A student project requiring an in-depth study of a designer of our choice followed by an invitation to a gallery hosted by them. I made this invitation in the style of Ian Anderson, head designer for Sheffield-based design firm The Designers Republic.
Ian Anderson's work was most iconic in the Sheffield electronic music scene and heavily shaped the Y2K aesthetic. He frequently parodied and poked fun at consumer culture and products. Using these elements I wanted to make a card that felt endemic to his own style and subject matter.
RESEARCH & CONCEPTS
I split my design into two different categories based off of Ian Anderson’s most common aesthetics.
For his “Consumerism” side, I named the gallery showing “For Public ©onsumption”. The copyright symbol was a nod to his famous “WORK BUY CONSUME DIE” Pepsi poster in which all the text was smattered in copyright and trademark symbols.
For his “Consumerism” side, I named the gallery showing “For Public ©onsumption”. The copyright symbol was a nod to his famous “WORK BUY CONSUME DIE” Pepsi poster in which all the text was smattered in copyright and trademark symbols.
The second aesthetic is his “Tokyo” aesthetic. A lot of Ian’s work is very inspired by late 80’s to early 90’s Japan. The Designers Republic had a huge impact on young Tokyo designers who were used to copying European trends to stay relevant. tDR was the first time for many seeing their own culture and aesthetic being echoed back to them. For this gallery I named it “はい、どうぞ。 Sheffield” (Hai Dozo Sheffield, or After You, Sheffield).
Final Product
I ended up settling on a modified version of concept 4. I included some elements of the Japanese style card but overall I wanted to go with the For Public Consumption theme.
The card has been designed for a different look in each state of it being opened with a unique die cut for the fold over of the mascot character.