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