Warp 20th
To celebrate their 20th anniversary, Warp Records have revealed details of a mouth-wateringly lavish box set containing a huge array of sonic and visual treats. Stuart Aitken spoke to Simon Earith, creative director of commercial art studio YES, about the design challenges posed by the project.
Were you responsible for all the design work on the project?
Yes, we developed the concept and design and presented it to the label late last year. We think as a label Warp exists in a really unique space – almost as a counter-cultural institution. The möbius idea really came out of trying to visually represent this enigmatic and un-quantifiable quality. There was a really positive response to our ideas and we were commissioned for the project. From then until April '09 we planned the production of the shoot and designed and made the möbius. The shoot happened in two parts over a couple of weeks around the UK, and was in collaboration with photographer Dan Holdsworth.
How did the commission come about?
We were already involved in an ongoing project with Warp to re-work and rationalise their logo and identity across all their visual material. As the Warp20 project is in some way an extension of the Warp 'brand' we were asked to present ideas of how we would visualise project.
What was your involvement with Warp before this project?
I went to art college in Sheffield when Warp was still based there, and did a couple of placements at The Designers Republic. I think because of this I've always had a connection with the label. Apart from the identity work and Warp20 we've designed a few covers along the way too.
What were the major challenges from your point of view?
I think the expectation was the response to the brief would be more graphics based. When a more art directional route was selected it added its own layer of complexity in terms of logistics. When we first presented the idea the only things we knew for sure was that we wanted to make a physical model of the möbius, and that we wanted Dan to take the pictures. Getting from that point to the final images was a somewhat challenging and educational process! A major hurdle was how to model and manufacture the möbius – this was eventually done with some specialised computer controlled 3D prototyping.
Did you feel added pressure given Warp's design heritage?
Because the project was quite large-scale we were pretty sure that we were representing the label and their history in a successful way. Obviously they've commissioned some great artwork in the past and hopefully this will be seen as a continuation of that legacy.
What are your five favourite Warp sleeves?
LFO - Frequencies (WARP3); Nightmares On Wax - A Word of Science (WARP4); Autechre - Amber (WARP25); Broadcast - The Future Crayon (WAP146); Harmonic 313 - When Machines Exceed Human Intelligence (WARP175)
For more information visit: http://warp.net/records/warp20/warp20-box-set
By Stuart Aitken
