Published: May 17, 2025
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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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@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

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@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack iβ€˜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)

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@gmunk @Machine56 @milkpack In the later 00s most of this β€žneo modernismβ€œ 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)

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

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@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

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@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 πŸ–€

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@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

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@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 ++

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@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)

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@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)

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

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@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 β†’ chris cunningham, alex rutterford, …

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@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 Otomoβ€˜s Akira & Oshiiβ€˜s version of Ghost in the Shell

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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.

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

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@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

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@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 (http://antibody.tv). Chances are, you’ve seen more than this one title sequence by them β†’

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