Christophe Szpajdel

Christophe Szpajdel is a Belgian illustrator and calligraphist, principally known for designing band logos. He was born on September 29th 1970 in Gembloux, Namur, Belgium, but grew up in Louvain-la-Neuve, Walloon Brabant, Belgium. His parents are of Polish origin but immigrated to Belgium before he was born. Since 2006, he has been residing in Exeter, Devon, England. Szpajdel's most prolific logos include ones designed for Disgrace (3) in 1990, Emperor (2) in early 1993, and most recently Foo Fighters and Rihanna. Since designing his first band logo for Belgian death metal band Morbid Death (3) in 1988, he has today drawn over 10,000 logos, mainly within the black metal, death metal and dark ambient music scenes. The significant amount of work that Szpajdel has done in the industry has lead him to be nicknamed the "Lord of the Logos". This sobriquet was reinforced when he authored a book of the same name, "Lord of the Logos: Designing the Metal Underground", published in January 2010 through Gestalten Publishing. The book showcased his designs from over the years and was successful enough for a sequel, scheduled for publication in 2019 through Heavy Music Artwork. Szpajdel's illustrations have also appeared in the books "Logos From Hell" (2008, re-printed 2015; Doomentia Press) and "Arte Arcana" (2018; Heavy Music Artwork), and have been featured in such magazine as Metal Maniacs and Vice Magazine. In the early 1990's Szpajdel contributed to Septicore Fanzine.