Related Designs

Background
Ubisoft Mainz was established as Related Designs by Thomas Pottkämper, Burkhard Ratheiser, Thomas Stein, and Jens Vielhaben in 1995, then based in Pottkämper's parents' house in Mainz' Nackenheim district. On 11 April 2007, Ubisoft acquired a 30% stake in the studio, alongside the rights to the Anno series of real-time strategy games. On 11 April 2013, Ubisoft acquired the remaining 70% and took total control over Related Designs. From that point on, the studio would develop projects in tandem with another German Ubisoft studio, Blue Byte, whose name was assigned to Related Designs in June 2014. The studio was rebranded as "Ubisoft Mainz" in August 2019.

1st Logo (1996-January 15, 2001)
Visuals: Over a white background is a sharp shining yellow-gold "RD" with two thin lines sandwiched underneath with the words "RELATED DESIGNS" in a Bank Gothic font.

Technique: A still, digital graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on ARO und ELMI im Kampf gegen die Bakterien Bande, Toffifee: Fantasy Forest, Die Pirateninsel and A*M*E*R*I*C*A.

2nd Logo (August 31, 2003-October 12, 2004)
Visuals: Over a dark grey background is the same "RD" as before, except the logo is in white and has no thin lines, with the words "RELATED DESIGNS" in the same font as before with shadows.

Variant: On Castle Strike, the logo is in black and it zooms in further.

Technique: A still, digital graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on No Man's Land and Castle Strike.

3rd Logo (October 26, 2006-November 17, 2011)
Visuals: The screen pans out from a sketch drawing of the "RD" moniker, which is now slanted, tightened and positioned in a bordered rectangle on a white background. A wave of keyboard commands flow down from the top and fill the inside rectangle with, while leaving the border and the "RD" white. The logo then flies to the left as the words "RELATED" and "DESIGNS" in a different font slam next to it. The logo shines afterwards.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: First, a long, ominous whoosh is heard throughout the entire logo. This is followed by two wind noises during the moniker drawing sequence, computerized noises when the keyboard commands appear, a drumbeat, a loud whoosh, and two metallic bangs.

Audio Variant: On Anno 1404: Dawn of Discovery, it's the tail end of its audio before heading into silence, due to a synchronization error causing its audio played over the Blue Byte logo.

Availability: Seen on Anno 1701, Anno 1404: Dawn of Discovery and Anno 2070.