the designers republic 'we design the world, people copy us'

top image: atoms vectors pixels ghosts
TDR sequential graphics supernova
2012-14

the designers republic : we design the world, people copy us
at typopassage 
28th june — september 2014
timișoara, tinereții bridge passage, romania

for the next 3 months the work of the designers republic, will be on show at typopassage – tinereții bridge passage, romania. the installation will be accompanied by a publication and a conference-workshop with ian anderson held in tinereții in september.

the fourth summer exhibition of typopassage, the designers republic officially launched on saturday, june 28th, with an event that brought in the under-the-bridge open-air micro-museum a selection of TDR posters, accompanied by video installations showcasing some of the projects of the british design studio.

‘I never studied design. I used to design flyers for the clubs that I ran, the bands I was in and the nights I promoted. I was asked to manage a band called ‘person to person’ from sheffield (ex ABC) and they asked me to design their record sleeves too as they liked the flyers I’d done. as they started to disintegrate, other bands that were signed to CBS / EPIC started to ask me if I could design sleeves for them. at that point the designers republic existed simply as a means of working anonymously to avoid conflict of interest. after a short while I realized I was more interested in my own creativity than managing others and the designers republic continued to grow as more people came to me for design.’ – ian anderson, founder of the designers republic

 
view of the exhibition, which showcases a selection of TDR posters, accompanied by video installations

pho-ku corporation work buy consume die
the designers republic art consumable
1995

the peoples bureau for consumer information /
www.thepeoplesbureau.com downloadable screensaver
2002

is this do-able?
the designers republic art consumable
screenprint, collaboration with print for good
2012

call monitor
the designers republic art consumable
original version created for funksorung sonderdienste 12″ single front / back (compost)
1997

wip3out team corporate expression (psygnosis)
in-game and promotional branding icons
1999

fifth ape
ooh-ah tdr™ appendices besides rarities (unit editions) in progress…
book cover visual
2014

(made—) north of nowhere
the designers republic art consumable
screenprint, collaboration with made north
2014

view of the designers republic : we design the world, people copy us

‘the designers republic creative expression is process driven, where the process is thinking and doing. I like other people’s work but I’m never so interested in its authorship as I am in how it might relate to something I’m doing, or planning to do, myself. I’m not interested in graphic design for its own sake. I’m not interested in trawling graphic design blogs as a way of killing time — I’m not inspired by other graphic design per se, although like anyone, I’m influenced by the things I see, and the context I see them in. I don’t think of the ‘graphic designers’ whose work I might like in terms of them being graphic designers. we are problem solvers, visual communicators, visionaries not stylists — if someone sees graphic design as simply an arrangement of type / color / image then there is nothing more to take from their efforts than the elements themselves.’ – ian anderson, founder of TDR

you can read the entire designboom interview with ian here »