Work Buy Consume Die
Poster
1994 (made)
1994 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
'Work Buy Consume Die' is the slogan of the imaginary Pho Ku Corporation invented by The Designers Republic, a Sheffield based graphic design agency. Disenchanted with corporate driven consumerism in the 1990s, but acknowledging their role as a brand agency in the process, The Designers Republic devised an anti-corporate identity to counter the forces of global branding. The design is inspired by Japanese graphic design and also subverts the Pepsi Cola logo as a comment on the force of global branding.
This poster was acquired as part of the Shekou Project, an international partnership between the V&A and China Merchant Shekou Holdings (CMSK) to open a new cultural platform called Design Society in Shekou. The poster was included in the inaugural exhibition, ‘Values of Design’, in the V&A Gallery at Design Society in a section exploring identity and branding as a value in design.
This poster was acquired as part of the Shekou Project, an international partnership between the V&A and China Merchant Shekou Holdings (CMSK) to open a new cultural platform called Design Society in Shekou. The poster was included in the inaugural exhibition, ‘Values of Design’, in the V&A Gallery at Design Society in a section exploring identity and branding as a value in design.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Work Buy Consume Die (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Offset lithograph poster |
| Brief description | Poster, 'Work Buy Consume Die' by The Designers Republic (tDR™). Sheffield, 1994. |
| Physical description | Offset lithograph poster in red and black, with text and an adapted Pepsi cola logo in red. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Production type | Limited edition |
| Gallery label | 'Work Buy Consume Die' Poster
Designer's Republic
UK, 1994
In the 1990s, the graphic design studio Designer's Republic sought to make work that highlighted their disenchantment with corporate-driven consumerism, while acknowledging their complicit role as a brand agency. 'Work Buy Consume Die' is an imaginary slogan of the Pho Ku company, which the studio invented to satirise the aesthetics of global corporate branding. |
| Credit line | Given by Ian Anderson |
| Object history | This poster was included in ‘Values of Design’ at the V&A Gallery, Design Society in Shenzhen, China in 2017. |
| Summary | 'Work Buy Consume Die' is the slogan of the imaginary Pho Ku Corporation invented by The Designers Republic, a Sheffield based graphic design agency. Disenchanted with corporate driven consumerism in the 1990s, but acknowledging their role as a brand agency in the process, The Designers Republic devised an anti-corporate identity to counter the forces of global branding. The design is inspired by Japanese graphic design and also subverts the Pepsi Cola logo as a comment on the force of global branding. This poster was acquired as part of the Shekou Project, an international partnership between the V&A and China Merchant Shekou Holdings (CMSK) to open a new cultural platform called Design Society in Shekou. The poster was included in the inaugural exhibition, ‘Values of Design’, in the V&A Gallery at Design Society in a section exploring identity and branding as a value in design. |
| Associated object | E.127-2013 (Source) |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.17-2016 |
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| Record created | November 24, 2015 |
| Record URL |
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