Begel, der Egel

Most children’s books deal with wild animals such as bears, lions and tigers or with cute dogs and cats – Nele Brönner puts the leech into the focus of her latest book. A leech? Right, a leech. And he lives in a veterinary practice, where he pursues his daily work for medical purposes. In the morning he does his gymnastics exercises, then he treats the patients, and in the evening he takes care of the river sand bottom of his glass. That much depends on him, that’s clear to Begel. That’s why he does not understand why he suddenly has to share his cozy glass with the slender leech Ögel. Of course, Begel does not know anything about the huge dog patient and how uncomfortable it can be outside his little home …

A great book printed with bright special colors for small and large readers!

Slanted is giving away 3 issues of Begel, der Egel. To participate, simply write an e-mail to [email protected] til January 7th, 2019, with the subject “Begel.” The winners will be drawn after the deadline and contacted by email. Who participates in the raffle, agrees to receive news from Slanted and agrees to the privacy policy. The legal process is excluded. We wish you good luck!

Begel, der Egel

Illustration: Nele Brönner
Publisher: Luftschacht Verlag
Release: October 2018
Version: Hardcover
Language: German
Format: 19.0 x 25.0 cm
Volume: 32 pages
ISBN 978-3-903081-31-4
Price: € 22,–

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Disappearing Objects

Disappearing Objects is a book, featuring 32 photographs of magicians’ secret tools, hidden between the pages of a short fiction story by american writer Jordan Hruska.

Disappearing Objects
Louis De Belle

Publisher: bruno
Designer: bruno
Dimensions: 16 × 22 cm

Volume: 144 pages
Release: 2018
ISBN: 978-88-99058-22-7
Language: English
Price: 25,– Euro
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Programming Posters

The printed poster, the major medium for visual communication in public space for centurys, experiences fundamental transformations. The “Poster 2.0” is much more than a surface with type, colors and images on it: It is an interactive application, animated, audible, data driven and intermedial. It involves all senses and disciplines. And it melts together graphic design with cutting edge technologies. Watch an expressive process video here.

Designer and educator Tim Rodenbröker teaches Generative Design at Rhine-Waal University in Germany. To prepare his recent course titled “Programming Posters,” he developed more than 40 generative design-systems to showcase the visual possibilities of algorithmic graphic design.

Thank you …

We are about to leave for some christmas holiday and will be back in the office on January 7th, 2019. Thanks to all of you who shared pictures in our social media channels from around, showing the magazine in stores, shelfs, living rooms, offices … Through your awesome online support, we got connected and through this stayed updated about new projects from all of you.

We started Slanted as a blog back in 2004, as a magazine back in 2005. After all these years, the publication has undergone a bunch of evolutions to become a serious, competitive publication in the field of graphic design and typography.

We are truly grateful for your continuous support. Thanks to all the contributors and readers, for your interest in our blog (after more than a year of effort, the new responsive & bilingual website is online finally), social media, and magazine.

We wish you, your families, and friends merry christmas and a happy new year. Let’s think of design as an always evolving process. Let’s recognize the interdependence, power, and influence of our role as professionals, and let it resonate with the world around us and within ourselves!

Typography 39 – The World’s Best Type and Typography

Amidst the sea of design competitions, there is only one that shines brighter, one that’s more clearly positioned, one that doesn’t keep adding disciplines to earn more money, but remains true to itself and its quality aspirations: the TDC Competition of the Type Directors Club of New York. This award results in Typography – The Annual of the Type Director’s Club New York.

It focusses on type and typography and uncovers new talents around the world every year. Furthermore it does not concern itself with the financial assets of the competition and draws participants by low submission fees and the chance to present their work to a genuinely independent jury, who rewards skilled craftsmanship and innovative ideas.

“Awarded for Typographic Excellence” is one of the highest honors a designer can receive and the 2018 annual Typography 39 gathers once more the world’s best type and typography! It shows the lengths you need to go to be world class. And it inspires you on your way there.

Typography 39
The World’s Best Type and Typography

The Annual of the Type Directors Club 2018

Author:: Type Directors Club of New York

Publisher: Verlag Hermann Schmidt

Design: Triboro Design, New York

Volume: 352 pages with more than 500 images and 18 new typefaces

Language: English


ISBN: 978-3-87439-912-8

Price: 69,90 Euro
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Saturday Type Fever!

Saturday Type Fever! NoFoundry invites you to a Type-Marathon on the 11th and 12th of January. For 30 hours, (design) students and typographers from all over Europe will gather at the HfG Karlsruhe to work on their unfinished fonts side by side. Everyone is welcome, whether you have an almost finished font that needs that last push or you want to work on a one-day font project. It's a great opportunity to finally finish that one font that's been sleeping on your hard drive for months!

The event will start on Friday, the 11th at 18:00 and will end exactly 30 hours later, on Saturday the 12th at midnight. During the 30 hours, there will be various talks from type designers and talented students, mini-workshops as well as a creative cool off program. After all the hard work we will celebrate with music and drinks! You will also have the possibility to upload & sell your finished font directly on NoFoundry if you want to. 100% of the profits go to the designer.

Participation to the event and the talks is free for all, and cheap good food and drinks will be available at all times!

The idea of the marathon is to work through the night, however there will be chill areas to rest in for power-naps, and some closeby student appartements open for longer sleep just in case.

About NoFoundry:

NoFoundry was developed by students of the HfG Karlsruhe discussing concepts of contemporary font publication. Under the direction of Professor Michael Kryenbühl and Ivan Weiss we created a platform for the distribution and exchange of student typefaces.

Outside of established circles we aim to bring cross-university attention to student works. Trying to build a network of young type designers we offer you the possibility to sell or show your fonts, buy fonts from other students or to get in touch with other designers.

NoFoundry offers students the opportunity to sell their fonts without the waiver of any rights. You decide for yourself how much you want to charge for your font, and you keep 100% of the earnings. You can also upload early versions of fonts, inspirational drawings, pictures and scribbles. NoFoundry presents all its fonts, drawings, ideas and inspirations on a map. After the upload your font gets its own coordinates on the map, so that it can be rediscovered at any time or be shared with others.

nofoundry.xyz

Slanted in Dubai: Slash

In Spring 2018 the Slanted editors took a close-up look at the contemporary design scene of Dubai. A city—when described by many people—that is all sickening shine and has no soul. But Dubai and the whole region, originally a piece of desert sparsely populated by Bedouins, is now transforming itself rapidly into a center, if not the world’s greatest center, of trade, finance, and tourism—and moreover, something important happened in the last few years: Culture! Today, a new Arab world is being plotted and planned. The entire Gulf is teeming with initiatives—from the most public to the most private—to change and reinvent seemingly immutable rules, regimes, edicts, and assumptions, culminating, perhaps, in the stated intention to work more closely together. The Gulf states have a past, and they will have a future. The contours of that future are legible in this Slanted issue!

Nuno has more than 20 years of experience creating and managing brands. In 2012, he established Slash in the UAE, and later in the US, shaping a network of companies and professionals passionate about brands, design thinking, and architecture: The Ripple Collective. Today he leads Slash globally, always looking to fulfill the company’s core purpose; to impact the lives of those who are touched by these brands.

Take a look at the Slanted #32—Dubai to get an idea of Dubai’s creative environment. Additionally you can find several video interviews on our video platform to get a deeper insight in the designer’s thoughts.

Adobe Stock Visual Trend “Touch and Tactility”

In the fast-paced world of the 21st century, only a few will last a long time. Adobe Stock is aware of this rapid change process and has therefore defined six #VisualTrends for 2018, thus creating trend forecasts for brands and artists. These should give them an outlook and a suggestion on how to attract the attention of the consumers.

After “Silence and Loneliness,” “The Fluid Self,” “Multilocalism,” “Creative Reality,” and “History and Remembrance,” the last visual trend of the year 2018, “Touch and Tactility,” which we would like to present to you today, follows at the end of the year. Most of the time we operate devices or look at screens and are unlikely to notice the loss of haptic experiences and interactions, but unfortunately this is the reality. To make up for this loss, Adobe Stock has focused on the theme of touch and feel by creating a selected gallery.

Visual art is more and more about not only seeing the images, but in a certain way being able to “feel” them. Well-known structures such as wet hair or dry grass are emphasized. Also, images of people touching, hugging or kissing each other are receiving more attention. The need for touch and warmth as well as personal relationships are clearly in focus. We are increasingly craving haptic experiences, but not nearly enough is preserved. This trend creates a great opportunity for brands and designers to create something that creates real moments of connectedness. A wonderful way to spoil our neglected sense of touch.

Many people today work all day in a digital world and have more or less lost touch with haptic experiences. But many try to recover this loss in their free time, in which they make something with their bare hands and then stroke it proudly about the product. So in recent years, a huge DIY scene has emerged. As a result of this continuing trend, portals such as Etsy, where the handcrafted products can be sold, have become successful. Your buyers are not only interested in the material they are made of, but also in the development process. Even on TV, this trend is present. At NBC, the show “Making It” was very successful this summer, in which the participants created their own products using simple materials such as paper, clay, wood and felt.

Adobe Stock has therefore definitely hit the bullseye with the visual trend “Touch and Tactility” and the year 2019 will be full of stimulating, new #VisualTrends. For example, we can look forward to topics such as Natural Instincts, Creative Democraty, Disruptive Expression, and Brand Stand. Especially in the digital age, images have a special meaning for brands, to address customers and to respond to them. Adobe Stock has therefore stretched out its antennae and diligently researched to define the new trends.

We are very excited about the Adobe Stock #VisualTrends of the coming year and look forward to exciting ideas for our creative work.

Negotiation Matters

Students from the Berlin University of the Arts and the Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art in Ramat Gan, Israel, present the results of a six-month project in which they worked on the topic of difficult diplomatic and political negotiations. The exhibition “Negotiation Matters” shows a poster and an infographics on twelve socially and historically important negotiations of the recent past and present. The poster exhibition will be shown from December 13th to 31st at Shenkar College and then, according to the plan, also in Germany.

The project was initiated by Dr. Wolf Iro of the Goethe-Institut Tel Aviv and the content was supervised by two of the best-known German and Israeli illustrators: Henning Wagenbreth and Itzik Rennert, graphic designer and former member of the comic group Actus Tragicus. The six German and eight Israeli illustration and graphic design students had met in Berlin for a kick-off workshop and were able to talk to experts. The exhibition was conceived by Dekel Bobrov of Shenkar College.

A conference event with leading Israeli, Palestinian and German diplomats and researchers will accompany the event in Tel Aviv on December 12th.

The project was supported by a grant from the Stiftung Deutsch-Israelisches Zukunftsforum.

Negotiation Matters
Poster Exhibition on Critical Negotiations in Recent History

When?
Exhibition opening:
Thursday, December 13th, 2018, 8 p.m.

Exhibition:
December 13th to 31st, 2018
Sunday–Thursday 10 a.m. –10 p.m., Friday 9a.m. –1 p.m.
Free Entry

Where?
Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art
Lorber Gallery
Yeda Am 8
Ramat Gan, Israel

Get more information

Social Design

Social design is design for society and with society. As social innovation and on the basis of dialogue and participation, social design strives for a new networking of the individual, civil society, government, and the economy. Social design is thus a response to a global growth economy and its consequences for humans and the environment: The means of production and resources are becoming scarcer, setting off discussions about the need to redesign social systems and living and working environments. Architects and designers have always played a vital role in shaping this social culture.

Social Design thus presents a long-overdue survey of current international positions of interdisciplinary breadth, ranging from new infrastructures to the re-conquest of cities by their inhabitants. Some twenty-seven projects in the areas of cityscape and countryside, housing, education and work, production, migration, networks, and the environment are framed by three research studies that trace the historical roots and foundations of social design and look at today’s theoretical discourse as well as future trends. Social Design features projects such as Fairphone, Little Sun (Olafur Eliasson, Frederik Ottesen), Paper Emergency Shelters for UNHCR (Shigeru Ban) and many more.

Social Design

Publisher: Lars Müller Publishers
Editor: Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, Angeli Sachs
Essays: Claudia Banz, Michael Krohn, Angeli Sachs
Dimensions: 16,5 × 24 cm

Pages: 192
Release: 2018
ISBN: 978-3-03778-570-6
Language: English
Price: 25,– Euro
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Mitteleuropa

From November 23rd to December 21st, 2018, the “Cavò” of via San Rocco 1 in Trieste—Italy, hosts Mitteleuropa: a multidisciplinary project conceived by Studio Iknoki for Cizerouno as part of Varcare la Frontiera #6. An installation composed by eight flags and some limited edition objects to bring forward memories.

Habsburg “Lions”, old and new mythologies, nostalgic dissidence, eurovision idents, a typeface, 8 flags and a gift shop: all of these elements shape our fictional tale of the Mitteleuropa.

The speculative project, between reality and fiction, aims to inquire the contemporary processes of collective narrative and shared beliefs based on a mythology from the past: the one from the Habsburg and the “mitteleuropean” heritage.

2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the end of the Habsburg Empire and the “Habsburg myth” (extensively covered by contemporary authors such as Claudio Magris) seems to be alive more than ever. Not just an historic, literary or cultural event but also a popular and political one, linked to a romantic, nostalgic and idealized past.

The impossibility to imagine new models in todays always changing and uncertain society (but also generally speaking the impossibility to think about new utopias—as stated for example in Bauman’s recent book “Retrotopia”—), made this past and circumscribed experience a sort of catalyst for different visions and ambitions.

Mitteleuropa as a term is ambiguous and uncertain too. It doesn’t only define a geographic or geopolitical area, nor only an historical period. It’s something more. It’s a sort of “floating signifier” whose meaning depends upon the relationships with different material or immaterial elements. And as a result of this condition, through cheap and vulgar oversimplification, it became a stereotype, a sort of fictional and false myth for the masses for conservative political exploitation and commercial and “pop” reasons. However after a more in-depth study of Mitteleuropa as a term, it should be argued that it was more linked with a metaphor of protest, dissidence and criticism of the status-quo. Mitteleuropa should be a discourse in progress for different and contemporary topics.

We have to re-think the nostalgia of the Mitteleuropa, because, as stated by the media and art critic Svetlana Boym (who wrote the seminal book “The future of Nostalgia”) “Nostalgic dissidence is the only antidote against the dictatorship of nostalgia.”

When?
November 23rd to Dezember 21st, 2018

Where?
Cavò
via San Rocco 1
Trieste
Italy

Slanted in Dubai: Ramy Alawssy

In Spring 2018 the Slanted editors took a close-up look at the contemporary design scene of Dubai. A city—when described by many people—that is all sickening shine and has no soul. But Dubai and the whole region, originally a piece of desert sparsely populated by Bedouins, is now transforming itself rapidly into a center, if not the world’s greatest center, of trade, finance, and tourism—and moreover, something important happened in the last few years: Culture! Today, a new Arab world is being plotted and planned. The entire Gulf is teeming with initiatives—from the most public to the most private—to change and reinvent seemingly immutable rules, regimes, edicts, and assumptions, culminating, perhaps, in the stated intention to work more closely together. The Gulf states have a past, and they will have a future. The contours of that future are legible in this Slanted issue!

At ing, they are passionate about inspiring you and helping you to become the best possible maker. They believe in shifting the existing paradigm from consumerism to creativity. They push for this change through an annual creative festival and workshops throughout the year.

Take a look at the Slanted #32—Dubai to get an idea of Dubai’s creative environment. Additionally you can find several video interviews on our video platform to get a deeper insight in the designer’s thoughts.

True Originals

Stuffed with the rarest original adidas® models of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. 32 quartet cards take you through the “golden era of sneakers”– a time when Hip Hop, breakdancing and graffiti made their way to Germany and the term “sneakers” was yet unknown. This quartet features the role models of today‘s retro wave.

An absolute must-have for all sneakerheads, adidas® admirers and style lovers out there. A special piece for every fan of quartet!

Want to win a True Originals quartet? Take part in our lottery! Send an email entitled “True Originals” to [email protected] until December 14th, 2018. When taking part you agree to our privacy policy and that you’ll be receiving news from Slanted via our newsletter. There is no right of appeal. Good luck!

Editor: Marlon Knispel
Publishing house: seltmann & söhne
Format: 6,5 × 10 cm
Volume: 32 cards with 32 super rare sneakers
Language: English
ISBN: 978-3-944721-50-7
Price: € 14,80

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Slanted in Dubai: Elephant Nation

In Spring 2018 the Slanted editors took a close-up look at the contemporary design scene of Dubai. A city—when described by many people—that is all sickening shine and has no soul. But Dubai and the whole region, originally a piece of desert sparsely populated by Bedouins, is now transforming itself rapidly into a center, if not the world’s greatest center, of trade, finance, and tourism—and moreover, something important happened in the last few years: Culture! Today, a new Arab world is being plotted and planned. The entire Gulf is teeming with initiatives—from the most public to the most private—to change and reinvent seemingly immutable rules, regimes, edicts, and assumptions, culminating, perhaps, in the stated intention to work more closely together. The Gulf states have a past, and they will have a future. The contours of that future are legible in this Slanted issue!

A Dubai-based branding and digital agency, Elephant Nation is a group of young, inspired minds from all over the world. They love what they do and believe in doing it well. They share their passion for creating and launching brands. With a multi-platform thought process, their goal is to create meaningful visuals and verbal conversations between the audience and the brand.

Take a look at the Slanted #32—Dubai to get an idea of Dubai’s creative environment. Additionally you can find several video interviews on our video platform to get a deeper insight in the designer’s thoughts.

Review Zukunftsforum Zeitschriften

We were for you on December 4th, 2018 at the Zukunftsforum Zeitschriften, which took place in the Literaturhaus on Salvatorplatz in Munich and was an event of the Akademie der Deutschen Medien. The event focused on “the customer” or “customer centricity.”

German text:

Wir waren für Euch am 4. Dezember 2018 beim Zukunftsforum Zeitschriften, welches im Literaturhaus am Salvatorplatz in München stattfand und eine Veranstaltung der Akademie der Deutschen Medien war. Im Fokus der Veranstaltung stand »der Kunde« oder auch die »Customer Centricity«.

Wir waren sehr neugierig, was wir dort zu erwarten hatten, da wir schließlich selbst Herausgeber eines Magazins sind. Um 10 Uhr begann der erste Vortrag von Erhard F. Heinold, Geschäftsführer von Heinold, Spiller & Partner, um uns ein Update des Zeitschriftenmarktes zu geben und zeigte uns ein recht ernüchterndes Bild der momentanen Lage. In den letzen 50 Jahren hat sich der Mensch zu einem medialen Wesen entwickelt und nutzt im Durchschnitt die digitalen Medien zehn Stunden pro Tag, 1964 waren es nur drei. Das gesamte Medienzeitbudget der Bevölkerung bleibt relativ stabil, obwohl über die Jahre immer neue Medien hinzukommen. Zudem sind die Verkäufe von Zeitschriften und Büchern stark eingebrochen. Doch die nachfolgenden Redner gaben Einblick in ihre Verlage bzw. Strategien, um die Situation wieder verbessern zu können.

Direkt im Anschluss sprach Stephanie Walter, Geschäftsführerin Legal von Wolters Kluwer, darüber wie sie ihr Unternehmen mit neuen Entwicklungen für die Zukunft fit machen will. Bei Wolters Kluwer setzt man auf digitale Lösungen und verabschiedet sich von der »Loseblattsammlung«. Stattdessen arbeiten sie daran ihr Onlineportal immer weiter auszubauen um Online-Verträge und Online-Recherche von juristischen Werken anbieten zu können. Zudem probiert sich Wolters Kluwer in der Entwicklung von Apps und baute eine KI-Abteilung von 40 Leuten auf.

Nach der kurzen Stärkung zeigte uns Klaus Kallenbrunnen, Chief Digital Officer von Martin et Karczinski, dass man sich auf die Bindung seiner Kunden konzentrieren sollte. Angefangen mit der Zielgruppendefinition, weiter mit dem Zielgruppenverständnis um Zielgruppenemphatie zu entwickeln und zur Zielgruppentreue zu gelangen. Wenn man weiß wer seine Kunden sind, kann man sich in sie hineinversetzen und die eigene Perspektive ausschalten. Ein langer Weg, der sich aber lohnt.

Anschließend hörten wir Christian Hanke, Creative Director von edenspiekermann, der sich häufig für seine Polemik entschuldigte, da er der Verlagsbranche mit einem Augenzwinkern vorwarf, dass diese ihre Kunde nicht kenne und appellierte, alte Verlagsstrukturen aufzubrechen, um ein Teil der Zukunft zu sein und nicht durch Mitbewerber abgehängt zu werden.

In der folgenden Mittagspause wurden alle Teilnehmer von der im Erdgeschoss liegenden Brasserie OskarMaria verköstigt. Im Nachmittagsprogramm berichtete Dr. Klaus Krammer, Geschäftsführer vom Krammer Verlag, dass er seine Zielgruppe ganz genau kenne. Es seien Handwerker mit denen das Unternehmen auf andere Weise versuchen muss Umsatz zu generieren. Sehr erfolgreich ist der vom Krammer Verlag gegründete Fernsehsender SHK-TV. Die gedrehten Sendungen werden in einer App für Handwerker ausgestrahlt und geben Rat zu Montage, Produkten, etc. Alles frei von Werbung und finanziert über ein Abonnentenmodell.

Anschließend fand eine Interaktive Workshop Session statt. Es wurden drei verschiedene Workshops angeboten, wobei wir uns für den Workshop »Paid Content: Analyse Best Practices« von Dr. Marco Olavarria, Geschäftführender Gesellschafter von Berlin Consulting, entschieden. Nach einer kurzen Einführung in das Thema und einen Beispiel aus dem Publikum, erarbeiteten wir eine Paid-Content-Canvas. Ein sehr spannender Bereich, doch leider reichte die Zeit des Workshops nicht, um zu einem Ergebnis zu kommen.

Die letzten beiden Redner waren Dr. Benjamin Wessinger, Geschäftsführer Deutscher Apotheker Verlag, und Michael Höcker, Leiter Online Marketing Strategie des Landwirtschaftsverlag. Dr. Benjamin Wessinger wurde von vielen mit großen Erwartungen empfangen, da er seinen Vortrag »Rezepte gegen den Abo-Schwund: Wie der Deutsche Apotheker Verlag die Leser auf allen Kanälen anspricht« angekündigt hatte. Eine seiner Strategien ist es, weiterhin neue Zeitschriften zu gründen, um Leser differenzierter anzusprechen, da die Leserschaft der »Mutter-Zeitschrift« Deutsche Apotheker Zeitung sinkt.

Michael Höcker, Leiter Online Marketing Strategie des Landwirtschaftsverlag, erzählte von seinem Erfolg vom Posting von Traktorbildern in Social Media Netzwerken und hatte damit die Lacher auf seiner Seite. Besonders der Versand von Schweinepreisen per WhatsApp brachte einige Aufmerksamkeit von der Seite einiger Bauern. Einer sendete eine amouröse Nachricht an den Verlag zwecks Kennenlernens eines bestimmten Schweines. Doch Spaß beiseite, diese Beispiele zeigten, dass man mit Kreativität seine Kunden zu erreicht, relevanter Content eine zufriedenstellende Reichweite erzeugt und durch aktives Community Management eine enge Kundenbindung erzeugt wird.

Am Ende des Zukunftsforum Zeitschriften hatte noch einmal Erhardt F. Heinold das Wort und danke allen für die Teilnahme.

Logitech CRAFT Keyboard

Logitech have announced CRAFT, the first keyboard ever with a creative input dial, setting a new standard for computer keyboards. CRAFT looks and feels better than anything you have typed on and offers a whole new way to immediately access context-specific computing tools with a smart aluminum dial. For example, with a touch, tap or turn you can adjust image brightness, contrast and saturation in Adobe Photoshop, or create and adjust charts in Microsoft Excel. Or simply turn the dial to move up and down font sizes in document programs like Microsoft Word. The creative input dial gives you the ultimate control and input at your desk for precision, efficiency and uninterrupted creative flow.

“Our new flagship Logitech CRAFT keyboard is for all of us who spend time creating using photoshop or building powerpoint slides and want to work with greater precision and feel connected to their work,” said Art O’Gnimh, global head of keyboards at Logitech. ”The creative input dial gives you instant access to the functions you need, the moment you need them, allowing you to increase your productivity. CRAFT puts you in your creative element—every time you sit at the desk.”

The touch-sensitive aluminum creative input dial, called the Crown, recognizes the apps you are using and gives instant access to the tools you need. With a slight touch of the Crown you can instantly access context-specific functions—like brush size, brightness, chart type, font size—tap to change the function and turn to change the selected function’s value. Installing custom profiles in Logitech OptionsTM Software maximizes the creative process when working with Adobe Photoshop CC, Adobe Illustrator CC, Adobe Premiere Pro CC, Adobe InDesign CC and Microsoft PowerPoint®, Excel® and Word® (Microsoft functionalities work on PC only at this time). The Crown brings comfort, immediacy and convenience to your creative process and allows for increased two-handed interactions. You can also use the Crown to change desktops, navigate between apps, or adjust volume—and assign one additional Crown function in each of your favorite apps.

CRAFT also features smart illumination with backlighting that detects your hands and adjusts lighting automatically depending on the room conditions. The keys are crafted for comfort, in a full-size familiar layout, with each individual key engineered for stability and precision. CRAFT looks great alongside other premium desktop accessories by Logitech, such as the Logitech MX Sound, Logitech Spotlight Presentation Remote and Logitech MX Master 2S.

Additionally with the touch of an Easy-SwitchTM button, you can switch between—and type on—any three connected devices, whether you are using a Windows® PC or Mac®. Select from either a Logitech Unifying™ USB receiver or Bluetooth® Low Energy technology to connect to your computer.

Want to win a Logitech CRAFT keyboard? Take part in our lottery! Send an email entitled “Logitech CRAFT Keyboard” to [email protected] until December 13th, 2018. When taking part you agree to our privacy policy and that you’ll be receiving news from Slanted via our newsletter. There is no right of appeal. Good luck!

Slanted in Dubai: Martin Giesen

In Spring 2018 the Slanted editors took a close-up look at the contemporary design scene of Dubai. A city—when described by many people—that is all sickening shine and has no soul. But Dubai and the whole region, originally a piece of desert sparsely populated by Bedouins, is now transforming itself rapidly into a center, if not the world’s greatest center, of trade, finance, and tourism—and moreover, something important happened in the last few years: Culture! Today, a new Arab world is being plotted and planned. The entire Gulf is teeming with initiatives—from the most public to the most private—to change and reinvent seemingly immutable rules, regimes, edicts, and assumptions, culminating, perhaps, in the stated intention to work more closely together. The Gulf states have a past, and they will have a future. The contours of that future are legible in this Slanted issue!

Born and schooled in Germany, Martin Giesen studied Art History at Heidelberg University. After interning at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and completing a PhD, Giesen entered into a career of university teaching. He has taught in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Canada, and most recently in the UAE where he was founding dean of the School of Architecture & Design at the American University of Sharjah.

Take a look at the Slanted #32—Dubai to get an idea of Dubai’s creative environment. Additionally you can find several video interviews on our video platform to get a deeper insight in the designer’s thoughts.

MEGABOOM 3

Ultimate Ears released the new generation of portable wireless Bluetooth® speaker: super-powerful and immersive 360° sound, thundering bass, water, dust & drop proof, and stunning high-performance fabric. It’s the ultimate speaker, redefined: MEGABOOM 3!

Because we like music in every life situation, we are raffling one MEGABOOM 3 speaker in the color“Lagoon Blue”. To take part in the lottery, just send an email to [email protected], subject “MEGABOOM 3” until December 7th, 2018, 11 a.m. (UTC+1) and add your postal address for shipping. There is no right of appeal. When taking part, you agree to our privacy policy. Good luck!

MEGABOOM 3 features powerful, immersive sound. But it’s also carefully balanced and perfectly clear. Featuring Ultimate Ears unique sound processing, it produces audio faithful to the music you love, and at every volume level. In MEGABOOM 3, Ultimate Ears perfected the iconic cylindrical design they pioneered to deliver immersive, stereophonic audio that radiates evenly in all directions. MEGABOOM 3’s extra size and larger woofer create intense bass you can both hear and feel – 50% deeper than BOOM. But unlike most other portable speakers, it’s true to your music. No exaggeration or distortion.

MEGABOOM 3 is built tough and ready for adventure. Ultimate Ears put it through more than 25 rigorous durability tests including 1000s of button pushes, tumbles, drop tests and more. You can drop it, kick it, headbang with it, even spill your drink on it, and your MEGABOOM 3 speaker will take it all like a champ. Rock on.

With MEGABOOM 3 you can play, pause and skip tracks directly on the speaker. Just push for convenient control of any streaming music. Or program and navigate custom one-touch playlists for Apple Music® and Deezer® Premium. Match the moment with the vibes without reaching for your phone.

Get your own MEGABOOM 3 now!

Typeface of the Month: Cast

Since Cast, which was originally released in 2011, got Italic companions in summer 2018, it is now our typeface of the Month in December. Long matured and now brought to a close by Dominique Kerber, Cast is a real all-rounder for the professional demands on a modern typeface.

Cast is a subtle sans serif type family of twelve weights with great properties for professional typography. Open forms, strive for perfect curves and a modern and slightly technical touch are attributes of Cast. The weights from Light to Black (Upright and Italic) are well graded and the 478 glyphs per style cover an extended range of Latin languages (Latin Extended-A). Numbers of OpenType features allow different figure sets, fractions and much more. The manual kerning for every single weight represents the care and the quality of this font. An outstanding attribute of Cast is the performance in every size.

Cast had its beginning in 2007 during Dominique Kerber’s Typedesign study (CAS Typedesign) at the ZHdK in Zurich (Switzerland). After graduation, Dominique Kerber continued working on this project to release the fully developed font in March 2011. In June 2018 the type family was extended by the (true) italic. The professional exchange with his former fellow student Alex Meier in a shared studio offered Dominique Kerber enrichment in this lengthy process.

The concept of Cast is to combine the optical and formal requirements to a type in small text with the ones for display or signage use. Are ink traps necessary for example? Do they look nice in big sizes? How does optimal legibility behave in varying dimensions? What technical opportunities are there? Cast gives its own (possible) answers to these and hopefully some other questions in typography.

Cast

Foundry: Dominique Kerber (@domikerber)
Designer: Dominique Kerber
Release: March 2011 (upright) and June 2018 (italic)
Format: otf (desktop); eot, ttf, woff, woff2 (web) 
Weights: Light, Regular, Medium, Bold, Heavy, and Black
Price: CHF 279,– (family), CHF 99,– (basic set)
Type specimen here available.
Buy

Cultural Bulletin

Issue A—Winter 2018/19 is Cultural Bulletin’s first issue of a biannual magazine that looks at independent cinema, experimental music, conceptual design and contemporary art. Issue A reflects on the past year in music and cinema and talks to protagonists within these and other creative fields.

Issue A features:
OK-RM (design), Ian Bonhote (director of documentary McQueen), Tom Townend (cinematographer for You Were Never Really Here), Barry Adamson (musician, film composer), Hanyo Van Oosterom (musician—The Chi Factory), Ruth Bate (artist), Fanny Agren (photography), Rory Cook (poet)

In Review—Music:
Vanligt Folk, Accolytes, Steven Julien, Suba, Enhet För Fri Musik, Tropa Macaca, H.Takahashi, Modern Blonde, Jenny Hval, The Field, 7FO, Never, Scott Gordon, Waveform Transmission

In Review—Film:
McQueen, Sicilian Ghost Story, Summer 1993 (Estiu 1993), Beast, Les Gardiennes, Apostasy, Call Me By Your Name, Jeune Femme, Western, General Magic, The Wound, You Were Never Really Here, Cold War, Funny Cow, Lucky

Cultural Bulletin—Issue A

Editors: Tom Silver & Adam Greenhalgh 
Publisher: Cultural Bulletin Ltd
Release: Winter 2018/19
Volume: 152 Pages
Dimensions: 17 × 24 cm
Language: English
Specials: Softcover
ISSN: 2631–391X
Price: £ 9,–
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Typodarium 2019

For some, the Typodarium is “finally, a tear-off calendar that sparks joy,” others use the clever calendar as a lively font book. And those who have loved the calendar for a while appreciate it as typography trend radar. Raban Ruddigkeit and Lars Harmsen deliberately scout the “up-and-coming type stars,” lesser-known talents worldwide. Every year they do it with a different focus.

Multi-colored fonts are eye-catchers and awards, turning your Sundays in 2019 into colorful typography days. The days pass, but your favorite fonts endure. We therefore give the Typodarium a sturdy hinged-lid box to serve as your font file. That’s why you’ll find font designers, font samples and sources on the differently colored back pages of the daily sheets. Because that’s the nicest thing that can happen to the Typodarium: to be able to contribute fresh fonts to your design work!

Typodarium 2019 – The Power of Type

Editors: Lars Harmsen, Raban Ruddigkeit
Publisher: Verlag Hermann Schmidt
Editor: Florian Hauer
Format: 8.5 × 12 cm
Volume: 384 pages in 12 colors, printed on both sides
Language: English
Specials: Packaged in a sturdy collecting box for archiving the type samples
EAN: 42 6017281 071 5
Price: 19.80 Euro
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MISSION GOLD / Issue 002

San Francisco’s Mission neighborhood sits at the epicenter of a 21st century tech gold rush. But in the shadows of Silicon Valley, a different class of entrepreneurs, artists, and free-thinkers struggles to survive and thrive on the streets. MISSION GOLD is an editorial collaboration and excavation into this world of alternative art and value.

Mission Gold’s second issue, MAGIC, moves beyond Issue 001’s marketplace of cans, bottles and second-hand sex toys to showcase an incredible inventory of the imagination. Time-traveling radios, Mayan talismans, tiger mobiles, cosmic comedy, and 24-karat shopping carts comprise Issue 002’s moonshine of fact, fiction, and the fantastic. Ever suspect the Bay Area was once populated by a race of 9-foot tall insectoid beings? Want to glimpse a supernatural volume of occult artwork that would make H.R. Geiger roll in his grave? Could the mathematics of tropical storms predict Wall Street volatility? The makers featured in MAGIC explore earthbound and extraterrestrial phenomena, collaborating with Mission Gold to reproduce their art, writing, and mixed media for a broader context and audience.

About MISSION GOLD
Founded in 2016, Mission Gold is non-profit publication about looking, elucidating the lives and art of the overlooked and disenfranchised street residents of San Francisco. The first three issues of the series—MONEY, MAGIC and MISFITS—present a holistic view of the street, its undiscovered gems and untold stories, in an era of rampant gentrification and income inequality that leaves many behind.

Critical to Mission Gold’s mission is its distribution model: the issues are distributed along with the Coalition on Homelessness’ Street Sheet, an entrepreneurial initiative empowering homeless men and women to earn money by selling the weekly periodical. Mission Gold’s vendors become de facto stockists, and retain 100% of the profits. All profits from commercial sales of Mission Gold are donated to The Coalition on Homelessness, helping to organize and create permanent solutions to homelessness, while working to protect the human rights of those forced to remain on the streets. It is our hope that in the process, otherwise overlooked artists can share their work with the city’s vibrant community and contribute to a greater cultural conversation.

About Nick Marzano
Nick Marzano is the photographer, writer, and founder of Mission Gold. Originally from Australia, Nick moved to the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco in 2013, and has archived his neighborhood’s happenings and collaborated with its characters ever since. As a Creative Director, Nick aims to challenge Silicon Valley’s assumptions about entrepreneurship, and posit ways to involve the city’s community across all income brackets in the boom to achieve a more symbiotic urban landscape.

MISSION GOLD
Issue 002—MAGIC: Mayan Talismans, Tropical Storms, and Alien Archaeology

Editor: Nick Marzano
Art Director: Pedro Sanguine
Publisher: Mission Gold
Volume: 62 pages
Dimensions: 29 × 20 cm
Language: English
Specials: Softcover
ISBN: 978-0-578-42404-0
Price: $ 12,–
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Book Art of the Early 20th Century in Germany

At the end of the 19th century a reform of the book trade began in Germany as part of a movement for the renewal of the arts and crafts. The movement, which wanted to give the book a uniform, contemporary design based on script and typography, was supported by writers, scientists, and publishers as well as non-commercial private presses, which—in keeping with the current Gutenberg year—are the focus of the exhibition.

When?
9.5.2018 until 10.2.2019
Daily 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.

Where?
Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg
Plöck 107-109
69117 Heidelberg
Germany