Wipeout Design

Wipeout was a game that was created in 1995 for Sony Computer Entertainment by Pygnosis. The game was first released on the Playstation and saw a number of follow ups released on the PS2, PSP, and its latest, Wipeout HD on the Playstation 3.

The game is about a futuristic anti-gravity racing league. The game is very crisp and precise and always has the latest in electronic sound track to back it up.

The Designers Republic gave the game a realistic and corporate approach to design. And other design companies have kept this look to date.

I first played this game when I eleven and was instantly hooked on the in game design and how much depth and detail went into it.

The games cover, logo and team design was primarily designed by The Designers Republic. Even though the studio is now closed, they have kept the same style that made the game what it still is today.

This is a piece of Wipeout concept art from the latest installment Wipeout HD. I was attracted to this piece because the swirls coming off the ships almost make it look as if their coming alive. It is also pushing all the design limits of the ship to make a stunning piece of artwork.

This is the first installment of the Wipeout series. This cover has been designed by The Designers Republic. Straight away we can see that this has very corporate and futuristic feel. The racing league logo looks very professional and makes the product look like it could be from the future and that the racing league is real.

This is the cover for the game Wip3out. This cover has also been designed by The Designers Republic. the picture is broken down into sharp shapes that are coming together to make the various ships in the game. I think this effect works really well on the cover because it symbolises that this is the start of something coming together.

I like this sketch because the general design approach is quite different from the typical Wipeout design, yet it manages to keep the Wipeout feel. I particularly like the usage of black and white tones. This makes the ship look cold and hard. The more scruffy sketches towards the outside make it look like a the ship is being designed for the first time.

This piece of design is very eye catching because most of the detail is in the background. The track and the environment behind the plain whit ship seems to be breaking apart as the ship comes past. This gives the impression that the ship is traveling with intense speed.

These are the logos for some of the racing teams on Wipeout. Notice how all of them are very clean cut and corporate looking. This sort of design is typical of the The Designers Republic.

This is a poster for the third installment of the game Wip3out, advertising the games soundtrack. The futuristic theme that runs throughout the Wipeout design has been kept here. The yellow of the equalizers stands out very well on the all red background.

Fingerlickin Records

Fingerlickin Records are a London based breakbeat label that started in 1998. The founders where Justin Rushmore and Jem Panufnik. Together they form the breakbeat artists Soul of man.

Most of the label art work is created by Jem Panufnik who is a Graphic Designer and it is he who I will be looking in in the post.

I was lured in by Fingerlikin records when I heard the Plump Dj's on the radio. However, it was not until I went on the Fingerlickin website that I released that Jem was an amazing artist.

his usage of amazing hand rendered illustrations and the mix of digital art really inspired me to create some of my own work and is one of the main reasons why I chose to become a Graphic Designer.

The vibrant colours that are displayed in all his work really capture the music that he and his label produces. His use of creating and layering different tones make the pieces come alive with excitement and his almost cartoon style keeps up the funky and happy vibe.

He mainly hand renders the majority of his work and then uses digital programs to touch them up and create the gradients that are used for his backdrops.

Another thing that he excels at is typography. The fingerlickin Records logo on the spring break flyer is a prime example of this.

CD celebrating 10 years of Fingerlickin madness!

Spring Break flyer advertising a party thrown by the label

Brothers Bud - The Herbgrinder (original Mix and Drumattic Twins Remix)

Shimon and Nixon - Around The Edge / White Noise

Slyde - High Rise / Get This Good

Slyde feat. Lady Posh - Vibrate To This Original Mix and Trouble Soup!! Remix!

Soul Of Man - MyLowDownDirty / Foxy Moron

Slyde - We Love Ot / Ride On

This is a talented Grafitti Artist who is showing how Jem's artwork can be turned into a stunning piece of grafitti

The Designers Republic

The Designers Republic is a Graphic Design company who first started in Sheffield in 1986 by Ian Anderson. The design company became well known for its anti-establishment based ethics, while at the same time embracing consumerism and the corporate designs that went with it.

The Designers Republic clients include

• 
  
• Coca - Cola
• Aphex Twin
• Orange
• Nine Inch Nails
• Sony computer Entertainment
• Psygnosis (Wipeout)
• Dior
• Virgin

Although the studio shut down in early 2009, Ian Anderson claims that there will be a future for TDR.

...TDR is a declaration of independence from what we perceive to be the existing design community...

This poster is advertising an exhibition by the Designers Republic. I chose it because I loved the usage of lines and colour that are used to create the building. It is clever because no one has drawn the outlines of the building, the lined colours do this very effectively. The people flocking into the building also create a sense of excitement which is exactly what you need to create, if you want people to come to your exhibition.

The text at the side cleverly mirrors the shape of the building so that emphasis is not lost on it.

This image was chosen because I found it interesting the way they used a piece of lego as a robot to represent a model citizen. To me this suggests that robots are created in our best image and therefore are model citizens in our eyes. Or it could mean that the lego represents the innocence of a child, again model citizens who can do no wrong.

I chose this image because of its catchy tag-line, Work Buy Consume Die. I liked it because it was very corporate and consumerist. The logo very much resembles the pepsi logo and the japanese text gives it a techy edge. The tag-line very much resembles the modern capitalist world we live in and this is typical of the Designers Republic.

This is another piece of design created for the musical outfit Aphex Twin. I chose this piece because of its shear bizarreness and wow factor. A beautiful figure of a girl with the head of a strange smiling man. The mans face is Richard D James and he is Aphex Twin. It is one of those images that you don't want to look at, but you cannot help but stare at it!

This poster has been designed for the musical group Nine Inch Nails. What struck me about this piece was the sharpness and roughness of the font. In the background we can see a battleship firing several of its large guns. The pixellated and distorted effect of the type works really well with the image behind it because it looks like the cannons are causing the effect.

I like the way this piece encompasses lots of different patterns and colours to create the final image. It looks like packaging for a some sort of product, though it is hard to tell what the product is. I think the different illustrations work well together and the bluntness of the text gives the impression that this piece of design has a particular purpose.

I chose this design because I like the simplicity and futuristic look of the type face. Although it is quite simple it is very stylish and clean. I particularly liked the how the G looked like it had be designed with so much ease but yet still have so much style. The usage of white and a fairly dull orange really encapsulates the crispness of the black font.

This design really captures my imagination. The middle is fairly chaotic and intense with loads of swirls and patterns fighting for competition. However as we look towards the edges we can see that the lines begin to get bigger and there are less of them. It makes the image looks like its shattering. The usage of bright colours also works really well on the majority of brown and gives it a lot more depth.

I liked this design because the main Illustration (the girl with the bat) has ben designed with really bold, smooth and navy blue outlines, which makes a change from the usual black. The design on the background helps draw your eyes to her, even though it does get a bit detailed towards the top.

I found this to be quite a random piece of design. It combines a lot of different images and text and is laid out almost like a comic strip. The design is for an album and I can only assume the text is from the lyrics of the songs on it.

This image is interesting because it combines very basic, block design with much more elaborate illustrations. It also makes good use of combing old photographs and design with modern design. This gives it a good contrasting effect

Single and Album Cover Designs for the Plump Dj's by James Chutter

This work has been designed by a Graphic Designer and Illustrator called James Chutter. This work that he has done for a DJ duo call the Plump Dj's has been a massive inspiration for me.

The designs are all bonded by their unique style that links them all to the same album.

The singles also have their own styles that links them directly to the song title.

I think working with music is an amazing way to create good design as it allows you to work with so many different emotions and styles.

James Chutter's use of hand rendered illustrations combined with digital vector is something that I have been experimenting with and something that over the next three years, would really like to continue.

The usage of vibrant block colours, bold, black outlines and subtle layer variations works well to create an amazing illustration. The backgrounds that consist of over lapping circles help to give the individual pieces more depth without diverting attention off the main illustrations.

The Album Cover - Headthrash

The Singles - Beat Myself Up (Night Remix) / London Street Music

The Singles - Shifting Gears (Stanton Warriors Remix) / Rocket Soul

The Singles - Snake Eyes / Disco Unusual

The Singles - Torque Of The Devil / Take The Weight

The Singles - System Addict / Doppler

Pieces of Design that inspire me...

This advert caught my eye because I like the way it was taking the mick out of another company in order to sell itself better. I also really liked the way the image did not need any text to back it up. This signifies a very powerful, witty and clever advertisement.

This design I think would be very effective at selling the product its representing. In this case it is the Heineken beer. This picture represents unity and having fun at the same time. It relays the simple selling message of if all these people are having a good time drinking heineken maybe you should to.

This piece of design attracted me because of the meaning behind it and how simple it was explaining it. The health care system written backwards is only meant to suggest one thing and that is that the health care system is backwards. simple and very blunt.

I chose this piece because it has an extremely effective message that is very clear visually. Although the design is meant to have a serious message we cannot help but find this image funny because this simply would not happen in real life. I think this is the real message that they want to get across... if you have sex without a condom, it is as stupid as the above.

This piece of design was chosen because it reminded me of my first week of my degree. Seeing my peers work for the first time made me realise that there was going to be a lot of competition, but it also made me realise that there was also a lot of inspiration to soak in. This is definitely a piece that brings up mixed emotions.

This piece of typography has a simple but effective meaning. It is the total opposite meanings of the two phrases that works really well, especially when they come together. the type has been very cleverly manipulated so that the viewer reads the two different words almost at the same time to deliver a quick and clear message.

This piece captured my attention because the main focal point of the piece, in this case the light, has been so simply used. The light bulb has been smashed and there fore it should be impossible for it to light up, but it does. The light signifies a small yet powerful defiance to the darkness that surrounds it.

Again this piece is based on massive contradiction. We can clearly see a mushroom cloud in the shape of a laughing clowns face. Everyone knows that clowns are supposed to bring joy to people and that nuclear weapons kill thousands of people at a time. However clowns are also a subject for evil and the huge smile on the clowns face makes the image even more sinister and powerful.

I chose this piece because I thought the controversy between the disco ball and the bus stop worked really well. We normally think of bus stops, especially on a cold dar and wet night as being not the nicest places to be. But the light coming from the ball is suggesting fun and excitement which makes it look intriguing.

I selected this image because I loved its flow and the way it links itself together. To me the blue sky that forms a circle in the centre of the piece represents the earth. The people that revolve around the edge look like their all enjoying the life that the earth is giving them. This is a very happy, clever and positive piece of design.