A Tale of Two Passions: The Rise of Multidisciplinary Artistry

When I was studying graphic design at Virginia Commonwealth University, I stumbled upon a blog with artwork that really captured my imagination. To my amazement, that same artist released an iTunes Free Single Week called “A Walk” from his very own ambient music album. It was a surreal combination of art and music, and it left me in awe of a person’s potential to achieve excellence in more than just one creative endeavor. His name is Scott Hansen, a multidisciplinary artist living in San Francisco. He records music as Tycho and creates visual work as ISO50.

It was a long and winding path for Scott, but it all started with design and music evolving concurrently. In high school, he did pen and ink drawings, but never thought of art as a potential career. In college, he got a copy of Photoshop, and right around that time, also got some damaged audio equipment from a friend — that set him on the path of thinking about how music was made. After slowly getting into drum & bass and electronic music, Scott started thinking about the creative process and the fact that there are people out there who apparently make music for a living, and that it’s possible. Before he knew it, he started making mixtapes and little recordings of his own, which he also designed covers for.

Scott then created ISO50, which started out as his portfolio and included some poster art; that evolved into his blog and something so much bigger than he could’ve ever imagined. He originally got into design through photography and, as he started to manipulate the photos, started to incorporate illustrative elements as well. He eventually began to work more with typography and learned some of the basic principals of design, which became a big part of building his brand and visual identity.

He began creating music in 2001, and over the next eight years, what free time he had between design gigs was spent creating music under the name Tycho. It wasn’t until around 2009 that he decided to focus on music as his primary artistic pursuit. Since that decision, his career skyrocketed. His four albums have received rave reviews and have been at the top of Independent and Dance/Electronic Album Charts, leading to the rise of a large and passionate fan base. Scott is currently signed to, and has released under, Ghostly International, but has also released music on Merck Records and Gramophone Records.

When asked about his process and any advice he could give to aspiring artists, he admitted that he doesn’t have “any super insightful tricks of the trade. It’s all about time and pressure. If you love a thing and are willing to work hard at it, then keep pushing and never give up on it.”