The secret to twenty years of DED and design

Granimator iPad app, artist pack created for UsTwo
Granimator iPad app, artist pack created for UsTwo
Herself by Helen Storey, Catalytic Clothing
Herself by Helen Storey, Catalytic Clothing

The first time I meet Nik and Jon, the twin brothers who, along with Rob Barber, are Sheffield design studio, DED Associates, I’m invited to take a look at something beautiful. It’s Herself, a mannequin in their doorway and she’s wearing a dress made of concrete. They’ve been working on a series of films and a website featuring Catalytic Clothing, the work of artist and designer Professor Helen Storey and scientist Professor Tony Ryan. It’s a cutting-edge exploration of how clothing and textiles can purify air and reduce pollution.

I’ve come to DED’s studio in the Cultural Industries Quarter because they’ve got a significant birthday to celebrate, twenty years in design. With major Sheffield names such as The Designers Republic and other creative houses in the city having already felt the squeeze of the recession, surviving the highs and lows of two decades in this fickle industry is no mean feat. So what’s their secret?

Showroom Cinema visual identity
Showroom Cinema visual identity

We go next door to Showroom Cinema for a coffee, an apt venue as Nik and Jon designed the visual identity and interiors for the independent cinema. They explain how they worked with the fabric of the building, making the cinema’s industrial architecture and ducting the signature theme across all formats of digital, print and physical design. It’s the kind of innovative yet affordable answer to aesthetics that keeps them in the game.

DED was born in 1991 when the duo became heavily involved in design for the city’s burgeoning club scene for The Leadmill, the Palais, Cuba and Warp Records. Before they knew it, they were designing billboards for BBC Radio 1’s Music in the City and the launch of MTV in Europe.

Bored of the Beckhams t-shirt
Bored of the Beckhams t-shirt

Self-effacing and understated but with an unequivocal passion for their craft, the brothers make their success sound like a coincidence. However, I start to realise that they’re not afraid to put themselves out there when caught by a creative whim. With smiles of complicity they tell me about Bored of the Beckhams, an early t-shirt campaign. Posh’n’Becks were at the pinnacle of their media success, when DED created the T as an antidote to the royalty-like furore. With the slogan and URL displayed on their car, they head down to Wimbledon to hand out 200 shirts for free to an expectant, centre court queue. After a week in the press and a cameo appearance in a documentary about the Beckhams, almost 38 thousand t-shirts went on to fly off DED’s shelf. The simplicity of the idea is genius.

Dexter press launch
Dexter, TV programme press launch, FX International Channels

There’s often a handmade and hands-on feel to their approach, which is deliberately off beat and challenging. Recently they received a commission from Fox TV channel, FX, for the press launch of Dexter, a bloodthirsty US drama. Their press pack contained 150 individually severed and wrapped Barbie dolls.

However these guys can’t be pinned down to one form of design, nor specific formats. From vintage-chic wallpaper to tram design for The Hague and iPad apps, they love to experiment and describe themselves as the oldest start up in the business. It’s something to do with their thirst for exploring new avenues combined with the excitement they feel as creative ideas take shape.

It shouldn’t be a surprise then that as we talk about next steps, I discover that DED are creating or rather crafting a bold new venture, a studio and exhibition space at the heart of the Cultural Industries Quarter. A sneak preview of their plans, gives me a taster of something urban, edgy and true to their chosen site’s industrial heritage. Watch this space for more info. Meanwhile Happy 20th Birthday DED Associates, we’re looking forward to discovering what you do with the next twenty years!

Paper Voyeur
Paper Voyeur wallpaper taken at Meet NYC New York
Time Travel
Time Travel tram illustration for Shoparound, The Hague