The Sheffield design studio The Designers Republic (TDR) is marking its 40th anniversary by selling original pieces from its archive, such as flyers and stickers, and launching a new merchandise line, according to founder Ian Anderson. Set up almost accidentally in 1986 by Anderson and Nick Phillips, TDR became one of the most influential forces in UK design, shaping the visual identity of the music scene with a bold, maximalist style before its influence spread into video games and global branding.

Anderson, now 65 and running the firm alone, has kept five copies of everything TDR has produced, building an archive so large that he calls it "a private museum that nobody visits – not even me". The studio's work has spanned record covers and logos for acts including Aphex Twin, Autechre, Pulp and Nine Inch Nails, packaging and campaigns for Coca-Cola, Adidas and Pringles, and design for video games such as Wipeout and Grand Theft Auto; pieces are held in the collections of MoMA and the V&A, and Anderson notes that one collector has remortgaged his house twice to keep buying the studio's output.