Data Centers

Posted on by Nina Steimel

Today, we would like to introduce you to the publication Data Centers — Edges of a Wired Nation, which is now available at Slanted Shop! It was awarded at the competitions Die schönsten Deutschen Bücher, Die schönsten Schweizer Bücher, and Best Book Design from all over the World 2020/2021.

It deals with a topic we all face on a daily basis. Data centers are the spines of our Internet; they operate silently and secretly in thousands of locations around the world. They process the information we produce and access in invisible ways. Data cures through placeless, inconspicuous, anonymous structures, such as buildings, cable ducts, junction boxes, and landing pads, etc. They are everywhere and nowhere. The publication collects research on the individuals and institutions involved in setting up, nurturing, and governing digital infrastructures and analyzes current and future developments, using Switzerland as an example.

Bringing together photographic works, essays, and case studies Data Centers explores the mutual, typically fraught entanglements of place, past and digital infrastructure. Underneath the official storyline—Switzerland’s favorable alpine climate, the relatively low energy-costs, the political stability of the area, and its strategic positioning in central Europe—Data Centers uncovers a more varied, inconclusive set of trajectories: narratives of techno-nationalist aspirations; of Swiss-Chinese interdependencies; of deregulation and once-mighty telecommunications enterprises; of cold-war legacies, and the multi-billion-dollar business of data security.

Data Centers — Edges of a Wired Nation

Publisher: Lars Müller Publishers
Editors: Monika Dommann, Hannes Rickli, and Max Stadler
Design: Hubertus Design
Release: 2020
Volume: 344 pages
Format: 259 mm × 189 mm × 25 mm
Language: English
ISBN: 978-3-03778-645-1
Price: € 35.–
Buy

New (Little) Gestalten Books

Posted on by Nina Steimel

There are four new beautiful books of (Little) Gestalten for big and small friends of visual design, which may make your summer vacations more colorful. They are now available in the Slanted Shop: Brand New Brand, We Love Pizza, Schwein gehabt! and Who invented this?.

Brand New Brand
The current situation may feel uncertain and unsettling, but while the pandemic has posed new challenges for brands in nearly every industry, social distancing also means that our need to connect is stronger than ever. It is vital for businesses to create communities centered around their brands, and the pandemic may well act as an accelerator to put values into practice that have become increasingly important to customers, such as a call for greater diversity, more social responsibility, better ethics, and a stronger focus on sustainability. More than ever, brands need to think holistically. It is true, branding can help businesses break through the noise, build trust and recognition, but it is so much more than just a look or a logo. Branding is creating the emotional reaction a company can elicit from its customers by sharing meaningful moments with people to create empathy, respect, satisfaction and delight–this is when the relationship with the brand really begins.

Brand New Brand is a compendium of the best visual identities recently created for businesses from all over the world. It shows how well-considered, holistic branding can take a bakery, a solar panel installer, a gym that serves as an inclusive workout space for all body types, a Black-owned social and wellness clubhouse, a physiotherapist or even a waste management business that is using circular solutions, from one of a crowd to one in a million. It shows how, in an era of pandemics and political and economic instability, creative, innovative thinking is the greatest asset.

In-depth case studies explore the ideas currently shaping the field of branding, such as the use of traditional techniques or the reinterpretation of local visual languages. This expertly curated collection with a foreword by Astrid Stavro, an internationally-renowned graphic designer and partner at Pentagram’s London office, explains the context, the thinking, and the inspiration behind the design. As many of the projects in this book show, if you have a good idea that has been well crafted, so much can be achieved with even the most modest of budgets. Whatever the scope of the project, there is always space for surprise and innovation, a way to do things differently, and push things further.

Publisher: Gestalten
Release: May 2021
Volume: 256 pages
Format in cm (w × h): 24 × 28 cm
Language: English
Workmanship: Stitch bound, Hardcover
ISBN: 978-3-96704-005-0
Price: € 19.90
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We love Pizza
Let’s be honest, who doesn’t like pizza? The book We love Pizza delivers the full box including all the different styles from Italy to America. From classic toppings to surprisingly strange combinations, We Love Pizza explores the diverse ways of eating a pizza, and introduces the pizzeria people who help bring our favorite food to the table.

First created in Naples, Italy, hundreds of years ago, pizza has grown to become a dish adored all over the world. Conquering the bellies of millions, We love Pizza provides fun facts about this enduringly popular—and oh so tasty—classic. Did you know that in the United States alone every second, 350 slices are sold? Or that the Hawaiian pizza was actually created in Canada? Many cultures and countries have developed their own interpretations, and this colorful book looks at pizza from every angle. We love Pizza explains little pizza lovers how to make dough from scratch and uncover inspiration for toppings, all while tickling taste buds and inducing an appetite. Grab a slice of the action!

Elenia Beretta is an Italian illustrator living in Berlin. She studied Editorial Illustration in Milan and works for clients like Vogue, New York Times, Süddeutsche Zeitung, or Elle magazine. She illustrated food books and children’s books for Rizzoli Editore and is one of the illustrators for the three volumes of Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. After Tasty Treats this is her second book with Little Gestalten.

Publisher: Little Gestalten
Release: June 2021
Author: Elenia Beretta
Volume: 40 pages
Format in cm (w × h): 21 × 26 cm
Language: English
Workmanship: Stitch bound, Hardcover
ISBN: 978-3-96704-705-9
Price: € 14.90
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Schwein gehabt!
Can pigs swim? Why do piglets have milk teeth? And how did the wild pig become a domestic pig? Schwein gehabt! answers many questions about our favorite bristling animal: from the Danish protest pig to the Vietnamese pot-bellied pig, from animal husbandry to pigs in mythology and astrology, from prominent pig owners to mating behavior: This engagingly illustrated book Schwein gehabt! introduces various breeds, reveals exciting and quirky facts about the species, and provides insight into the cultural history of the pig.

Daisy Bird grew up in the west of England on a farm surrounded by animals. After studying at Cambridge University, she moved to London, where she now lives and works. She is the author of non-fiction and children’s books about how people and animals live together. Her favorite breed of pig is the English Middle White.

Camilla Pintonato is a writer and illustrator from Venice. She studied illustration in Milan and was awarded a prize by the Goethe Institute, among others. In addition to her work on numerous children’s books, she spends a lot of time in her garden and with her cat Rosmarino.

Publisher: Little Gestalten
Release: March 2021
Illustrator: Camilla Pintonato
Author: Daisy Bird
Volume: 72 pages
Format in cm (w × h): 21 × 28.5 cm
Language: German
Workmanship: Stitch bound, Hardcover
ISBN978-3-96704-701-1
Price: € 19.90
Buy


Who invented this?
Many of the things surrounding us were once nothing more than an idea. Things that on first glance may seem small and common, like the jeans we’re wearing right now, Post-its, toothpaste or fizzy drinks, just as much as things such as the light bulb, tires, the microchip or plastic that have become an integral part of our everyday lives, as well as still others that appear to be invisible, but have undeniably changed the world we live in forever like frequency hopping that is the basis of modern technologies such as Bluetooth and WLAN, radioactivity, alternating current, which is the electricity that comes out of our plugs, or the ubiquitous world wide web.

These things that make up the fabric of our everyday lives, did not just appear out of nowhere, though, they were conceived by talented inventors, scientists, and engineers. Some are the result of teamwork, some of many years spent alone in a laboratory. Other inventions grew out of everyday situations and some were simply the result of chance. Who Invented This? is a fascinating trip back through history that shows how now famous scientists and inventors like Marie Curie, Nikola Tesla, or Ada Lovelace, as well as lesser known, but no less creative minds such as Adi Dassler, the inventor of football boots, George Beauchamp, who developed the first electrically amplifiable guitar, or Louis Braille, who as a 16-year old came up with the idea of using dots to create a form of writing that blind people could read with their fingers, have turned their ideas into great inventions.

How they seized opportunities, had faith in their ideas, and the courage to try something new. At a time when the lack of trust in science appears to be growing and controversies about facts are on the rise, “Who Invented This?” aims to inspire creativity and spark the interest in science and engineering by connecting groundbreaking minds from the past with modern technology, culture, and medicine.

Making her children’s literature debut in Who Invented This?, German author Anne Ameri-Siemens is using her experience as a journalist to tell engaging stories about human development and the world around us. She previously worked for Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Süddeutsche Zeitung-Magazin, and German television networks.

Becky Thorns is the illustrator behind Little Gestalten’s acclaimed title The World of Whales that has been shortlisted for the World Illustration Award 2020. She graduated from Falmouth University with a Fine Art degree in 2015 and now specializes in children’s illustration, literary themed works, and calligraphic lettering.

Publisher: Little Gestalten
Release: May 2021
Volume: 96 pages
Format in cm (w × h): 20.5 × 26 cm
Language: English
Workmanship: Stitch bound, Hardcover
ISBN: 978-3-89955-133-4
Price: € 19.90
Buy

 

Fernhout: The New Typeface for the Dutch Design Week

Posted on by Stuart de Rozario

Today we would like to present you Fernhout: The New Typeface for the Dutch Design Week and inform you that the DDW will take place in Eindhoven in mid-October. Save the date and order your ticket from mid-September, because DDW will not be online only this year!

Fernhout is the new typeface designed by London type designers The Foundry Types for the Dutch Design Week (DDW), in collaboration with Amsterdam design agency Thonik. The new display face is based on the simple primitive forms, rectangles, and quarter-circles by the late Wim Crouwel’s Edgar Fernhout exhibition poster and catalog for the Van Abbemuseum in 1963. The typeface and brand identity is currently being rolled out across the Netherlands.

Hosted by the city of Eindhoven, DDW is the biggest design event in Northern Europe. With over 2,500 designers, scattered over 110 locations, showcasing their work to more than 350,000 visitors from across the globe. DDW coordinates exhibitions, lectures, prize ceremonies, networking events, debates, and other festivities.

Thonik approached The Foundry Types and asked them to create a typeface based on the new logo they had designed, expanding the character set to include a-z in lowercase, figures, and punctuation glyphs. The Foundry Types’ objective was simple: to create a clear expansion of the Crouwel Edgar Fernhout letterforms that seamlessly integrates with the new DDW brand identity.

The Foundry Types’ ethos throughout the design process was clarity, integrity and authenticity; the constructed Edgar Fernhout letterforms consist of a simplistic rectangle block system, two columns wide and four oblongs tall, circled segments, and angled indentations. Although the glyph shapes are playful and simple—these basic forms often throw up challenging complex problems and limitations.

The purist, basic forms of Fernhout offer little scope to break the grid without diminishing the overall visual virtues. Crouwel’s carefully devised grid often allowed many glyphs to design themselves, but complex glyphs with diagonal strokes, “k, s, x, z, 2, 4, 5, 7” needed to be stripped back and simplified. Characteristics within the letterforms also threw up a few dilemmas—how to design an “i” and “j” dot along with readable punctuation? The Foundry Types decided to introduce another element—the square, this allowed a little more freedom to express the concept in a more refined way. Problematic junctions to the center section of the “3” and “8” were the trickiest to achieve, a double quarter-circle was added to allow these glyphs to be easily recognizable.

Stuart de Rozario (Co-partner of The Foundry Types) said, “Just like Crouwel’s lettering, his posters and catalogs are unique. All vary in style and execution, often displaying humanity within his strict modular grid vision: systematic, logical, but crafted by hand and with a keen eye.”

Thomas Widdershoven (Co-founder of Thonik) said, “Crouwel loved monospaced letters so the fact that Edgar Fernhout’s name doesn’t contain a ‘w,’ ‘m,’ ‘l,’ or ‘i’ must have appealed to him. We did have to tackle those letters and have tried to finish the game while playing by the same rules. We’ve chosen all lowercase letters since they feel more democratic and look sympathetic. The use of indentations has helped increase legibility.”

David Quay (Co-partner of The Foundry Types) said, “Wim never envisaged his designs to go on to be used as complete typefaces, and would often be taken aback to know people would want to use them in their own design projects.”

Roy Terhorst (Partner of Thonik) said, “Animating the newly developed font for the DDW site felt natural, when the letters started moving, the underlying grid became visually present. A bridge was forged between the aesthetics of the past and the design language of the future: motion design.”

The Fernhout typeface consists of just a single weight with a very limited character set due to its elemental forms. It will be available to license later this year at The Foundry Types exclusively, a PDF specimen is available on request.

Fernhout: The New Typeface for the Dutch Design Week

Foundry: The Foundry Types 
Design Agency: Thonik
Release: Winter 2021 at The Foundry Types exclusively
Styles: Single Weight with limited character set; PDF specimen is available on request

Dutch Design Week

When?
October 16th to 24th, 2021

Where?
Eindhoven, Netherlands
The DDW is spread across dozens of locations in the city
The full program for DDW21 will follow in September

Visit The Foundry Types to not miss the release and book your ticket for the DDW here.

Photographs courtesy of The Foundry Types. © The Foundry Types 2021.

The Space Between

Posted on by Concrete Nature

The Space Between — Limited Edition Risograph Photozine is the first publication designed and published by Concrete Nature, a Glasgow based studio launched in 2020. The risograph printed publication features a curated selection of photographic work from an international line up of creatives. The Space Between acts as a collective experiment assembled to consider, observe, and question our relationship with nature. It is the curated product of the studio’s first open call inviting creatives to submit black and white photographs on the subject matter.

The publication takes us on a journey to reflect on the different ways our relationship with nature manifest itself within the various spaces we experience, from the lushness and abundance of the outdoors to the intricacy of the man-made spaces we occupy.

Concrete Nature is an environ­mentally conscious creative studio working across print, digital and space. The studio balances collaborative, commissioned, and self-initiated projects. Their self-initiated work intentionally range across platforms, including publishing, limited edition printed goods, and events.

The Space Between

Publishing, Concept, and Design: Concrete Nature
Foreword: Clementine Carriere
Format: 148 × 210 mm
Volume: 56 pages
Language: English
Printing: Out of the Blueprint
ISBN: 978-1-5272-7610-9
Price: £ 17.– (£ 2.– from each sale will be donated to two UK based charities, Refuweegee and Mermaids UK)
Buy

Tÿpo St. Gallen 2021

Posted on by Nina Steimel

Trust your gut feeling, book your ticket, and look forward to the three-day event of Tÿpo St. Gallen 2021—Intuition in November 2021 with various lectures, workshops, book presentations, and get-togethers with lunch and aperitifs!

Be it in private or professional life: Projects and plans are often agreed to spontaneously. If they succeed, one speaks of a gut feeling on which one could rely. Conversely, an uneasy feeling can protect you from disappointment. So much for the theory of intuition, which is the subject of the 20 or so top-class speakers at this year’s Tÿpo St. Gallen. The three-day typography symposium is considered the most important industry gathering for designers in the German-speaking world and is organized by the St. Gallen School of Design. The workshops offer a colorful mix of paper science, lettering, programming, writing, type, and web design.

Among others the following voices will speak at the Tÿpo St. Gallen 2021 Symposium: OrtnerSchinko is a graphic design and art direction studio in Linz, Austria. Founded in 2015 by Kira Saskia Schinko and Wolfgang Ortner, OrtnerSchinko develops contemporary design and brand strategies for companies as well as in the field of art and culture. Specializing in typographic design, OrtnerSchinko realizes—through consistent simplification—strategic design with added value in terms of perception, visibility, memorability, orientation, differentiation, and positioning.

Just von Rossum, a well-known Dutch type designer and programmer, is coming to St. Gallen on Saturday. He studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague. After working for MetaDesign in Berlin, he opened his own studio as a type and graphic designer in the Netherlands. Together with his brother Guido van Rossum, he developed the Python programming language. Together with Erik van Blokland he is co-founder of LettError.

Ana Laura Campos, Sonja Steven, as well as Kerstin and Sarah Tolpeit already started working together during their time at the Hamburg University of Fine Arts. In 2013 they founded Klass—the office for design. The common focus of their work is typography. It is the starting point for logo, book and web design. The medium does not determine the form. Whenever they find time, they realize their own projects such as books, prints, calendars, or exhibitions.

Tÿpo St. Gallen sees itself as a forum for experts and people with an affinity for design, and seeks and promotes the exchange between speakers and audience. In addition to presentations, there will be plenty of time for discussions and an inspiring supporting program.

Tÿpo St. Gallen 2021

When?
November 5th to 7th, 2021

Where?
Gewerbliches Berufs- und Weiterbildungszentrum St. Gallen
Schule für Gestaltung
Demutstrasse 115
9012 St. Gallen
Switzerland

Tickets
Early bird: CHF 348.–
Professionals: CHF 398.–
Students, apprentices: CHF 199.– (Student ID must be provided)

For further information click here and book your ticket here

Itacolomi

Posted on by Emerson Eller

Itacolomi by Eller Type is a font family conceived for editorial purposes. Based on historical models, it is well placed in the present time, turning classic proportions into contemporary letter shapes. It is robust and clean in small sizes, keeping consistency in both print and digital environments.

Itacolomi is an outcome from Eller’s Ph.D., the result of an extensive investigation into Scottish style types produced in Brazil around 1820. A possible connection between Brazil and Scotland. In short, it preserves the qualities of the famous 19th-century Scotch Roman types while adding a personal approach with unique features from the early Brazilian models.

The Typeface has six weights, romans plus respective italics, which makes twelve fonts with an extensive character set that supports over two hundred languages and includes small caps, ligatures, old-style, and tabular numerals.

Itacolomi

Foundry: Eller Type
Designer: Emerson Eller
Release: 2021
Format: otf, woff, woff2
Styles: Light, Regular, Medium, SemiBold, Bold, Black plus respective italics (12 fonts)
Price: Family $ 168.–
Individual Styles: $ 35.–
Buy on MyFonts or Fontspring

No School Manifesto & Wicked Arts Assignments

Posted on by Nina Steimel

We are very pleased to have two publications now available in our Slanted Shop from the Dutch publishing house Valiz: No School Manifesto & Wicked Arts Assignments.

No School Manifesto — A Movement of Creative Education wants to open up the meaning of learning and fundamentally questions traditional education, through creativity. Curiosity, experimentation, unrestricted thinking, making, and developing—by yourself and in collaboration with others—are basic elements of all forms of learning and living together. In the current educational system these values are regularly overshadowed by rules, legislation, bureaucracy, a unitary approach, and little attention to the intrinsic inquisitiveness of both the student and the teacher.

No School is a growing movement that together with the creative field wants to provide space for experiment, flexibility, cooperation, “wild” thinking, looking ahead; experimenting off the beaten track with different forms of learning, in which creativity is the key concept.

No School Manifesto opens up possibilities for thinking how to go about this, and to start experimenting. It is not an exhaustive analysis of the approach—this would not be possible, as No School is not static, but constantly evolving and continually reassessing its place vis-à-vis standardized educational frameworks. Key concepts, values and attitudes such as “Curiosity,” “Magnetism,” and “Zigzag” are explored through an A–Z Lexicon, and are complemented by illuminating examples of students’ work. An explanation of the urgency of No School, and an essay on the fundamental value of creativity provide introductory context to the book. The overarching Manifesto summarizes what the No School movement and the book stand for.

In collaboration with Cibap, Zwolle; SintLucas, Eindhoven; ArtEZ Arnhem–Zwolle–Enschede; No School.

No School Manifesto — A Movement of Creative Education

Publisher: Valiz
Editor: Betje Stevens, Fabiola Camuti, Ilse Ouwens
Designer: Marius Schwarz
Volume: 228 pages
Format in cm (w × h): 15 × 22 cm
Language: English
Bookbinding: Paperback
ISBN: 978-94-92095-85-5
Price: € 19.90 

Wicked Arts Assignments are bold, unusual, contrary, funny, poetical, inspiring, socially committed, or otherwise challenging. Everyone who teaches art knows them: the assignment that is seemingly simple but which challenges participants, students and pupils to the max. Many artists and arts teachers have that singular, personal, often-used assignment in which everything comes together: their artistic vision, their pedagogical approach and their love for certain techniques or methods.

The almost hundred arts assignments collected in Wicked Arts Assignments – Practising Creativity in Contemporary Arts Education connect to the visual arts, performance, theatre, music and design, but more importantly: they encourage cross-disciplinarity. They reflect themes and ways of working in contemporary arts, offering opportunities to learn about ourselves, the arts and the world.

The first part of this book provides a theoretical view on arts assignments from historical, artistic and educational perspectives, complemented by interviews with experts in contemporary arts and education. The second part consists of the actual wicked arts assignments. These can be carried out in various contexts: from primary schools to higher education, from home to the (online) community, and from Bogotá to Istanbul. They are meant to spark the imagination of both teachers and students, contributing to new, topical educational and artistic practices.

In cooperation with Amsterdam University of the Arts.

Wicked Arts Assignments — Practising Creativity in Contemporary Arts Education

Publisher: Valiz
Editors: Emiel Heijnen, Melissa Bremmer
Designer: Laura Pappa
Volume: 304 pages
Format in cm (w × h): 15 × 22 cm
Language: English
Bookbinding: Paperback
Release: 2020
ISBN: 978-94-92095-75-6
Price: € 19.90
Buy

Both publications were selected by the student jury as one of the best Dutch book designs 2020.

everwave

Posted on by g31

The agency g31 in collaboration with Thanh-Thao Tran, Anna Fitzon, Stephanie Butzen, and Marie Volmar has designed the new branding for marine start up everwave: a start-up that develops sustainable solutions for global plastic pollution.

When the everwave team approached g31, their name was Pacific Garbage Screening. The old name was based on CEO Marcella Hansch’s master’s thesis at RWTH Aachen University that developed a platform that filters plastic in the Pacific Ocean. In the meantime, Marcella Hansch’s organization grew considerably and expanded beyond the physical screening of plastic in the Pacific Ocean to holistic approaches that target the entire (vicious) circle of marine pollution. These approaches range from education and awareness campaigns to innovative “Clean-up” products. To do justice to the ambitious new direction the organization has taken, the agency joined forces to develop a new brand world to inspire people around the world to support everwave’s mission to save the oceans.

An independent, typographic voice for our seas
g31 designed a new headline font exclusively for everwave, in cooperation with type designer Gabriel Richter, to give its mission a distinctive voice. Subtle, typographic references to water and waves create a typeface with a strong character that is friendly and engaging. The team round off the typographic system with a functional grotesque typeface that serves as an objective counterpart to the new headline font.

A strong symbol that is easily drawn in the sand
The new everwave logo is radically minimalist, yet reflects the most important facets of the brand personality. The “e,” formally adapted to the new headline font, reveals a stylized, breaking wave in the negative space that refers to the ideals of a sustainable recycling economy.

Sustainability begins in our minds
everwave’s new brand identity creates a spirit of optimism and addresses many stakeholders including the general public, investors, as well as scientific, and political partners. “After all, we are all in the same boat—global marine pollution can only be solved by working together. We are proud to be able to contribute to this ambitious goal with our work.”

everwave

Design: g31
Collaborators: Thanh-Thao Tran, Anna Fitzon, Stephanie Butzen and Marie Volmar
Typeface Design: nice to type
Find further information about the marine start-up here.

MA-MA Type

Posted on by MA-MA Type

Today we would like to introduce you to Parisian type foundry MA-MA Type, which has a special appreciation for the craft and artisan approach to type design:

MA-MA Type is a small-scale type foundry based in Paris, France. It was founded in 2021 by Maxime Fittes as an open creative space allowing the making of singular fonts. The foundry believes in values of craftsmanship and is devoted to the making of context-related typefaces that tell their own story. As an independent foundry, MA-MA Type claims its freedom from type industry standardization. This translates into a specific creative process which the foundry tailors to each new release. Alongside its retail catalog, the type foundry designs custom typefaces for cultural projects: identities, magazines, etc.

Typefaces distributed by MA-MA Type:
Fork is a monospaced typeface designed as an exploration of geometry and simplicity. The overall sharpness of shapes brings a mechanical flavor to the characters as well as a singular typographic color.
Marcus is an uppercase-only display typeface which draws inspiration from old film titles and handcrafted signages. Its letters are inspired by Roman square capitals with condensed proportions.
Packer is a monospaced typeface designed as a cheerful alternative to monotonous office aesthetics. Its round and generous shapes offer a counterweight to the technical tone of fixed-width characters.
Ziggy is a strong display typeface inspired by hand-painted letterings found on boat hulls. Odd details and awkwardness features have been preserved to give its letters their distinctive identity.

MA-MA Type

Foundry: MA-MA Type
Designer: Maxime Fittes
Styles and Weights: From Thin to Bold with matching Italics
Formats: otf, woff, woff2, eot
Price Single Style: from € 50.–
Price Full Family: from € 120.–
Buy typefaces here
Find free trials here

Airport Wayfinding

Posted on by Nina Steimel

Dedicated to the wanderlust, we would like to introduce you to a publication now available at our Slanted Shop, that takes a closer look at the complex infrastructures of our airports: Airport Wayfinding — Wayfinding Systems of 70 Airports.

Airports are places with multi-layered identities that millions of people pass through and where cultures meet: On the one hand, the history and the design heritage of the particular country can be identified and local characteristics are intensified and reinforced almost stereotypically. On the other hand, airports represent hypermodern functional environments in which processes are internationally standardized and maximally efficient, with a strong emphasis on entertainment and consumption.

Guidance systems navigate people through airports. The graphic language creates an image in the viewer’s head carrying the respective identity in its own compact form through color, fonts, and pictograms. The authors, both specialists in the field, decipher this identity and trace its emergence and evolution over the decades. From the perspective of information design, they examine and analyze the wayfinding systems of approximately 70 airports by aligning their identities and functions.

Airport Wayfinding — Wayfinding Systems of 70 Airports

Publisher: niggli
Editing and Design: Heike Nehl, Sibylle Schlaich
Release: April 2021
Volume: 272 pages
Format: 23 × 28.5 cm
Printing: Hardcover
Price: 44.– €
ISBN: 978-3-7212-1014-9
Buy

What Design Can Do: No Waste Challenge

Posted on by alison.pasquariello

The wait is over: The winners of the global competition What Design Can Do (WDCD): No Waste Challenge — 16 Ground-Breaking Ideas for a Circular Future have been determined and were unveiled in a video ceremony attended by nominees and jury members. A total of sixteen winning projects were named across all categories, representing innovative strategies for reducing waste and its enormous impact on climate change. Initiated in partnership with the IKEA Foundation, the competition now enters an exciting new phase as finalists gain access to an award package designed to launch their ideas into action.

“The quality and range of entries we’ve seen in this Challenge is remarkable,” comments Richard van der Laken, co-founder and creative director of What Design Can Do. “In a turbulent year, this shows that the creative community is willing and able to break away from centuries of linear thinking and bad design. And through redefining our relationship with waste, these ideas also help us to recalibrate our relationship with design: looking at ways it can be restorative and regenerative, instead of merely productive or destructive.”

Tasked with selecting the winners was an international jury comprising twelve leading experts in design, entrepreneurship, and climate action. Working remotely over multiple sessions, the panel selected 16 winners from a list of 85 high-potential nominees. In the end, the jury of the No Waste Challenge based their decision on the official Challenge criteria of impact, creativity & design, feasibility, and scalability.

Among the winners are solutions that focus on the production process—aiming to revolutionize the taking and making of all the things we use and eat. Sustrato (Mexico), for example, combines traditional craft, contemporary design, and waste from the pineapple industry to develop a range of sustainable bioplastics. Modern Synthesis (UK) makes use of a similar waste stream—this time from apple farms—to feed microbes that grow fully circular fibers for the fashion industry. Meanwhile, working to clean up the construction sector are Carbon Tile (India) and Packing Up PFAS (Netherlands), two projects which offer innovative building materials that actually remove toxic pollutants and carbon dioxide from the environment.

Moving away from the factory floor, other winners are unified by their desire to uproot entire value systems. These projects are looking to prevent waste by addressing the underlying problem of consumerism. Reparar.org (Argentina) for example, is a service which connects individuals to local cobblers and repair shops, working to promote a culture of care and the right-to-repair. Similarly, Project R (Japan), is a community centre that empowers citizens to learn about circular techniques and lifestyles. Another disruption to throwaway culture is Nyungu Afrika (Kenya), a social enterprise hoping to make low-cost and biodegradable menstrual products the norm across Africa.

Together, these ideas suggest inventive ways for us to reconcile what we want with what the planet needs. Liz McKeon, Head of Climate Action portfolio at the IKEA Foundation, says: “A pillar of the IKEA Foundation’s mission is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. One way is to find solutions for waste by tapping the creative power of design. As part of the jury, I was thoroughly impressed by the many great young entrepreneurs and creatives from around the world who submitted designs to tackle the root causes responsible for waste, and their determination to find solutions. I can assure you that even those who were not selected as winners will contribute just as much to creating a liveable planet for the many.”

INNOVATION WITH LONG-TERM VISION
Work now begins on strengthening each winning idea, and deepening their potential impact. Teams will receive € 10,000 in funding, and access to a development program co-created with Impact Hub Amsterdam. This program begins with a week-long bootcamp, and is tailor-made for the special blend of change-makers present among participants. Winners can expect mentorship on a range of skills they need to make their projects a success—from developing a viable business model, to impact-assessment, and networking. Combined with valuable exposure and publicity, the program is set to provide unique support for the thinkers, doers, and makers of the new economy.

ABOUT THE NO WASTE CHALLENGE
The No Waste Challenge is What Design Can Do’s third Climate Action Challenge in partnership with the IKEA Foundation. Launched in January 2021, the design competition called for bold solutions to reduce waste and rethink our entire production and consumption cycle. It was open to creative entrepreneurs everywhere and offered three design briefs tackling different aspects of the ‘take-make-waste’ economy. Additional tracks were also provided for participants in our partner cities: Amsterdam, Delhi, Mexico City, Nairobi, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo. The open call ended in April with an exceptional 1,409 submissions from innovators in more than 100 countries.

What Design Can Do: No Waste Challenge

Find further information about What Design Can do here. All projects can now be viewed on their platform.

Lexik

Posted on by Nina Steimel

Today, we would like to share the typeface Lexik by Binnenland Typefaces and Thomas Hirter with you.

Have you ever wondered what the vocabulary of a typeface is? From a designer’s point of view, it is the shapes which determine the character of a font. Typefaces don’t communicate with words, but instead are able to convey a message with their visual appearance. Binnenland’s new release Lexik consists of organic curves along with sharp straight lines. This juxtaposition of round and pointy shapes is what makes up the formal language of their new serif typeface.

Lexik comes from the Greek léxis (“speech,” “word”) and means something like the vocabulary of a language. In terms of typography, this raises the question of the vocabulary, the formal language of a typeface. In the case of Lexik, it is the juxtaposition and interplay of organic round forms and sharply cut terminal forms and serifs.

Lexik was designed by Thomas Hirter for the layout of the men’s newspaper (now ERNST Magazine). Under a long process of refinement and in close cooperation with Binnenland it was optimized for fluid reading and expanded to a family of five weights and their corresponding Italics.

Lexik

Foundry: Binnenland Typefaces
Designer: Thomas Hirter
Release: 2021
Styles: Light, Light-Italic, Regular, Italic, Medium, Medium-Italic, Bold, Bold-Italic, Black, Black-Italic
Price: € 60.– per Style, € 435.– for the Complete family
Buy

INSTANT NUDES

Posted on by Clara Weinreich

We are very excited about today’s release of INSTANT NUDES! For years, the collection of intimate instant photos of the creators of PHOTODARIUM Private, a tear-off calendar that brings together the most fascinating images of international photographers from around the world, has been growing. Now the archives are opening up and present a curated selection in this high-quality photo book.

In the photo book INSTANT NUDES the work of eleven photographers who use instant images to capture erotic moments. Some of the photographs are revealing, some more discreet. What they all have in common is their reverence for a beautiful body. Because of its authenticity, the medium of the instant photo is the antithesis of digital photography. Instant photos enhance the erotic-voyeuristic moment through their intimacy, uniqueness and materiality, often not perfect and therefore all the more authentic, provocative and yet differentiated.

In their everyday working lives, models are projection screens for social ideas of beauty. They are staged by the photographers and a whole staff of stylists and hair & make-up artists. It is different with the photography of nudes at home, in the intimacy of their private surroundings. 

The calendar PHOTODARIUM Private has been published since 2016. The tear-off calendar shows uncensored instant pictures with an artistic approach to nudity. Day after day a new erotic, naked, or cheeky instant image is revealed. A modern and young look at eroticism beyond pornographic clichés—by photographers and individuals from all over the world. Emancipated and honest. 

This project was brought to life through a successful Kickstarter campaign. We would like to express our gratitude to all supporters!

INSTANT NUDES

Publisher: Slanted Publishers
Design: Clara Hoppe
Curators: Boris Kahl, Herr Merzi
Photographers: Alan Marcheselli, Christoph David, Frank de Luyck, Herr Merzi, Jens Voshage, Luc Masson Todeschini, Philippe Galanopoulos, RRRDiaz, Solimano Pezzella, Stefano Questorio, Timo Schäfers
Text: Dr. Denise Susnja, Clara Hoppe
Release: July 2021
Volume: 192 pages
Format: 16 × 21 cm
Language: English
Printing: Full color
Workmanship: Hardcover with linen, hot-foil embossing, thread-stitching
ISBN: 978-3-948440-23-7
Price: € 29.–
BUY

Paintings League

Posted on by Nina Steimel

Today, we would like to present you the photo book Paintings League by Max Siedentopf and invite you to visit the accompanying exhibition in the Galerie Kernweine in Stuttgart, Germany, which takes place from July 3rd to September 3rd, 2021.

Paintings League seeks to answer the age-old question “How can you make art for people who don’t normally like art?” After much research, artist Max Siedentopf concluded that people who avoid the museums and galleries are often the same people who would rather spend their time watching soccer. If there are certainly more soccer fans than art fans, why not cater to this newfound audience? This is where Siedentopf tried to find the solution by creating a series of paintings that would please both the most discerning art lover and the most serious soccer fanatic. Paintings League pays homage to iconic soccer teams such as FC Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Chelsea FC, Manchester United and FC Barcelona by painting the teams’ iconic jerseys in acrylic on canvas. Art lovers will appreciate the minimalist, abstract approach and brushstrokes of the paintings, while soccer fans can enjoy the colors of their favorite team. Just like soccer, the paintings function like a league. Each painting represents a different group of people through their interests, passions, and backgrounds, ultimately trying to be the champion of the Paintings League.

Max Siedentopf is an artist, photographer, video director, and freelance art director living in London and Berlin. He is the founder of the art magazine Ordinary.

Paintings League

Book:
Publisher: Hatje Cantz
Concept and Design: Max Siedentopf
Release: 2021
Language: Englisch
Volume: 96 Seiten
Format: 16 × 23 cm
Production: Integral binding (flexcover)
ISBN: 978-3-7757-5106-3
Price: 20.– Euro
Buy

When?
July 3rd to September 3rd, 2021

Where?
Galerie Kernweine
Cottastrasse 4–6
70178 Stuttgart
Germany

Review 26. Leipziger Typotage

Posted on by Nina Steimel

This year, we had the chance to participate online in the 26. Leipziger Typotage—Turn by Turn. Typography and Navigation, which took place in the Museum of the Printing Art in Leipzig from June 4th to 6th, 2021. The event presented the speakers’ findings and research to an interested group live and online. Particularly exciting was the variety of topics discussed and the many practical tips from the working lives of designers and typographers, presented in a calm and pleasant environment. Thank you for the opportunity to participate in the event online as well. Perhaps this format of events is something that can continue to give people from all over the world access to new content in the future. Hope to see you again next year!

On Saturday, June 5th, 2021, the 26. Leipziger Typotage focused on typography as a medium for orientation in digital and analog contexts. Not only questions about individual type design have been addressed, but also the role of typography as an information carrier for (guided) communication processes. The lectures have been addressing user interface design, gaming, cartography, generative design, and visual communication, which reflects a broad spectrum for typography as a navigator.

The following voices have spoken: Claudia Friedrich (Hamburg), Julian Jarosch (Mainz), Nadya Kuzmina (Berlin), Jana Moser (Leipzig), Jay Rutherford (Weimar), Benjamin Schöndelen (Berlin), and Nico Wüst (Stuttgart/Berlin). The conference was moderated by Peter Mohr (Agency Zentrumwest, Leipzig).

The Leipziger Typotage is an event organized by the Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Druckkunst Leipzig e.V. Since 1995, the event has been held annually at the Museum für Druckkunst Leipzig. Initially conceived as a two-day event, since 2008 the Typotage program has essentially been concentrated on one Saturday in the spring. In addition to type and typography, the conference focuses on graphic design, art, production techniques in the print sector and related topics. Renowned speakers look at various issues from ever new angles, in both analog and digital contexts, looking back and forward. The Typotage sees itself as a platform for all interested parties and promotes professional exchange as well as dialog with other disciplines.

Photos by Klaus-D. Sonntag and excerpts from the opening conference.

schaubau 2021

Posted on by BueroHallo

schaubau 2021 is an international summer school which takes place in the heart of Dessau—the city of the Bauhaus. A design camp, which is targeted at all creative students, pupils, craftsmen and -women, and creators of value of all designing disciplines like design, architecture, fashion, and art. This year, the schaubau Summer School of Design is dedicated to the future. And in this context, completely in line with this year’s motto weigh, choose, and dare. “Change means opportunity. It’s all in there, you just have to decide what to take out of it. The future belongs to those who find solutions where others only formulate problems.”

For one week, participants weigh, re-select, and venture forth. They explore and design graphic and typographic commentary to creatively formulate future perspectives and political possibility spaces. Using the environmentally friendly instant screen-printing process MiScreen, the designed results are put on paper, walls, and truck tarps and become visible in the urban space of Dessau. In addition to designing and creating, a culturally program ensures a varied, sunny workshop week. So don’t forget your swimming gear.

schaubau 2021

What?
A sunny screen printing workshop week in Dessau, organized by BüroHallo and Drucken3000

When?
August 15th to 21st, 2021

Where?
VorOrt e.V.

All information about the schaubau Summer School of Design Dessau can be found here

100 Beste Plakate 20 Catalog

Posted on by Nina Steimel

For the 20th jubilee of 100 Beste Plakate e.V., we are delighted to present the 100 Beste Plakate 20 Catalog (100 best posters of 2020), which is now available at our Slanted Shop!

For twenty years the association 100 Beste Plakate e.V. has been spotlighting the most groundbreaking poster designs from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. In its anniversary year, the group and its members are facing existential questions, just like graphic designers all over the world. The coronavirus has laid waste not only to people’s lives but to cultural life as well. In our day and age, museums are closed while people are still allowed to shop at DIY stores; they can get a haircut, but theaters remain off-limits. The place of culture in society is shifting, which most often means it is becoming less relevant. But what is society without culture?

Some of the posters included in this book were made for events that never happened, for billboards that remained empty, for an audience that wasn’t there.

These upheavals have had an impact not only on the selection of the 100 best posters of 2020, but also on current trends in the graphic arts. Last year, as the authorities imposed restrictions, or in some cases even outright bans, on interpersonal communication, the desire for visual communication and design seemed to grow by the same measure. This book and the posters presented in it can be regarded as a physical testimony to the time and space that was lost in 2020.

100 Beste Plakate 20 Catalog

Publisher: Verlag Kettler
Format in cm (w × h): 24 × 17 cm
Volume: 376 pages
Language: German, English
Bookbinding: Softcover
ISBN: 978-3-86206-913-2
Buy

The photo series has been specially developed in collaboration between the book designers Christof Nardin and Michael Simic and freelance photographer Niko Havranek.

Rundgang Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design 2021

Posted on by kristina.pauli

Once a year the approximately 900 students of Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design (ABK Stuttgart) present their most recent projects and assignments during the Rundgang Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design 2021 which is taking place from July 23rd to 25th in a hybrid format. The official opening of the Rundgang is taking place on Friday, July 23rd at 6 p.m. on the online platform.

The current student’s works from the departments of Architecture, Design, Arts/Art Education, and Conservation—Art History will be seen in all their facets on the interactive website www.abk.live. Performances and DJ sets, award ceremonies and Rundgang highlights nominated by distinguished representatives of the culture and art scene are part of the digital live program that will complete the large virtual exhibition of a diverse range of creative practices.

In addition to this, residents of the Stuttgart area can explore further select locations such as the Württembergische Kunstverein which will host student projects and make up the decentralized part of the Rundgang. As the doors of the Campus Weißenhof must again remain closed due to the current situation, these satellites in the urban space thus replace, at least to some extent, the traditional student exhibition in the studios and classrooms.

The annual Rundgang is the high point of the year, for students as well as for professors and members of staff, who all cooperate towards achieving a unique and multidimensional exhibition for the visitors. This year, the Rundgang is focused on digital content, more accessible than ever before and addressing a wider audience. Visitors from all over the world are invited to tune in and experience experience which great variety this art academy has to offer.

Rundgang Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design 2021

When?
July 23rd to 25th, 2021

Where?
Online
and at the Württembergische Kunstverein
Schlossplatz 2
70173 Stuttgart
Germany

Find further information here

Miss Clara Hotel

Posted on by Nina Steimel

It’s hard to believe that it’s already been three weeks since our editorial trip to Stockholm to take a look at the city’s creative scene. We were happy that after an exciting but also exhausting day we were able to relax in the small and stylish design hotel Miss Clara. The small boutique hotel belongs to the Nobis hotel group and is situated in an Art Nouveau building that was an all-girl school for nearly 40 years.

World famous architect Gert Wingårdh has managed to unite a warm feeling of modern day exclusivity together with outstanding functionality. This is all the more impressive of a feat given how he has been able to simultaneously keep many of the original details (the amazing stone floors for example) and features of the building, thus managing to celebrate its historic past.

No wonder the hotel is a member of Design Hotels, a community that reflects the vision of independent hoteliers with a passion for culturally-rooted hospitality and cutting-edge design and architecture.

Miss Clara describes this beautifully in her own words: “We’ve always felt that the number one thing of a fabulous hotel experience is the actual presence of an experience—you know that feeling when the front desk staff knows your name without consulting their computer, or when the bartender asks how you’re doing, not because she is trying to be polite but because she actually cares.”

And perhaps it is precisely these details, the fantastic a la carte breakfast, the fragrant care products from Byredo that make the stay so unforgettable …

Thanks for having us!
More information can be found here.

Oktoberfest 1984–2019

Posted on by Nina Steimel

We are pleased to announce that the Photo book Oktoberfest 1984–2019 by Volker Derlath can now be pre-ordered at our Slanted Shop!

For 35 years, Munich photographer Volker Derlath has hardly missed a “Wiesn” day. With his camera, right in the middle of the action, he is capturing intimate moments, touching scenes, moments full of violence and comedy. The “folk festival of all folk festivals” reminds him, with its incomparable coarseness of folk amusements, of the Middle Ages, he says. The “Wiesn” is a kind of utopia where visitors can live out what has long since been domesticated in their everyday lives and swept under the rug of civilization.

The Munich Oktoberfest, also known as the “Wiesn,” is considered the largest folk festival in the world: two exhilarating weeks with beer, chicken, rides, and partying people from all over the world. But like last year, this year’s festival has been canceled due to a pandemic. Sad news for the worldwide fan community. With the book Oktoberfest we would like to remember a time when people could still unconditionally drink, flirt, and celebrate together.

Oktoberfest 1984–2019

Photographer: Volker Derlath
Editor: Melville Brand Design
Design: Lars Harmsen, Florian Brugger
Publisher: Slanted Publishers
Release date: September 2021
Format: 210 × 280 mm
Volume: 208 pages
Language: German + English
Binding: Stitched Binding
Cover: Refined book cover
ISBN: 978-3-948440-28-2
Pre-order now

Werksatz

Posted on by Nina Steimel

Inspired by early grotesque typefaces such as Akzidenz Grotesk and Venus, Werksatz – By Identity Letters is a contemporary interpretation of this beloved genre.

Some things are timeless. These are the things that only get better with use. The aforementioned typefaces certainly belong into this category. Rediscovered by designers from every generation again and again, they are here to stay. However, as tools evolve and technology moves on, even a well-tried design has to adapt to this evolution continuously in order to stand the test of time. Werksatz is such an adaptation, taking the best from the invincible classics and infusing them with the warm blood of today’s tech.

With ten weights from Thin to Black, each with painstakingly fine-tuned obliques, and more than 940 characters per style, this font family is ready for the future. Its Extended Latin support ensures you won’t miss a letter in any of hundreds of languages. Special glyphs like three variations of arrows and additional shapes will make your design work so much easier—for well-structured forms as well as radical editorial layouts.

Among a treasure trove of OpenType features, you’ll find essentials such as Capital Spacing, Case-Sensitive Forms, and Ligatures, but also advanced functions like Small Caps, Subscript and Inferior figures and letters, plenty figure sets (Lining Figures, Tabular Figures, Old-Style Figures, circled and squared figures, figures for small caps … you get the idea), Slashed Zero, and more.

You’ll discover that Werksatz is less formalistic and rigid than other neogrotesk typefaces. Sure, you can use it for serious business—whether in corporate design, branding, editorial design, publication design, or web design for industries and topics ranging from politics, government, management, or law to technology, entrepreneurship, commerce, or finance. However, Werksatz is much more versatile than that. Its more human appearance also allows for effective use in culture, fashion, art, entertainment, sports, exhibitions, leisure, and luxury. It’s an excellent choice for wayfinding applications, apps, packaging, and all kinds of nonfiction books.

“Other Grotesks with big names are left behind outdated by their proprietors, but Werksatz is here to stay. The classic industrial warmth of these letterforms will age like fine wine.” — Identity Letters

Werksatz

Foundry: Identity Letters
Designer: Moritz Kleinsorge 
Release: April 2021
Styles and Weights: 20 Styles, Ten Weights, Roman and Italic
Price Single Style: € 40.–
Price Full Family: € 255.–
Buy 

Typographic Architectures

Posted on by Nina Steimel

We are delighted to announce that the publication Typographic Architectures — By Éditions B42 is now available at Slanted Shop! Immerse yourself in the world of Wim Crouwel, whose influence extends far beyond the borders of the Netherlands.

As a major figure in contemporary European graphic design, Wim Crouwel (1928–2019) has widely influenced the history of the discipline through his extensive practice of design, applied both to the cultural and commercial field. Over the course of his career, he has carried out simultaneously works in the range of typographic creation, visual identities, posters, book design, or scenography.

In the 1950s and for decades, Wim Crouwel, whose influence extends beyond borders of the Netherlands to a large extent, has managed to develop an approach to graphic design combining modernist heritage with pop fantasy. Through two texts written by Catherine de Smet and Emmanuel Berard, and one by Wim Crouwel himself, this book testifies the diversity of his work and analyzes his wide range of production in diverse fields such as visual identities, publishing, or poster creation.

Abundantly illustrated, the book Typographic Architectures focuses on the layout of the catalogs made for museums such as the Stedelijk Museum of Amsterdam, as well as on the genesis and presentation of The New Alphabet, created between 1964 and 1967.

Typographic Architectures

Publisher: Éditions B42
Authors: Wim Crouwel, Catherine de Smet, Emmanuel Berard
Design: Experimental Jetset
Volume: 104 pages
Format: 16 × 22 cm
Languages: English, French
Release: June 2021
ISBN: 9782490077472
Price: € 20.–

Find further information here

Vrij Beton

Posted on by Amsterdam Alternative

The intruiging Vrij Beton — Collective Ownership in Amsterdam campaign from Amsterdam Alternative (AA) is now online and on the streets:

Together with design agency 310k and the financial support of Stichting DOEN Amsterdam Alternative (AA) has just launched a campaign to promote the Vrij Beton (Engl.: Free Concrete) project. A project that aims to liberate real estate from the market and turn it into collective property. To offer permanent spaces for “experiments and projects that do not fit the commercial world as they aren’t profit driven.” Combing living, working, education, and public functions under a single roof. Spaces where “art and culture are not necessarily the main focus, but social, political and social activities have a place too.”

“Vrij Beton borrows from projects that emerged from the squatter scene. However, it is important to recognize that our initiative is not simply a replacement for what is not officially allowed anymore. The past was beautiful, but the world and the law have changed. We have to accept that, change is inevitable and not negative per se. Vrij Beton is a new energy, a movement that everyone can join. Together, we take action for new free spaces in the city.” — Amsterdam Alternative

Amsterdam Alternative is a collective project, an association built on the strength, energy, and dedication of its members. An organization like AA cannot exist without people who want to help, think along and/or provide financial support. AA is an association with a horizontal organizational structure. They think it is important that people who join AA can take part in the collective thought and decision making process. That’s exactly where the strength of collectivity lies. By being a member you get the opportunity to cast your vote, both at meetings and via the online voting system.

Vrij Beton — Collective Ownership in Amsterdam

Concept, Editing, and Design: 310k
Photography: Leon Hendrickx
Video: Copyride
Color grading: Gary Grade
Sound: Peter Rutten
Voice over: Lilan Hak
Photography and Set Design: Framer Framed
Watch their promo video, read more, donate or become a member

The campaign has been created by friends and supporters of Amsterdam Alternative and the Vrij Beton project.

Momentum

Posted on by kaschbrgr

We would like to introduce you to Momentum – Die Zeitkapsel für Design in der Krise (Engl.: Momentum—the time capsule for design in the crisis) published by master’s students at the HTWG Konstanz:

What kind of working life awaits us “after Corona?” Many people are rather anxious about the future. 21 design master’s students at the HTWG Konstanz wanted to know more and interviewed renowned designers, researched, and created a print and an online magazine that can be downloaded for free.

Momentum – Die Zeitkapsel für Design in der Krise is a 200-page snapshot that offers entertaining elements alongside serious forecasts and professional discourse. Infographics, self-tests and entertaining knowledge from twelve previously unthinkable months always lighten up the young designers’ magazine, as do the bright red, good-humored illustrations that make Momentum – Die Zeitkapsel für Design in der Krise a well-designed print product.

But how are established colleagues doing in the professional world? The students spoke with designers in Germany and abroad, such as Qian Jiang, who works as an industrial design consultant in Stockholm, Dr Andrea Augsten, who works at the German Society for International Cooperation, the creative director Christian Haas, or Dirk Wachowiak, Cihan Tamti, Boris Kochan, and many more. Their professor in the master’s seminar “Design and Strategy,” is Jochen Rädeker, who is co-owner of a leading German design agency, was also among the 20 interview partners.

The result is a multi-voiced picture. And the answers, as Sophia Hummler reports, were more positive than anticipated. Many of the interviewees saw the Corona crisis as a sort of catalyst for digitalization that helped to further advance developments that had already begun. Many were also excited about the new possibilities that occur and the fact that digital collaboration is a given. Five theses provide insights and outlooks into the working world as designers. “Creative consultation is the design of the future” is one of them, which sums up where the trend seems to be heading at the moment. Because in a world where computers can create logos, edit images, and typeset texts faster than people, it is because of digital development that humanity matters: only people can be creative and empathetic. And only people enjoy the fun facts, the well-designed infographics and the humorous lists that lighten up the magazine. The students laughingly report that they were inspired by Bravo, a well-known German teen magazine; there are hots-and-nots, a camera-turned-off-list, a self-test “Which Corona type are you?” and a photo spread in black and white that illustrates the current state of the times with snapshots of empty seats and closed borders.

All interviews can be found as transcripts in the appendix of the online magazine. And for those who prefer analogue: the printing company Eberl&Koesel has sponsored a limited print edition. So the magazine can not only point to the future but also be a reminder of special moments in a time long after Corona. Just like any good snapshot would do.

Momentum – Die Zeitkapsel für Design in der Krise

Publishers: HTWG Konstanz (Department of Architecture and Design) and Prof Jochen Rädeker
Authors, Designers, Editors, and Marketing: Felicitas Baaske, Nicole Friedl, Jan Vogel, Felix Eisele, Tamara Geißer, Leonie Hoffmann, Rebecca Krähmer, Sarah Bastigkeit, Carlotta Ellegast, Sophia Hummler, Julia Neufend, Natalie Götz, Marcel Riedel, Robert Straubmüller, Louise Krank, Laureen Reck, Jialu Hu, Felix Lohwasser, Katharina Schönberger, Franziska Weber, and Alexander Vaccaro
Release: March 2021
Volume: 203 pages (online version)
Format: 21 cm × 29.7
Language: German
Production and Finishing: Sponsored by Eberl&Koesel (also online version on the website)
Download your copy here