Shock - Ian Anderson (Designers Republic) interview

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The Designers Republic founded by Ian Anderson in 1986 as a "declaration of
independence from what we perceive to be the existing design community."
They are on of the most visually unique design houses of the last decade.

Watch out for the Designers Republic PHO-KU Sound System at
Shock'd (Club). The Village, Friday 6th October along with
Trevor Jackson (Playgroup) Jon Averill, Simon Judge +
Live Visuals from Pixelcorps & the venue will be decorated by world
renowned designers including Asbestos, Bren B, Jon Burgerman & more.

Buy tickets now by clicking here

Here's an extract from an interview with Ian.

How the devil are you?
hungry for action

How would other people describe you in 23 words?
carefully

Is dance music dead? And do you care?
define dance music. ultimately people will express themselves to whatever sounds are
available.'clubbing' died when it became 'Clubbing'.
I care that too many clubbers don't care, in general. being dumb is not the new clever.
dance music is not the issue.

It would seem that the big club brands have really ****ed up - after bleeding
the music dry - they arenow in a position where no-one believes anything they
say or do, has this affected the graphical wor kyou do with Gatecrasher?
Everything is a cycle. super clubs only really exist as a response to demand.
people get bored with small clubs and crave the big club / big production / mass audience
mass movement / inclusive experience. next people get bored with big clubs and crave the
community / proximity / intimacy / exclusive experience.
it's regenerative action and reaction - the grass is always greener.

The last two Juan Atkins covers didn't really have the Tdr flavour, any reason why?
to me they are very tdr. maybe you're one of the people that has a too narrow view of what
we're about ;-)
look again at the font and design construction and the use of the image as a design element
coupled with the spot varnish 'extra level' etc.

Loads of people have ripped off your style, how do you feel about that?
a designer who is popular is a designer who is influential. a designer who is influential
is a designer who inspires people who think for themselves and is copied by those who don't.
I'm fascinated by work which is clearly influenced by tdr but which takes it somewhere else.
it opens dialogue.

I'm saddened by work which merely emulates the surface of our work without understanding the
process, and I'm ****ed off by work which copies tdr's, or other designers' ideas, because the
copiers are too lazy or ****ing thick to think for themselves. the worst thing is it's a wasted
chance for a designer say something in their own voice. if they don't have a voice of their own,
or anything to say, **** off and do something else.

It also seems to us that tDR also get judged for one style as well, when the reality
is very different, this was especially true after Wipeout - is it because you are very
selective about what you show the public or that they are too blind to look any further?
the majority of people see what they want to see. they don't question what they believe. there
is no one truth. experiment with belief systems, mix and match. there is a degree of self selection with our work. there is a plan.

Why have you also stayed such a small tight unit when you could have clearly been answering these questions from a beach?
tdr is a vocation. I've got fair skin.

Loads of people complain about how difficult your website is difficult to use, do you hold the belief that some things should be difficult in this "easy as" consumer world?
information should be achieved.

Ever fancied working out of London instead of Sheffield?
no. I don't drink shandy.

Sheffield Wednesday, what happened Ian?
dave richards. danny wilson. too many dull dans, not enough fancy dans.
the club itself is not forward thinking. it has one of the best known design companies in the
world as supporters and look at the ****ing state of the programme, the merchandise, everything.
it's been an old boy's club for too long, now's the chance to rebuild and be the best looking,
coolest club in the country... no, I don't see it either ;-)

Fave Club/Night out
Anywhere the pho-ku sound system plays / with beer and friends

Friday 06 October. The Village, 26 Wexford street, Dublin 2
Doors 11pm. Tickets are 10eu
Buy tickets now by clicking here

Ian will also be talking about his work at Shock'd (Talk) on Wednesday
05 October at the Sugar Club, doors are 7pm
Mail info@stateofshock.net to join our mailng list
and recieve more information

Figment

I am really looking forward to this event. the Designers Republic are legends.

shock media

You should also check out some of Trevor's Work:
http://www.trevor-jackson.com/

The Friday event is looking there's going to some live artwork
by our contributers going on early in the show as well as live
video mixing while the DJs are playing.