Warp Records, Also Based in Sheffield
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JCAMERON/2409/FORM_&_FUNCTION_ZINE Ian Anderson: Founder of The Designers Republic in 1986 and main artist/designer. tDR closed for business in 2009, but the studio continues to live on. The Designers Rebublic is: Ian Anderson, Darren Pascoe, Richard Wright, Marc Allott, Lois Greaves, Rob Brearley, Tom Smith, Nick Tymn, Nicole Jacek, Lydia Lapinski, and Ash Spurr. Alumni include: Nick Bax, Michael C. Place, Matt Pyke, David Bailey and David Smith. http://www.thedesignersrepublic.com/ http://www.pho-ku.com/ 1A-Z VOL THE DESIGNERS REPUBLIC, 1986-2009 REPUBLIC, DESIGNERS THE FORM & FUNCTION & FORM WITHIN THE SPECTRUM: SPECTRUM: THE WITHIN Meet Sissy. The first experience I encountered with a tDR sleeve is among the few times in life when an album cover can actually sell the music at first glance of a release, without having to hear anything beforehand. Sleeve designs by tDR always had an unmistakable impression of psyche Delia, hypnotics, and minimalism. Most notably, the average 12” tDR label would closely resemble a fresh white labeled, promo on wax recently pressed due to the minimalist approach of tDR’s design work on many releases. Exclusive white labels were once well sought after by bedroom DJs, record collectors, and those familiar with the underground since it’s a test pressing with only the catalog number of the record company, which leaves plenty of room to be filled up for tags by DJ’s and graffiti artists; tDR’s graphic vinyl labels would often crunch the track title, record label logo, and name of artist along, with the catalog number and allow more room for ownership of the buyer. Still however, like graffiti, tDR’s tirelessly used bold text and bordered outlines made ordinary graphic design a work of art within itself. PREFACE ounded on July 14, 1986 by Ian Anderson, FThe Designers Republic (tDR) which initially began as a production company to design flyers intended to promote the band Person to Person, became the graphic design studio based out of Sheffield, England to go on to produce various forms of media including record sleeves that were, according to Q Magazine, among the “100 s a child being already heavily inspired by illustration, Best Record Covers of All Time.” Other quotes Aanimation, and fine art while growing up during an era describing tDR give account to similar praise where it was also the last time I could recall that music had such as ‘the most copied design company on an impact on my life, graphic design was among them, and the planet’ or ‘the most influential studio of the it was my family’s vast record collection that enabled it. 1990’s and beyond.’ - Dexigner, Feb. 2006 Going through the selections of R&B, Jazz, and Disco albums, admiring the artwork while staring at the discs, and reading the lyric and credit sheets while spinning the vinyl; it became increasingly evident that I would grow up to be either an artist or a DJ, but since purchasing tons of vinyl (what disc jockeys used to rely on way back) can consume your paychecks, graphic design easily replaced that dream as I was still able to use my visual artistic skills to the fore. Russian constructivism combined with an ironic twist of politically incor- rect creative freedom was the original concept for Anderson from the very start, soon other elements of tDR’s style included juxtapositions of Japanese anime and futurism which later gave way to the vast diversity of their portfolio. From an angle, one would consider the often reoccurring playful, cartoonish theme displays an unconventional approach to graphic design that may be perceived as anti-conservatism. The vibrant colors and bold outlines which has become a maintained trademark of tDR is a modern take and very reminiscent in due respect to the highly influential work of the likes of Peter Max and Push Pin Studios. After 23 years of service, on January 20, 2009, tDR closed for business, however, the studio continues to design album covers for the record label that gained tDR significant momentum, Warp Records, also based in Sheffield. BLECH MIXTAPES From the late nineteen-eighties into the nineteen-nineties, Sheffield’s Warp Records was the sound of Rave culture and a primary tool for every top notch DJ who knew his or her music well. Warp Records catalog was a collection of class electronica that spawned the most heavily played and familiar records made available during the years of 1989-2004. Blech was the DJ mix series that was produced in two separate volumes of DJ mixes of music from various Warp Records artists. The second volume of Blech was released only on CD in 1996 and on the cover, featured the iconic “Sissy” character Anderson, et al, used at random in tDR production, the character quickly became highly recognizable and has reappeared many times on other publications. FIRST OF THE BLECH MIX-TAPE SERIES (1995), AVAILABLE ONLY ON CASSETTE. THE 1996 CD RELEASE OF BLECH: “THE NEXUS PHASE”. POLYGON WINDOW, 1993 RECORDS WARP AKA: THE APHEX TWIN. PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL (FLYERS & POSTERS) FOR THE SHEFFIELD NIGHTCLUB: NY SUSHI. The 1991 debut LP “A Word of Science” by NIGHTMARES ON WAX featured among the first album cover sleeves produced by tDR for Warp Records. From release to release, tDR’s slick and bold, but minimal designs appeared continuously from Warp’s earliest 12” singles which were usually NOW recordings, whom were the first artist to be signed to Warp. it was realized that tDR would become the official packaging graphic design studio for Warp Records. 1993 1997 SUN ELECTRIC AUTECHRE NY SUSHI NY SONY PLAYSTATION tDR’s logo for the GTA franchise & Rockstar Games (1997) In 1995, Psygnosis developed the third person futuristic race car game “Wipeout” to be released for the Sony PlayStation. The sleeve, packaging, manual and all other promotional merchandise was visually produced by tDR. Psygnosis went on to release four more sequels, and one more Wipeout game ported to the Nintendo 64 in 1998. COCA-COLA tDR’s staff of graphic designers had a client range that crossed all forms of brand and merchandising from corporate to independently distributed products (from Coca-Cola to Tokyo Industries) which all proudly carried the designing credits of The Designers Republic under various aliases. REACT (THE RECORD LABEL) tDR designed the sleeves for the infamous REACTIVATE series for DJs in the 1990s. REACT 2 RHYTHM 1992 By Appointment The Designers Republic Will Design The World! -1993 THE ORB 1992 MODEL 500 1995 Since the beginning, tDR’s designs emphasized on the core concept and character, instead of just plainly making something understandable and appealingly sellable; tDR’s goals were in the direction of finding and sharing the limelight of an inner beauty (and at many times, humor) for each and everything it touched, this was the case for tDR record sleeves such as The Funky Worm’s “Hustle!” 12” (1988), Pop Will Eat Itself’s “This Is The Day...” LP (1989), and Super Grass’s “Caught By The Fuzz” Maxi Single (1994). From 1989-1993, tDR’s graphic design became the staple for all promotional merchandise created for the ambient band, The Orb. The broad and bold, but simple sans-serif text helped create the band’s familiar image very early in their career, and this style was continuously used years later when tDR were no longer in charge of their sleeves, as this look “stuck” with the band. https://www.shocase.com/go/ signup/campaign?E_SIGNUP_ CAMPAIGN_LAYOUT=1&E_ SIGNUP_CAM- PAIGN_IMAGE=4&utm_ source=craigslist&utm_ campaign=CL_NYC__webin- fodesign_UX_Shortlist.