Request to view

This object can be requested via email from the Prints & Drawings Study Room

Work Buy Consume Die

Poster
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.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleWork 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
  • Length: 700mm
  • Width: 480mm
Production typeLimited 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

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdNovember 24, 2015
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest