MM Paris

MM Paris founded in 1992 by Mathias Augustyniak and Michael Amzalag and made famous by their artistic direction and collaboration within fashion and music industry. Residing in gay paree MM Paris have worked alongside such artists as Mew, Madonna and Bjork in the music industry as well as Stella McCartney, Vogue and Calvin Klein within the Fashion Industry.

Originally influenced by Swiss Graphic Design and Post Punk Aesthetics, MM Paris brings together an intense mix of illustration and photography. Leaving an obvious mark on a perfect picture. These collage style designs are basically defacing the corporate hold on the fashion world and providing an edge, and edge that cannot be provided by a photograph alone. I'm not trying to say that mixing photography with hand rendered design has not been done before, I'm saying that MM Paris are doing it with style. They have to be doing something right don't they?

M/M Paris

'No Ghost Just a Shell'

2000

'No Ghost Just a Shell' is a particular favourite of mine, the far out mixture of anime style illustration, stencil typography, hand drawn 3D's and that over printed look provide a platform for this stab at a corporate identity.

Whether we like it or not, as soon as we approach a photograph with any other media we're ripping the back out of MM Paris and many other designers that pre-date them, although we like to call it "inspiration". Then again, you could look at the designers MM Paris have taken "inspiration" from...

Post Punk design was the fore front for mixing medias and defacing digital imagery but prior to this the ball had already started rolling with the punk era playing host to the use of collage as a main design method. Jamie Reid made his contributions in 1977 by covering a monochromatic Queen's mouth and eyes with slashed newspaper clippings for the Sex Pistol's Single 'God save the Queen'.

With this is mind M/M took a good look at Swiss design and created a combination of the two, taking type from one and methods from the other and resulting in what we see today. This is the design that paved the foot path for such design groups as 'Non Format'...

Non Format

Non Format, a partnership consisting of Kjell Ekhorn and Jon Forss who came together in 2000. Together they have rounded up a number of awards for their contribution to design and done so working alongside the likes of Coca Cola, Channel 4, EMI Records, Tate Modern, Nike, Nokia, IBM and many more. They work mainly within publishing and the music industry. Non Format take a huge chunk out of the M/M (Paris) back catalogue with extremely similar approaches to design.

A Non Format designed cover of 'Wire'.  Playing with shapes, the black and white photography. Type, Illustration, Photography A simple idea executed well and inspired clearly by MM Paris.

This is also evident within the 'No Ghost Just a Shell' and 'Make a Fuss' posters. Both hold type and illustration together though one has more of a handmade feel. The similar use of media is obvious though the styles are slightly different with 'Make a Fuss' having a more digital look.


Non format retain this throughout their portfolio, managing to create hand rendered work to a high level leaving you needing a closer look to discover if it has come from the tips of the fingers or the click of a mouse. They like to keep things simple, any more than five or six layers and things are getting out of hand. This again is noticeable in the work of M/M. This then leads me to...

The Designers Republic

The Designers Republic, Founded in 1986 by Ian Anderson and known for their anti-corporation aesthetics whilst still managing to acquires briefs from such major corporations as Coca Cola and Orange and created album work for such artists as Aphex Twin, Pulp and Supergrass These companies have both approached tDR and Non Format with work.


The Designers Republic and Non Format have both applied similar graphic treatments within their portfolios of work. Whilst Non Format tends to have more of a hand rendered approach The Designers Republic provide a digital collage style which tends to have a simliar vibe to the work produced by Non Format. M/M Paris' broken photography feel is obvious in there to.

This is extremely strong evidence to the similarities that are noticeable between Non Format and tDR. Each image containing sharp shapes and what seems to be a disregard for placement. Though I think the decisions made on the layout for both images would probably have been painstakingly hard to make. Both companies hold qualities of Russian Constructivism with bold strokes and vibrant colour use. The Swiss Design comes into play not only with MM Paris and Non Format but tDR also.

I doubt the link here could be any clearer with this evidence....

The Designers Republic seem to give themselves alot more freedom when it comes to design, less formal than the Non Format style. The use of image and type are similar but the decisions and executions couldn't be further apart. Unfortunatly The Designers Republic have now closed their doors but they will always be an inspiration for design.

F A M I L Y

From Designers Republic to Family.

F A M I L Y is a design studio established in 2006. Providing a unique and different approach to sectors such as music,fashion, culture and the arts. Family are interested in collaborating with other designers and creatives in various sectors. They have a number of awards under their belt including the D&AD Design Award 2006. Family specialise in Branding, Graphic Design, Advertising, Publications and Literature, Product Packaging Retail, Typography, Art Direction and Photographic Direction.

It's clear to see that the Designers Republic have played a role in the inspiration for alot of Family's design. From the type setting to the colour use and from the distruction of form to the finished product. Family use white space as an advantage in alot of work and prefer not to over power the page. Also, the use of a single colour for an entire design seems to be their in-house style.

Family

                                                           Ellesse 50th Anniversary.

Family also use this style of deasign through publications, typography and typesetting. The minimalistic approach. Each idea seeming cleaner than the next but still holding a hint of integrity.

In this 'NYC Book' the minimalism is out again. The white space is used and not abused. The typography is almost like a New York Times Headline and that use of block colour is seen again. Much like the works of a freelance designer named Chris Clark...

Chris Clark

Chris Clark is a Graphic Designer based in London. With numourous exhibitions under his belt and a hand full of awards Chris is one of my favourites at this point in time. Simply because of his soft touch but in your face style to print.


He uses basic principles for design and sticks to his own rules, he doesnt fan out too much like the majority of designers do. He keeps his hands full with basic ideas and executes with a hint of finesse much like the way Hoefler and Frere Jones approach type design.

Basic and bold colours, flat imagery, basic layout, perfect lines, maybe a hint of Swiss inspiration. Rules are rules and they are not to be broken. Through out several of Chris' publications you begin to see the ongoing themes he builds himself on.

The inspiration could come from any of the designers I have mentioned within this blog. Each of the designers follow a similar suit. Not so much with rules but with a language they can all speak fluently. Design.

Heofler and Frere-Jones

Hoefler and Frere Jones is made up of Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones. Both sat firmly in the arm chairs of their chosen disapline; Typography. The two combined have been designing since 1989 and managed to get a number of a awards under their belt including the Prix Charles Peignot award presented by the Association Typographique Internationale, and the Gerrit Noordzij Prize, an award given by The Royal Academy of Art.

H&FJ stick to traditional methods of work and produce an endless amount of typefaces for use in a whole range of ways. Between them they have had some major effects on the commercial and corperate world.

The pair have recently produced a new typeface called 'Tungsten' This is a flat sided sans serif typeface. This typeface looks to have been around when in the mid 1940’s when the USSR was producing strong propaganda in favor of Stalin. It has been described as "Smart, tough and sexy.....a compact and sporty sans serif that's disarming instead of pushy - not just loud, but persuasive." It has a look of the Soviet Pro Stalin Propaganda look about it. When I here the word tungsten I think of darts. Straight as an arrow and solid in form.

 
The Hoefler typeface that comes as standard on a Mac and used by Wikipedia as a logo. Is an old fashioned and formal typeface. It is also strong and a touch eccentric or eccentric, the typographical equivalent of a well-tailored, dark, pin-striped business suit with a scarlet bow tie. It has enough formality, enough finesse, and enough panache to be suitable for almost anything, and its proportions permit it to be legible no matter how it is used.