Hi-Res

Founded back in 1999 by German designers Alexandra Jugovic and Florian Schmitt in London, Hi-Res combine the seperate mediums of music, graphic design, product design, film and fine art into one monstrous design juggernaut, creating edgy, post-modern pieces.

A campaign by Hi-Res for sports brand Adidas

Since their arrival, Hi-Res have reached critical acclaim and won numerous awards including the D&AD Silver Award and BAFTAs and have cemented good professional relationships with clients such as fashion houses Dolce & Gabana and Chanel as well as alcohol producers Jagermeister, broadcasters Channel 4 and 20th Century Fox amongst a lot of others.

Even though they have reached such success, Hi-Res are still adament to stay close-knit and remain a somewhat "small" establishment whilst having bases in major cities around the world including London and New York City.

Hi-Res are very appealing to me. Their edgy and current design allow them to broadcast their talents through their almost endless list of highly notable clients.

Image Source

Tomato

Another multi-disciplinary artistic collective that are very prevalent are Tomato, who interestingly not only employ designers and craftspeople but also musicians and writers, making them very, very diverse.

Founded in 1991 by eight up and coming creative minds (who some went on to form the legendary electronic music group "Underworld"), Tomato have gone from strength to strength and are nowadays considered to be one of the top creative agencies in the United Kingdom, working (which ranges in design, architecture, performance, public speaking etc) with clients such as globally popular sports brands Reebok, Adidas and denim manufacturer Levi's.

Their first project titled "Ipso Facto Yeah Yeah" was released in their founding year, is a sort-of music video which incorporates the production of film, sound as well as design (the film depicts graffiti street art on the London Underground juxtaposed with the hustle and bustle of city life). The video can be viewed below (courtesy of YouTube):

Even as a huge fan of Underworld and the prominent dance/electronic era of the 80's and 90's, I still didn't know that they were associated to heavily with Tomato and am glad of what my research has helped me discover. An interest of mine is performance and video art which is something that Tomato do very well and has garnered interest in me to delve further into the organisation.

Pentagram

Based in five major cities around the globe and sporting the largest creative multi-disciplinary design consultancy, Pentagram are leaders in collective deign. From installations to websites to architecture to books, Pentagram cover a wide area in the design field with each member of the team having expertise in their own "area" of design.

The revamped "visual identity" of the Saks Fifth
Avenue department store.

Founded in London in 1972 by a small group of five designers (including the brilliant Alan Fletcher), Pentagram has gone from strength to strength and has built up a reputation of professionalism and great production which has landed them high-profile jobs for clientele including Tesco, Boots, Tiffany & Co. and Nike.

Again touching upon their wide field of expertise and clientele, Pentagram have been employed for some very high-profile design jobs, recently being given the opportunity to re-design the entire visual identity of Saks Fifth Avenue, an upscale American department store chain which houses some of the most luxurious shopping brands in the world.

I find Pentagram very appealing. Their work covers such a diverse range of areas that they are a great source of reference and research for most areas of my course and indeed future career path.

Image Source

The Chase

The Chase are a design collective based in Manchester, Preston and London who describe themselves as:

"We describe ourselves as creative consultants. Not designers, or writers, or advertisers, or brand strategists but all of these and more. In the last year we have been both playwriters and drinks mixers. Yes, there is the usual list opposite but who knows what may be the best solution for you."

"Freedom"

Clients of The Chase range all over the world but include well know British establishments and organisations such as BBC, B&Q, Royal Mail, NHS, National Trust and also Disney. The Chase currently have 29 people in their design team ranging from both illustration and graphic design.

Due to the wide range of skill and field of expertise within the group, their work as a whole is quite diverse from simple graphic/digital iconography to photography and typography and even product design.

From an illustrative point of view this work is hit and miss with me. Although I do like most of the work, it seems that it is predominantly digital based and quite 'simple' which is fair enough, but for me I would like to see perhaps some more evidence of "traditional" media.

Quote Source

Designers Republic

Various examples of work created by The Designers
Republic

The Designers Republic (often abbreviated to TBR) was a Sheffield-based Graphic Design studio which created pieces for various platforms in media and advertisement such as CD and DVD covers, music videos, web design and packaging. The group were universally renowned and recognised for their use of post-modernistic irony as well as minimalistic tendencies and uniformed style.

Founded as a flyer-designing company by designer Ian Anderson, the 'faction' later moved on to designing musical related pieces which would feature on album and single covers and go on to give them the exposure they desperately needed. Their work could be seen gracing the covers of releases from bands like Aphex Twin, Supergrass, Moloko and Pulp.

Aside from this area of design, TDR also worked in video gaming, creating the packaging and visuals for the 1995 Sega Saturn game "Wipeout" as well as the packaging and advertising campaign for the first of the "Grand Theft Auto" series (1997).

I really like how even though each piece is drastically different, you are still able to notice that it's possibly a piece created by TDR due to the minimalism and other defining factors that almost give their work a visual identity and connection.

Image Source