Branching Out

Branching Out

A contextual design research publicationfrom Yafet Bisrat

Branching Out

Branching Out

The following content is a string of information that has aided me to get to the point I am at now from interviews I’ve held with certain studio’s, and content taken from designers and studios’ websites that have been a favourite of mine to date. The publication aims to have a more personal view on my experience and is almost a source I look to as a reflection and memory of my time on the BA (Hons) Graphic Design course at Leeds College of Art. I do not own all of the information presented in the coming pages, but all websites and sources I have obtained information from have been clearly labelled with their names and details.

Branching Out

Branching Out

Branching Out

Over the duration of my three years on the degree programme, one thing has become apparent in the way in which I research. My research – without my noticing – into design related matters has always been broad and looking at approaches other countries have towards design as apposed to fencing myself shut and not allowing myself to progress as more than a client led designer. Although a lot of what I’m influenced by is what surrounds me; my friends; my environment; the music I listen to; and just the general activities that arise daily, nothing really beats that genuine pleasure of seeing a clever consitent break in a book; or a subtle hidden meaning in a piece of signage, that no one in a room will notice but yourself. Gaining amusement from something that most would pass off as next to nothing, is what separates a designer who designs for fun, and a designer who designs for the sake of designing. However obvious it sounds, my whole design process is influenced by my research and what I stumble across. In all honesty, my best research occurs when I’m not looking for it. The following publication is split into three countries, which have become the most influential and consistent locations I’ve pinpointed in terms of my research into design. Blue represents the United Kingdom; orange represents The Netherlands; and yellow represents Germany. ‘Branching Out’ is a term I’ve used as a brief summary of the importance I prioritise for looking past the surroundings I’m engrossed in.

Introduction

Branching Out

Branching Out

Contents

UK We Made This 10Oscar & Ewan 18A2-Type 24Pentagram 32Joe Hales 38Paul Brandreth 42

Netherlands

Our Polite Society 48Irma Boom 54Mainstudio 58Studio Laucke Siebein 64OK200 72

Germany

HORT 80ZWEIZEHN 86Erik Spiekermann 90Deutsche & Japaner 96Bureau Mirko Borsche 102

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Chapter 1 Branching Out

It is essential for me to have an extensive knowledge of my own country before being able to have the reach to branch out into unkown territory. Although I’m a huge admirer of work from others in other countries, I wouldn’t know about them without the research I siv through from studios and designers I admire from the United Kingdom. There is a closer relationship when looking at work from the UK – a bond that can never be emulated when looking at say, a studio in The Netherlands.

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United KingdomChapter 1 Branching Out

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Chapter 1 We Made This

We Made This was established by Alistair Hall in 2004 - since then we’ve been making stuff with a range of clients, including Historic Royal Palaces, National Trust, the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, The RSA, The Crafts Council, and Teenage Cancer Trust. The name was inspired by the fact they believe design works best when it’s a collaborative process. All of their best work has come from working closely with both clients and printers.

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DoGreat WorkAlistair HallWe Made This

United KingdomChapter 1 We Made This

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Chapter 1 Oscar & Ewan

Oscar & Ewan is a design studio based in London and Stockholm, founded in 2007. Their work takes an idea led approach across graphic design, art direction, and bespoke commissions. Flagship projects include exhibition design for the Victoria and Albert Museum, a large mural commission for the Olympic Delivery Authority ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games, and a long standing relationship with Ninja Tune Recordings.

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United KingdomChapter 1 Oscar & Ewan

Original Thinking

Oscar Bauer &Ewan RobertsonOscar & Ewan

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Chapter 1 A2-Type

A2-Type is a new type foundryset up by the London based designstudio A2/SW/HK. Established to release and distribute over a decade’s worth of specially crafted typefaces the foundry offers access to a unique collection of fonts. Launching in Autumn 2010 with a selection of 15 fonts specially created for print, screen and environment.

Interview with Henrik Kubel for designboom

Why did you decide to specialise in typography? It’s similar to adding your signature to a piece of work and it’s a unique way of creating bespoke design for clients that wish to stand out.

Besides yourself and scott how many people work in your studio and how do you go about dividing / sharing the work? We are 2 people and we do all the work. A2/SW/HK is a design studio and part of our philosophy is to design new typeface for every project we work on; whether it’s a series of books (A2 beckett), a set of stamps (danmark), a brand identity (aveny-T) or signage for an exhibition (ergonomics).

How do you justify the time and cost of designing a new typeface to the client? Drawing bespoke typefaces is integrated in the way we work in our studio, it’s simply how we do things. we do occasionally use existing fonts, depending on the client and the project. the clients we work with understand our approach and see it as a unique add on to their project.

What made you decide to release your typefaces commercially?We could see the potential in selling our fonts to a wider audience after our first release; new rail alphabet developed in collaboration with margaret calvert in 2009. A2-type is a platform for publishing our existing library of fonts and also to originate and release new designs.

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Chapter 1 A2-Type United Kingdom

WeHaveNoMottoHenrik KubelA2-Type

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What influences you more, contemporary trends or historical preferences of your own? We are influenced by both, mostly the clients brief. recently I used the archives at plantin-moretus museum in antwerp in belgium as a source of inspiration for designing a ‘historical’ font with contemporary proportions for books and magazines. it’s named antwerp and it’s available in 5 weights plus italics.

Have you ever been impressed or upset with how somebody has used one of your typefaces? When other designers use our fonts, we look at it and try to learn. I have seen many examples where other designers use our fonts beautifully.

Do you ever revise / overhaul typefaces after their commercial release?do you notice details you’d like to change? Our fonts are tried and tested extensively in our design studio before we release them. We tend to release fonts with a standard character set at first and then follow up with advanced character sets and expanded weight range at a later date. it takes time for our audience to get to know a specific typeface or family of types and keeping the system rigid and not too overwhelming is something we think works well at the moment.

When you design a typeface do you start with certain letters or wordsto determine how the entire typeface will look?HOH + non + a, g, and a couple of numbers. These glyphs contain enough DNA for the rest of the letters to be crafted.

Which characters do you find the most difficult to design? It all depends on the style of typeface. The letter ‘S’ always throws up interesting questions!

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Have you ever designed a ‘non-latin typeface’ - would you like to work on this kind of project? I have designed a couple of greek alphabets but not released anything yet. designing type is to me about the overall structure and the reading pattern / harmony created by the individual glyphs when they are set as combined units; words – I believe this system applies to most languages – it’s simply a matter of executing this core concept. frank e. blokland from dutch type who has taught me in the past is doing some fantastic research on the subject of harmonics, patterns and dynamics in type: www.lettermodel.org

Roughly how long does it take to design a typeface? Are certain styles more difficult to design than others (serif vs sans-serif)? Crafting good type takes time, in the end it comes down to the project deadline.

What are the most important things to consider when you start work on a new typeface? What advice would you give to students / young designers? I work on the regular weight including the italic style first (basic character set). I test this extensively to make sure it’s perfect before I start expanding the glyph set and add weights etc.

How do you rationalize style over legibility?Both should work together. (zadie)

How different does a new typeface have to be from an existing one to avoid copyright issues? How can you monitor this whilst designing? I have a fair knowledge of what’s on the market and we have also built up a solid collection of period typeface specimens and reference books. in addition to this, we

Chapter 1 A2-Type

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have some fantastic and very supportive colleagues in the industry, so I often share my designs to get a second opinion.

What are some of your favourite typefaces - old and new by other foundries / designers? ‘Caslon grand canon’ (metal type) – this typeface is just beautiful! another favorite of mine is transport alphabet designed by jock kinneir and margaret calvert in 1957, which we are currently reviving in collaboration with margaret calvert.

What are you working on right now? We have just released a new font called regular., it has been designed in 7 weights + italics. Regular is a geometric sans with its basic structure inspired by some of our favourite hot metal fonts: memphis, karnak, stymie, scarab and paul renner’s futura. regular is in many ways a revival but it is also a font that has contemporary references and key words like: rational, readable, refined, relevant, reliable and responsive were part of the check-list during my design process.

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Chapter 1 Pentagram

Pentagram is the world’s largest independent design consultancy. The firm is owned and run by 19 partners, a group of friends who are all leaders in their individual creative fields. Working in London, New York, San Francisco, Berlin and Austin. They design everything: architecture, interiors, products, identities, publications, posters, books, exhibitions, websites, and digital installations. Each of their clients works directly with one or more of our partners. This reflects our conviction that great design cannot happen without passion, intelligence, and personal commitment, which is demonstrated by a portfolio of work that spans five decades.

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Chapter 1 Pentagram United Kingdom

PentagramIs Like AMulti–CelledOrganismAngus HylandPentagram

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Chapter 1 Joe Hales

Joe Hales is a London based graphic designer, whose work is underscored with a serious interest in the relationship between the form, function and content of print based media. This is reflected in projects spanning a diverse range of clients, where careful attention is paid to producing aesthetically relevant, clear and engaging typographic work. Recent projects include print collateral for The National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, London Printworks Trust and Camberwell Press, and most recently a web based project for Daniel Jones & Peter Gregson’s ‘Listening Machine’ which played it’s role in The BBC’s ‘The Space’ digital media project.

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Chapter 1 Joe Hales United Kingdom

Form,FunctionAndContentJoe Hales

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Chapter 1 Joe Hales

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Chapter 1 Joe Hales United Kingdom

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Chapter 1 Paul Brandreth

A Leeds based Graphic Designer focusing on typography and layout for editorial uses, and also a focus on interactive printed formats. Paul is a recent graduate from the BA (Hons) Graphic Design course at Leeds College of Art. Now living in Paris, he has cemented a position at the prestigous advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather.

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Chapter 1 Paul Brandreth United Kingdom

Do What You Enjoy,Have A Portfolio You Are Proud OfPaul BrandrethOgilvy & Mather

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Chapter 1 Paul Brandreth United Kingdom

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During the summer of 2012, myself; Eddie; and Chris felt it would be a good learning curve to actually go and visit some of the studios we’d been conversing about for a while. Our experience from the trip was unforgettable. Meeting all of these high profile designers and getting a tour around each studio – enlightening how the studio functioned etc – was rewarding. The fact that we were treated as peers and not students was an element that had hugely boosted our confidence and allowed us to progress as designers (not students). Not only did our travels highlight these aspects, but it has definitely fed through in our design practice. The main message we seemed to be getting was to experiment while you can; do what you want; you’’ve got free riegn that you won’t get for a very long time once you’ve graduated. All of the advice we got was honest, trusting, and satisfying. Plus, it was a great excuse to finally have a little break from College.

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Chapter 2 Branching Out Netherlands

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Chapter 2 Our Polite Society

Our Polite Society is a graphic design studio based in Amsterdam/The Netherlands and Stockholm/Sweden, formed in 2008 by Jens Schildt (SE) and Matthias Kreutzer (D). In close collaboration with their clients and with a passionate interest in typography, structure, and method, we design graphic identities, books, magazines, posters, exhibitions, record sleeves, websites and more. Jens is currently teaching at Konstfack University, Nyckelviksskolan and Grafikskolan in Stockholm, whilst Matthias is teaching in the foundation year of the Gerrit Rietveld Academy Amsterdam and is visiting professor at the University of Fine Arts in Saarbrücken/Germany.

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Chapter 2 Our Polite Society Netherlands

CloseCollabWith OurClientsJens SchildtOur Polite Society

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Boom was born in Lochem, Gelderland, the Netherlands, and attended the AKI Art Academy in Enschede, where she studied graphic design. Boom worked at the Dutch Government Publishing and Printing Office in The Hague for five years before she founded her Amsterdam studio in 1991, Irma Boom Office. Boom works both nationally and internationally in the cultural and commercial sectors, and some of her clients include the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Paul Fentener van Vlissingen, Inside Outside, Museum Boijmans, Zumtobel, Ferrari, Vitra International, NAi Publishers, and Camper.

Interview with Irma Boom for PrintMag

What are you doing in New York? I’m working on a book for the Bard Graduate Center. Tonight is the opening of a show about Knoll textiles, and I designed the catalogue accompanying the exhibition. It’s a book of more than 400 pages, but we’re finishing it now, so it’s hopefully going to press today.

You’ve said that American designers work harder than Dutch designers, but Dutch designers are better designers. Did I say that? We have, of course, a completely different culture. To give an artist or designer a commission is a very old habit, if you think of Rembrandt and Vermeer in the Rijksmuseum in the 17th century. I think that’s a completely different situation from here. It’s a collaborative exercise. It’s not, “You are my designer, and you have to do this.” We’re on the same level, the commissioner and me. I never say “client”; that’s really important.

What kinds of books come out of those relationships? More specific books. I spend a lot of time on my commissioners and going back and forth. I’m a tiny, tiny office, and here in the States there are big studios.

Chapter 2 Irma Boom

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Chapter 2 Irma Boom Netherlands

IHateHandMadeBooksIrma Boom

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Chapter 2 Irma Boom

I’m also on the editorial board, and for me that’s almost mandatory. To be involved from the very beginning is almost mandatory. I have maybe a sort of character problem. I cannot stand authority. I’m totally against authority. I cannot stand it, I cannot handle it. And the moment that it comes into a commission, I’m lost. And then it becomes difficult. I think we always need to talk on the same level, and not from top to bottom.

Does government support, like you have in Europe, affect how designers work? That changes a lot how things look. I went to the States in 1990, and I really wanted to live in New York. And I went to the MoMA, to the Whitney, to the Met—any museum I thought was interesting. I went there to show my work and ask if I maybe could make catalogues, and they always said, “Your work is so Dutch.” And what does it mean that my work is so Dutch? “You don’t have any image on the cover. Your covers are not selling.” They said, “Well, maybe in the future, but now your work is too subtle.”

I almost feel like your work has more in common with artists’ books than with coporate clients. I hate artists’ books. I hate it, I hate it. I think “artists’ books,” then I think of a print run of one or two. My books are all industrially made. What you see is that the book is not simply a book; it’s also an object. That’s what makes it special. But an artist’s book I associate with handmade things, and my books are never handmade. I think a book has to be industrially made, because that’s the whole idea of a book: to spread information. That’s what interesting about it. And artists’ books—to me that’s not a book. That’s a piece of art.

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Chapter 2 Irma Boom Netherlands

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Chapter 2 Mainstudio

Mainstudio were one of the design offices we were keen on visiting on our travels. Edwin’s ethos was a direct representation of how I approach my design process and gave me inspiration towards how I wanted to strategise my final year and more importantly, the representation I wanted to reflect of myself in my portfolio. Not only was the talk with Edwin inspiring in the design he had shown us, but his explanation of his daily routine and client/printers close relationship was another element that has sparked a new wanting for cleanness in communication and trust in my work when working with others. Edwin van Gelder is an independent graphic designer based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. After graduating from from Utrecht School of the Arts in 2004, van Gelder founded Mainstudio and has worked under the name ever since. Mainstudio’s projects include editorial design, books and visual identities for clients within architecture, art and fashion. Clients include Frame Publishers, Wiel Arets Architects, and the Dutch Fashion Biennial. Van Gelder has won various international awards (Art Directors Club New York, Best Dutch Book Design) and has been part of different international design juries, such as Art Directors Club New York, Selected A - Graphic Design from Europe, and the Art Directors Club the Netherlands. His work, as well as interviews, have been published in various books and magazines, including +81 Magazine, Slanted, and Process Journal of Design. Van Gelder loves typography, magazines, identities and books. His design approach is creating a clear concept, while always playing with the context of the information and looking for something unique in every assignment.

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Chapter 2 Mainstudio Netherlands

European Style?England Is InEurope Too!Edwin van GelderMainstudio

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Chapter 2 Studio Laucke Siebein

Studio Laucke was another studio we went and had a ganders at. This studio was more geared towards steering clear from anything that had the potential of being client driven. Again, as Mainstudio stated they take pride in having a close relationship with whoever they work with, meaning complete freedom in the direction of their work. Dirk was quick to advise me on using this last year of College to experiment, explore and exploit the freedom I have before the client led briefs (which are a necessity at best to as he put it, ‘live and get by’) come swarming in. Sitting across him in an empty room, with a table that practically stretched from door to door just proved the designer’s professionality. In a very interview-esque talk, Dirk treated and greeted us as fellow designers with a refreshing vibrancy. Presenting us with a vast selection of examples of their work and talking through the whole journey involved before the end product, this was definitely the stand out talk from our whole visit to Amsterdam. Dirk Laucke (1965) was born and brought up in Berlin, where he graduated in 1994 from the University of the Arts (UdK). Since 1995 he lives and works in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. In 2000 he founded Studio Laucke. Johanna Siebein (1982) studied at the University of Fine Arts (HBKsaar) in Saarbrücken, Germany, and at the Academy of Art and Design (AKI ArtEZ) in Enschede, The Netherlands. She graduated in 2008 at HBKsaar. Since 2010 Johanna heads the Berlin office, Studio Laucke Siebein.

Interview with Dirk & Johanna Siebein for Design et Culture Visuelle

I read you work at Total design and Dedato, what did you learn there? Before I answer your question I’d like to point out that I wasn’t employed by these Design Studios to learn something but to work there as a designer. I often hear from young designers that they would like to start working in some particular firm because they want to learn

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Chapter 2 Studio Laucke Siebein Netherlands

Clients,Clients,Clients!

Dirk LauckeStudio Laucke Siebein

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something there. I don’t think that’s the right work attitude to begin with. Employees really aren’t prepared to pay a decent salary just to function as an educational institution. Besides it is an open door in the sense that one should always be prepared to learn, no matter what state of your career you are in. However, to answer your question: With Total Design and Dedato I had my first contacts with real assignments commissioned by real clients. In Art Academy the ‘practice’ of design somehow always had to be simulated and I was getting used to adapt this simulated reality according to my own imagination and expectations. This problematic habit I had to cope with regularly in those first years. I had certain ideas and really thought my client should adapt his task, even his entire organization to fit my solution. Somehow I quickly learned that it doesn’t work like this and that such an attitude would never lead to good and reasonable results. Listen carefully and then come up with a design, not because it looks beautiful or cutting edge but because it is a relevant answer to a specific request. That’s what I have learned.

Would you advise every Young Graduate designer to begin their professional lifes in an agency? I wouldn’t want to make a rule out of this. There is always many ways to reach a goal, whatever that goal might be. In general regarding this, I would like to warn of any kind of pragmatism or opportunism. I often see really bad quality, boring portfolios of people who worked for a few years in some firm who suddenly realize they’d rather prefer to make good things like art books and the likes. What they don’t realize is that others have done that all the while and thus are the preferred breed.

When and why did you choose to associate with Johanna? Johanna, years ago did an internship with me. Actually, it was clear to me after a few days already that Johanna is a genius designer. That was the basics. Furthermore we like and trust each other. After a year


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of collaboration in Amsterdam we decided to expand our activities to Germany as well. Johanna now lives and works there.

How do you work together? We never worked on the same project. One of us is ‚leading’ on a project and asks the other his opinion and, ultimately, his blessings. If one of us doesn’t think something is good enough it’s not going to be presented to the client. Logistically: we visit Berlin or Amsterdam often and skype several times a day.

What are the main challenges in your daily practice? As I said before, we try to execute a commission properly and reasonably, thus it is never about us, but about our clients. I really think that a designer never should have a hidden agenda regarding this. In reality however, the issue is a lot more complex. In many cases the request of our clients doesn’t make sense in the first place. We do adapt the assignment sometimes together with our clients. What I find the most difficult is to translate the assignment into the vocabulary of visual communication without getting lost in translation by emotions such as vanity or pride.

How do you begin each work? do you have a straight linear process? No, we don’t ever get results in a straight forward, linear process. Play, even chance sometimes on the one hand and discipline and ingenuity on the other are important parameters on a zig-zag route to the finished product.

Your design is based on the idea and the function, but do you think it is also important to take care about the aesthetics?How do you arbitrate between aesthetics and function? People tend to think that a sunset is beautiful. I doubt whether that is true or not. My aunt had a foto wallpaper of a sunset which was actually

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quite ugly. Sure, I can also be moved by a sunset but I think not so much because of the actual colours et all, but because a sunset in most cases marks good moments in my life. Relaxation, warmth, love … such things. What I mean to say is that something has to be charged with meaning in order to be beautiful. Function is one pretty important way of adding meaning in processes that involve earning money. In other words, ugliness doesn’t make sense.

On which critera can you judge the value of a design piece? We think that good design is always a bit off, edgy and needs getting used to. What’s fabulous on first sight is often less interesting.

Do you think that it is the role of the designer to suggest to base the communication on one side of a project or another because he has also an outsider point of view (unlike the client)? A designer should be more than a solid craftsman with good taste. We advise our clients on all levels of strategy and communication. To lay back and wait until you are being asked to design a certain product doesn’t work anymore already for a long time.

Which people tought you most in design and what are these things? Our teachers in art academy of course showed us the right direction. Which is worth a lot. But real godfathers we don’t have. We learn a little bit from a whole lot of people. All in all that is huge.

Can you feel the evolution of graphic design practice over the 5 past years? What is it for you? Over the past years small publishers and self commissioned publications – often copied low budget reproductions – spring up like mushrooms from the ground. There even are bookstores, specialized in this phenomenon. I have the feeling that more and more young graphic designers withdraw themselves from the field of design as a

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service providing discipline to define themselves as autonomous artists and free authors instead. Of course this is a well known discussion which has become more visible through the many designblogs on the worldwideweb. Nevertheless, I believe that the rising influence of marketing departments in big firms play a crucial role in this. Over the past years I witnessed how visionary, sane companies under this influence turned into brain- and soulless monsters. For those companies really no intelligent person would like to work any longer. Designers in the end are romantic idealists, aren’t they?

Who are the most important designers in your opinion? Nobody owes anybody thanks or high regards here.

There is a lot of «weft» (I’m not sure it’s the good word …) in your images (like dynamo) in your typeface (like Richard) Could you tell me about this attachment for lace appearance? To escape the two dimensional character of paper is an important formal aspect in our work. However we try to avoid aesthetic eyewash like transparency or digital shadows. The same is true for our choice of materials by the way. To give an example: We would never chose the photographic representation of brown craftspaper as a background. Something like that we find more of an illustration. We would prefer to print directly on craftspaper instead. Back to the ‘holes’ that you were adressing; an open form provides transparency on a form under it. Next to ordening elements horizontally and vertically thus the possibility of in front of and behind is added. This dimension we rarely let go of in our designs.


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Chapter 2 OK200

Finally, Ok200 was the last studio we visited. A massive difference in the way they approached their work in relation to Mainstudio and Studio Laucke Siebein. With a more relaxed yet buzzing set up, the young designers had shown us examples of their work and their loving to keep a personal touch to their work in regards to self printing methods they’d carried on pursuing after grauation i.e. screen printing. At the same time, it dawned that there were the ‘client led’ jobs for a more coporate audience that are just projects that need to be ongoing to generate income to produce the more bespoke work. Putting the corporate work to one side, the designing presented for the more cultural sector audience was nothing short of stunning. This vistit was a real eye opener in the sense that life after graduation still enables you to find time to proceed with quite self indulgent briefs that offer personal rewards. OK200 is an Amsterdam based graphic design studio founded by Mattijs de Wit and Koen Knevel in 2010. They studied together at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. After graduation they decided that working as a team would realise their dream of having their own design studio. The name OK200 is based upon a server response code which means: ‘your request has succeeded’. OK200 is a personal, headstrong, fast, authentic graphic design studio. They make no distinction between working for a big corporate company or a cultural institution. OK200 has experience in working on various projects, from website, to magazine, identity, to whatever you request. OK200 is always willing to give advice, to help clients straighten their ideas and to make their brand stronger.

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Chapter 2 OK200 Netherlands

YourRequestHasSucceeded

Mattijs de WitOK200

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Alongside the two countries already covered, Germany is another destination that I have a soft spot for. My 2nd year was majorly inspired by the designs of the Germans. The slickness; concept driven; content driven; controlled colourfulness were all traits that I wanted to incorporate into my own work. I feel I have made huge leaps in that direction with my own personal touches and feel this was only do-able through looking at the work produced from this country. With such a resurgence in design for the culture sector in Germany, it’s a pleasure to see new and innovative work happening so consistently. Germany is a country I have plans for in the near future, and would never rule out the prospect of having a long stint at living there – learning as much as I can from some of the studio’s ways of working.

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Chapter 3 HORT

HORT began its inhabitance back in 1994 under the previous stage name of Eike GRAPHIC HORT. Who the hell is Eike? Eike is the creator of HORT. HORT – a direct translation of the studio’s mission. A creative playground. A place where ‘work and play’ can be said in the same sentence. An unconventional working environment. Once a household name in the music industry. Now, a multi-disciplinary creative hub. Not just a studio space, but an institution devoted to making ideas come to life. A place to learn, and a place that is quietly growing. Not a client execution tool. HORT has been known to draw inspiration from things other than design.

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Chapter 3 HORT Germany

Easy ToUnderstandInformation

Eike KönigHORT

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Chapter 3 ZWEIZEHN

ZWEIZEHN is a Mainz based design collective consisting of Christian Schreiber, Sven Herkt, Steffen Meyer and Oleg Svidler. Their tasks vary from mainly typography and Corporate Design/Corporate Identity works to Illustrations and Photography. So far they have organised and held several workshops and worked for the likes of Sinkkasten Arts Club, Stadtmuseum Wiesbaden and several german musicians and cultural institutions.

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Chapter 3 ZWEIZEHN Germany

TypeSavesLives

Oleg SvidlerZWEIZEHN

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Chapter 3 Erik Spiekermann

One of my most influential designers around, Erik Spiekermann puts typography into perspective whenever I listen to him speak. A true great in my eyes, his no nonsense approach has always been something I’ve admired. After seeing him at Typo Talks 2012, it only re-instated why he has such a large following.

Interview with Erik Spiekermann for Computer Arts

The theme at POINT is authenticity. What does that mean to you? Erik Spiekermann: Everybody says they’re authentic. What’s the opposite? Bullshit? There’s one thing that makes you authentic – a rule I always obey myself: I never talk about anything I don’t know about. I guess that makes me authentic. In business you tend to have to improvise and join conversations that maybe you don’t know about. I keep quiet. I was in Israel, in front of 2,000 people, Germans and Israelis, who are already a little difficult, and my slides didn’t work. I talked about my work and my life and stuff. Obviously it was authentic. I didn’t make anything up. I didn’t pretend, I knew what I was going. And that’s a very simple rule: just don’t pretend. Be authentic. It’s very easy. We tend to, in our business, say to clients, we can do this and we can do that. We lie and we cheat. If a client asks me to do something I’ve never done before, I say: I’ve never done this before – but I’m sure we can do it because I’ve learned other things. Know what your talking about, and don’t pretend. Ever. I also don’t pretend I like something when I don’t like it. I don’t pretend I’m enthusiastic when I’m not. It never works. It doesn’t internally. It doesn’t work externally. Clients see through it. My colleagues see through it.

What can we expect from your talk? I’ll be discussing my new way of working. It’s called the agile method. Which means quick sprints. Don’t dwell on things. Don’t spend days

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Chapter 3 Erik Spiekermann Germany

It Is Our Role To MakeThings More BeautifulErik SpiekermannFounder of Fontshop

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in Photoshop massaging every single pixel. We insist the client is in the middle of everything. It’s a new way of working. The old moves don’t work anymore. Everything is connected. Again, you can’t bullshit because it will come out. Nothing’s ever finished, either. Life’s in beta. There is an end to it, but you don’t define it. Everything will be reinvented, which is difficult to explain to clients. Especially engineering guys: we work with Bosch – guys who make spark plugs, power drills, mechanical components – and when you tell them their website will never be finished, they don’t want to hear that. The come from a world where a product is delivered and works for 20 years. They’re scared of the unknown. I like it. I’ve always been a bit of an anarchist. I’m very messy, but very pernickety in detail. That’s not a contradiction. I’m always on time – sometimes a year late, but then I’ll be on the minute. It’s an attitude that is very difficult to get across in a studio with more than 20 people. Once you’re that size, you start having rules and project managers and defined roles. I’m saying to those people: Fuck the roles. Start over. Improvise. I’m the oldest guy and I’m telling the young guys – forget the rules.

There seems to be another theme developing, with several designers discussing storytelling. Is this something that informs your work? Storytelling is an ancient theme. It’s been around since the mid-90s, essentially. People like stories. Companies tell stories about themselves: if the stories aren’t not real, if they don’t tie in with the company’s behaviour, if they’ve got a great logo and shitty behaviour, people sense it. We’re seeing this with Apple. Apple was everybody’s hero, certainly in the design business. We’ve just realised it’s as bad or as good as any other company. It’s just a large evil company that makes a shitload of money exploiting a million Chinese. Its stuff is kind of cool, but you wouldn’t kill for Apple anymore. I might have killed for Apple 10 years ago, because my livelihood depended on its kit. It probably doesn’t anymore.


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It certainly hasn’t done anything new for us as designers. Apple told us this fantastic story about how it makes this kit so we can make great things with it. That story is running a little thin. It’s making things to consume. A lot of brands are moving from a genuine story to a made-up story. We like to buy stories, but we don’t buy stories that are fake.

What is about design that you love? Why was it your chosen career? On the surface, what we do is design products and surfaces. To me, the bigger question has always been about making the world more accessible. A lot of the stuff I’ve done was marketing for companies – I’ve made Volkswagen and Audi look better – but the work I really enjoyed was stuff like the signage system and passenger information for Berlin transport or airport. It’s makes the service accessible. The world is getting more and more complicated. Our role is to make things more accessible. To make it understandable. Fun. We’re mediators between technology, products and the audience. I define the function, make things and services that work and also add a little bit of beauty. Just making it work is kind of the role of an engineer. I used to be shy to mention the word beauty. I will mention it now. It is our role to make things more beautiful.


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Chapter 3 Deutsche & Japaner

DEUTSCHE & JAPANER studio was initiated in 2009 and offers expertise in various disciplines, such as graphic design, product design, interior design, illustration and scenography as well as conceptual creation and strategic brand escort. The studio focuses on communication, regardless of its physical condition, environmental, haptical or visual, but always in regard of sustainable experiences.

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Chapter 3 Deutsche & Japaner Germany

We FocusOn Comm- unication,RegardlessOf It’s PhysicalConditionMoritz FirchowDeutsche & Japaner

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Chapter 3 Bureau Mirko Borsche

Bureau Mirko Borsche is a graphic design studio founded in 2007 by Mirko Borsche. Renowned for its versatility, the studio’s signature design is a content-driven approach based on the idea of design as a source for learning, understanding and joy. Its creative output comprises design and communication consultancy and commissioned work of all genres for clients from the fields of culture and business as well as original works within the scope of art, subculture and design that have been shown in single and group exhibitions in several countries. In the endeavour to spread creativity and educate on matters of design, Mirko Borsche and his team take part in conferences, panels and seminars and give lectures and workshops at universities and other educational facilities.

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Chapter 3 Bureau Mirko Borsche Germany

Design IsA SourceFor Learning,Understanding,And Joy

Mirko BorscheBureau Mirko Borsche

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On an end note to put it into plain and simple terms, I would feel like no real progress would have been made if I wasn’t so adamant on expanding my research past my own limits and obvious surroundings. Understanding why and how other countries seem to produce such different types of work from each other is fascinating in itself. As Spiekermann says, “it is our role to make things look beautiful,” therefore it’s not wrong to design something with the underlying intentions of it to aesthetically look pleasing. On the other hand, I do believe that strong design occurs when the communication is direct and isn’t over complicated. The design needs to suit the purpose. For example, a menu produced for a cheap chip shop needs to look cheap. If it doesn’t, then the design is flawed and doesn’t appeal to the audience it’s made for. So making something look ‘nice’ isn’t necessarily always the best solution. This is where I feel good design is separated from great design.

We Made Thiswemadethis.com

Oscar & Ewanoscarandewan.se

A2-Typea2-type.co.uk

Pentagrampentagram.com

Joe Halesjoehales.co.uk

Paul Brandrethpaulbrandreth.co.uk

Our Polite Societyourpolitesociety.net

Irma Boomirmaboom.nl

Mainstudiomainstudio.com

Studio Laucke Siebeinstudio-laucke-siebein.com

OK200ok200.nl

HORThort.org.uk

ZWEIZEHNzweizehn.com

Erik Spiekermannspiekermann.com

Deutsche & Japanerdeutscheundjapaner.com

Bureau Mirko Borschemirkoborsche.com

Alexander Lisalexanderlis.com

Documents

Branching Out