mac Miller.”
Q: What is your favourite cartoon show?
TOM JANSSON: “Growing up my favorite shows had to be either Ed, Edd, and Eddy or Spongebob SquarePants. There’s so many other shows I loved watching that I still love watching today. The Simpsons are definitely another favorite of mine. Those guys have been on T.V. for so long there really isn’t something they haven’t done yet.”
Q: Favourite album(s) of all time and have you made a graphic design to pair with it?
TOM JANSSON: “Some of my favorite albums include Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Mac Miller’s Blue Slide Park and Jay Z x Linkin Park’s Collision Course. There’s so many others but it’s kind of funny actually because I always get nervous or get too critical of my art when trying to design for a lot of my favorite albums. I guess it’s because they mean so much to me, so a lot of my all-time favorites I haven’t released any designs for at the moment.”
Q: Who is your dream hip-hop artist to design album artwork for?
TOM JANSSON: “Honestly, there are so many talented hip-hop artists out there right now, whether they’ve been in the game for decades or are just starting out. I would be honored if I had the privilege to design album artwork for any of them really.”
Q: Any future projects or new ideas you’re working on?
TOM JANSSON: “I have a couple I’ve been thinking about for a little bit now, but I don’t want to spoil anything. A lot of people have asked me if the vinyl records I make for each cover are real or where they could get them, so that’d be a really cool thing to look into later down the line. I’m really just getting started. I’ve been so fortunate enough that my artwork has been noticed by so many people already in such a short period of time.”
Fans of Tom’s Design Vault are what keeps him moving forward with his art. He is truly appreciative of all support and encouragement from his community. “I just want to say thank you to everybody that has been supporting me and encouraging me to continue with this. It truly means a lot. It can only get better from here. The sky’s the limit.”
Browse more art from Tom’s Design Vault and keep up to date with future projects through his Instagram.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
