Thread by @poellll

why stuff (marathon) looks like this…. so heads up kids, do your homework, i give you a starter: after designers republic hit hard in 1996 with wipeout there were several other design studios how took up the torch, case in point: bionic-systems (germany, late 90s/early 00s) #marathon

then there was bureau destruct, also since late 90s (switzerland):

then ppl like @gmunk among others did their radical web counter design in the early 2000s

@gmunk but hold on, there is also @Machine56 who had a constant vector design run since the late 90s

@gmunk @Machine56 we should not forget ppl like scien & klor from 123klan because a lot of what you see is actually inspired by graffiti

@gmunk @Machine56 as @milkpack pointed out, there are several big landmark designers like Neville Brody, Ian Anderson, Burton Kramer, Armin Hofmann…

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack …who basically laid out principles how things can be done and take on new forms beside normal typography

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack a lot of this culminated in the 2000s in record cover and flyer art (where graphic designers could experiment) here some warp / designers republic examples

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack i‘d argue games like killer 7 or jet set radio did definitely take up on some of this vibe but remained outliers in the end (still informed a certain amount of ppl)

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack In the later 00s most of this „neo modernism“ style was still done for record labels, a high point in taking it further was dsgnbio from spain, doing most of the record cover art for peace off (breakcore label)

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack another huge influence was neubau berlin as they handed out a huge vector library (neubau welt) to f with

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack in the early 10s ppl like my dear friends @neauoire and @Orihaus influenced by mangas like blame, and games like the original marathon took up the torch and incorporated it in their indie games and side projects

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack @neauoire @Orihaus at that time i also befriended @tema_ra who is pivotal to this style, he ended up at CD project (they did the right thing) and has basically influenced all you cyberpunk 2077 gamers 🖤

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack @neauoire @Orihaus @tema_ra lets enter a more 3d era early 10s. @maximzhestkov towers here above with his early very minimal work

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack @neauoire @Orihaus @tema_ra @maximzhestkov another big torch bearer is @djkero with @detundrecords who basically kept this aesthetic alive giving a lot of designers a canvas on the detund label through the early 10s ++

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack @neauoire @Orihaus @tema_ra @maximzhestkov @djkero @detundrecords I think i saw @4nt1r34l work on the @detundrecords label first (not sure but i think this was before 2017 even)

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack @neauoire @Orihaus @tema_ra @maximzhestkov @djkero @detundrecords @4nt1r34l at this point, the mid 2010s, the majority of designers could not live of this art. also a shift happened to 3d, motion graphics, everydays (see @beeple)

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack @neauoire @Orihaus @tema_ra @maximzhestkov @djkero @detundrecords @4nt1r34l @beeple speaking of 3d, there is also a „decal culture“ similar to the vector culture; emerging with artists like @moth3r or @machin3io

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack @neauoire @Orihaus @tema_ra @maximzhestkov @djkero @detundrecords @4nt1r34l @beeple @moth3r @machin3io i will take this up later today (my battery is dying) with motion designers, directors @ashthorp1, @nicgirard_, …as well as the great yale schism in around 2015 (@David_Rudnick, @rafrennie, @_EricHu, …

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack @neauoire @Orihaus @tema_ra @maximzhestkov @djkero @detundrecords @4nt1r34l @beeple @moth3r @machin3io @ashthorp1 @nicgirard_ @David_Rudnick @rafrennie @_EricHu i just have to back up a little to this here, because besides record covers there was one other venue which was super important: music videos → chris cunningham, alex rutterford, …

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack @neauoire @Orihaus @tema_ra @maximzhestkov @djkero @detundrecords @4nt1r34l @beeple @moth3r @machin3io @ashthorp1 @nicgirard_ @David_Rudnick @rafrennie @_EricHu another landmark which influenced almost everyone in this thread is Katsuhiro Otomo‘s Akira & Oshii‘s version of Ghost in the Shell

which ofc brings me now to @ashthorp1 … imagine working your ass off 24/7 for years, carefully honing your craft until the universe aligns all planets and stars to give you what you worked for and aspired towards your whole life. That’s @ashthorp1 (plus ofc a bunch of his friends) who made several miracles happen.

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack @neauoire @Orihaus @tema_ra @maximzhestkov @djkero @detundrecords @4nt1r34l @beeple @moth3r @machin3io @ashthorp1 @nicgirard_ @David_Rudnick @rafrennie @_EricHu then there is @nicgirard_ who worked with @ashthorp1 on pivotal motion design works like the 2015 FITC Tokyo Trailer

something was cooking at yale during this time, which would ultimately change everything. you see this „designers republic neo modernism“ got a bit stale in the 2010s as there was already a plethora of 45° corner sliced typography, dubstep and 3D rendered Fonts were on the rise. But suddenly there was:

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack @neauoire @Orihaus @tema_ra @maximzhestkov @djkero @detundrecords @4nt1r34l @beeple @moth3r @machin3io @ashthorp1 @nicgirard_ @David_Rudnick @rafrennie @_EricHu in the later 2010s graphic design got heavy invigorated by ppl like @David_Rudnick, @_EricHu, @rafrennie, @mthvn, @_MichaelOswell_ , … who just broke with a lot of rules

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack @neauoire @Orihaus @tema_ra @maximzhestkov @djkero @detundrecords @4nt1r34l @beeple @moth3r @machin3io @ashthorp1 @nicgirard_ @David_Rudnick @rafrennie @_EricHu @mthvn @_MichaelOswell_ it was time to experiment again, young restless ppl like @doronstudio or @ghost__hardware put their own spin on it

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack @neauoire @Orihaus @tema_ra @maximzhestkov @djkero @detundrecords @4nt1r34l @beeple @moth3r @machin3io @ashthorp1 @nicgirard_ @David_Rudnick @rafrennie @_EricHu @mthvn @_MichaelOswell_ @doronstudio @ghost__hardware one of the key ingredients of all this aesthetic is the hidden corporate vibe. the thing designers republic did with wipeout was to create a visual language around a sci fi sports event. logos, branding. which brings us also to designers like @CorySchmitz

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack @neauoire @Orihaus @tema_ra @maximzhestkov @djkero @detundrecords @4nt1r34l @beeple @moth3r @machin3io @ashthorp1 @nicgirard_ @David_Rudnick @rafrennie @_EricHu @mthvn @_MichaelOswell_ @doronstudio @ghost__hardware @CorySchmitz and compendiums like the los logos books

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack @neauoire @Orihaus @tema_ra @maximzhestkov @djkero @detundrecords @4nt1r34l @beeple @moth3r @machin3io @ashthorp1 @nicgirard_ @David_Rudnick @rafrennie @_EricHu @mthvn @_MichaelOswell_ @doronstudio @ghost__hardware @CorySchmitz ah short detour, forgot @ghost__hardware is actually the “brand” the artist is called @safehaven

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack @neauoire @Orihaus @tema_ra @maximzhestkov @djkero @detundrecords @4nt1r34l @beeple @moth3r @machin3io @ashthorp1 @nicgirard_ @David_Rudnick @rafrennie @_EricHu @mthvn @_MichaelOswell_ @doronstudio @ghost__hardware @CorySchmitz @safehaven this is all just the tip of the iceberg but let’s go back to marathon’s first Announcement Trailer and it’s directors @raoulmarks & Patrick Clair (antibody.tv). Chances are, you’ve seen more than this one title sequence by them →

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack @neauoire @Orihaus @tema_ra @maximzhestkov @djkero @detundrecords @4nt1r34l @beeple @moth3r @machin3io @ashthorp1 @nicgirard_ @David_Rudnick @rafrennie @_EricHu @mthvn @_MichaelOswell_ @doronstudio @ghost__hardware @CorySchmitz @safehaven @raoulmarks i was honestly blown away by this teaser, they did an amazing job

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack @neauoire @Orihaus @tema_ra @maximzhestkov @djkero @detundrecords @4nt1r34l @beeple @moth3r @machin3io @ashthorp1 @nicgirard_ @David_Rudnick @rafrennie @_EricHu @mthvn @_MichaelOswell_ @doronstudio @ghost__hardware @CorySchmitz @safehaven @raoulmarks the glitch/GUI in this teaser was all done by @MichaelRigley

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack @neauoire @Orihaus @tema_ra @maximzhestkov @djkero @detundrecords @4nt1r34l @beeple @moth3r @machin3io @ashthorp1 @nicgirard_ @David_Rudnick @rafrennie @_EricHu @mthvn @_MichaelOswell_ @doronstudio @ghost__hardware @CorySchmitz @safehaven @raoulmarks @MichaelRigley which brings us to the ARG and the teasers leading up to the alpha of marathon. Here some awesome work by @raoulmarks

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack @neauoire @Orihaus @tema_ra @maximzhestkov @djkero @detundrecords @4nt1r34l @beeple @moth3r @machin3io @ashthorp1 @nicgirard_ @David_Rudnick @rafrennie @_EricHu @mthvn @_MichaelOswell_ @doronstudio @ghost__hardware @CorySchmitz @safehaven @raoulmarks @MichaelRigley and then the alpha dropped and we got to a situation which clearly showed that something was not right here as @4nt1r34l mentioned, i mean…

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack @neauoire @Orihaus @tema_ra @maximzhestkov @djkero @detundrecords @4nt1r34l @beeple @moth3r @machin3io @ashthorp1 @nicgirard_ @David_Rudnick @rafrennie @_EricHu @mthvn @_MichaelOswell_ @doronstudio @ghost__hardware @CorySchmitz @safehaven @raoulmarks @MichaelRigley i know i did not mention her enough in this thread but I’d argue @4nt1r34l is one of the most consistent artist in this aesthetic. just look up her back catalog of hundreds of designs antireal.info

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack @neauoire @Orihaus @tema_ra @maximzhestkov @djkero @detundrecords @4nt1r34l @beeple @moth3r @machin3io @ashthorp1 @nicgirard_ @David_Rudnick @rafrennie @_EricHu @mthvn @_MichaelOswell_ @doronstudio @ghost__hardware @CorySchmitz @safehaven @raoulmarks @MichaelRigley this whole situation is now corporate speak managed to “some decals in a texture sheet should not have been there” which feels very dishonest and also puts the whole great design work of a lot of involved ppl at risk.

@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack @neauoire @Orihaus @tema_ra @maximzhestkov @djkero @detundrecords @4nt1r34l @beeple @moth3r @machin3io @ashthorp1 @nicgirard_ @David_Rudnick @rafrennie @_EricHu @mthvn @_MichaelOswell_ @doronstudio @ghost__hardware @CorySchmitz @safehaven @raoulmarks @MichaelRigley which brings me to → if you are goliath, the responsibility lies with you to ensure your vision does not get tainted. And when the design language is your big selling point, make sure to do your homework @josephacross