My first art job was with IMC Corporation in Tupelo, MS and my boss was the very wise and talented John Minnix. John helped me to get an understanding of how the business of art worked and he was a mentor of enormous worth. After working with John for a few years, I made my way to Pensacola, Florida and a packaging division of St. Regis Paper Company where I generally made life miserable for everyone around me for the next three years while I learned to design packaging for ice cream, cookies, and lots of other food items. Some of those designs are still in use by our former customers.

In 1968, a moment of stupidity overtook me and I moved to Mobile, Alabama to become General Manager of a new firm called APPSCO. After a year of constant bickering with my partners, I decided to move to Nashville to pursue a career in music. Music has been pretty good to me, and I found a way to live in both the music industry and design business.

Best guess is that since 1970, when I moved to Nashville, I have probably designed more than two thousand record, cassette and CD covers. I have done hundreds of books, tee shirt designs and countless ads, brochures and more. A small (and very incomplete) list of clients can be found on my company website: www.farrardesign.net. I'll add a few here as time permits.

The really fun part of designing is getting to know the client and getting inside their heads. I saw a sign on a fellow’s desk once which read, “Art is anything you can get away with.” After considerable thought and years of looking at “Art”, I don’t agree. Hanging drapes in Central Park and cutting up cows isn’t art. My opinion is this: “If anyone can do it, it’s not art.”