Geometrically Speaking

Imagine if we could see all the logos ever designed in the world and they became part of our collective memory. Where have all those preliminary studies, rejected designs and millions of files gone? Are they hidden away in huge data centres somewhere on the planet, never to see the light of day again? Could they give us a different perspective on the history of graphic design? Either way, it would make us even more humble. Imagine if there were no more grey compromises? Or if those universally hated pitches were banned? Undoubtedly, there are masses of sketches where graphic designers have done their best work. Perhaps it is this search that makes a graphic designer a ‘real’ graphic designer. We delved into one studio’s well-preserved digital archive, spanning 30 years, and discovered a wealth of logos by designers searching for new solutions and developing an eclectic geometric interplay of letters and shapes.

This book presents nearly a thousand logo designs by the Brussels-based studio visionandfactory and its founder, Hugo Puttaert.

SPOD #6 Design im Kreativitätsdispositiv

If there is one aspiration within contemporary culture that pushes the boundaries of what is understandable, it would be not wanting to be creative. What was once left to subcultural circles of artists has become a universally valid cultural model, an imperative even. Andreas Reckwitz examines how a dispositive of creativity was able to emerge throughout the 20th century and the role of design as a paradigmatic “creative industry”.
The open-ended publication series Studienhefte Problemorientiertes Design SPOD makes historical and contemporary reflections on the social and political dimension of design accessible. It is a collection of irregularly appearing texts that critically examine the practical, cultural, methodological and everyday functions of Design. The problem-oriented approach aims to link design to the contradictions, potentials and circumstances of reality.
Based on a critical examination of the possibilities and limitations of Design, alternative models of Design are outlined that contradict the established market-based design practice.

Face with Tears of Joy

Emojis are an integral part of digital everyday life worldwide. But what is behind these small pictograms? Where do they come from? Who came up with the joyful sequence “:-)”? And how do emojis change our communication? Are they democratic? Are they diverse? And do they really work globally?

The graphic novel Face with Tears of Joy invites readers to see the world of emojis and other pictograms in our writing with new eyes. Author Karla-Jean v. Wissel uses history, linguistics, and emotion research to approach emojis in an entertaining way. Throughout the book, Karla-Jean is accompanied by various emoji characters and meets important figures in emoji history, such as developers and scientists, who contribute to the exploration of a seemingly simple yet complex element of our everyday communication.

100 Beste Plakate 23

X/100 — Expect Nothing — Appreciate Everything

The motto of this year’s 100 Beste Plakate is enticing and delivers on its promise: Every year, the association 100 Beste Plakate e. V. honors the most outstanding and creative poster designs from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The accompanying yearbook has long established itself as the standard reference for creators in the graphic and design scene and is now being published for the first time by Slanted Publishers.

The 2023 yearbook presents all 100 winning posters from the 100 Beste Plakate 23 competition in large-format images, along with information on their content aspects and the context in which they were created. It discusses current poster design and highlights trends. The jury’s introduction by Toan Vu-Huu, alongside a foreword by Fons Hickmann, an essay by Helene Roolf, presentation of the jury, and a contact register with credits of all designers, clients, and printers, completes the publication.

The book’s theme, “X out of 100 / Expect Nothing—Appreciate Everything,” ensures equal presentation of all 100 works, avoiding any impression of ranking. Each poster/series is treated equally, marked as one of the 100 nominated by the jury.

Claude Horstmann – AIRE

Parallel to the exhibition “extra stone next surface” by Claude Horstmann at the Laura Mars Gallery, Berlin, the publication AIRE is being released, in which the artist focuses on photographic images of the materiality and minerality of urban, cultural and natural spaces.

The photographs bring together diverse material about stone that she has taken in various places over several years. The focus is on the depiction of material phenomena, sculptural gestures and states as well as sculptural architecture.

The selection also includes drawings and language from urban contexts. A specific terrain is always physical, scientific-physical, but also mental and imaginary. The focus is on form and non-form, on substance and surface, on energetic trace.

Teresa Mayr – seit wir game of thrones kucken, liege ich auf dem bauch

I dreamt of zombies on a mountainside, devoid of arms. I dreamt that Gina gouges out her eyes and that my child is named Nymphe Dora. That’s what I remember. I do not remember what happened on the other side of the mountain and which creatures live in the shadow of the fir trees. Who is Gina? And I don’t remember any birth.

Since we started watching Game of Thrones, cruel dreams whip through my consciousness. Everywhere there is fire raging, and cold smoke blurs the view. Delicate yet fierce lines intertwine these fragments of imagery, piercing through scattered memories and filling the crevices in between. Dogs, dolphins, and genitals serve as filling material. Tiled corridors, pavilions, and bare trees gather into thirsty gardens and construction sites.

Blue ballpoint pen, tool of the fleeting, the banal, and the carefree, nurtures and strokes the new lawns and staircases. Tentacles wind around walls like ivy. Glancing along cool surfaces, you cannot trust your own eyes. Nevertheless – since my dream shreds are no longer homeless, I finally sleep on my back again.

Since I draw the backside of the mountains and the shaded life under the fir trees, the nocturnal images trot amiably through the days. They no longer bare their teeth, and my eyes are no longer black-rimmed like those of the giant panda.

Grafikmagazin 03.24 – Brand Design

As the name indicates, Grafikmagazin is a print magazine focusing on all things graphic design. Primarily it’s aimed at professional creatives and design students from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and beyond.

Grafikmagazin presents outstanding work from graphic design, typography, illustration, photography, design theory, research, paper, and printing every two months. The editorial team of Grafikmagazin created a variety of sections and categories but selected focus themes for each issue, like “Brand Design”. The topics portray how imaginative, eclectic, and playful graphic design can be while featuring successful branding concepts and niche ideas.

The extensive “Showroom” section lets readers know other creatives and the stories behind design studios worldwide. The “Design and Research” category presents interdisciplinary projects that show how science and research can benefit from creative solutions and play an active role in graphic design. In the “Production and Publishing” section, everything revolves around print. You will find exquisite books, sophisticated annual reports, and high-quality embossed greeting cards. Also, the cover artists of each issue are interviewed or get to highlight their ideas.

Each cover is printed on a different paper, and the design interprets the particular Grafik+ theme more broadly or shares a fresh perspective on a unique design technique. This particular cover was realized in six different versions from different studios and artists, each riso-printed. The Grafikmagazin team, its correspondents, and freelancers are bound and driven by the firm belief that print is not dead. With the will to prove just how alive it is, and the motivation to start something fresh yet deeply traditional, they strive for nothing less than to create another print magazine that makes history.

Frei. Selbstständig arbeiten als Designer

Being free – that has always been your dream and now you want to take the step into self-employment? Then here is your personal coach in book form.

You finally want to be your own boss. You have enough ideas and experience and perhaps even your first customers. You want space for what you love – and that has never been law, business and taxes. But you also don’t want to get into financial or organizational difficulties at some point.

Nicolas Uphaus guides you to the start and through a final check phase before you take the leap into self-employment. He then guides you through the actual start-up and the mountain of documents you need. Then it can start, the day-to-day organization. This is where you lay the foundations for easily manageable organization. If you create good structures here, you will later have time for what you actually want to do: which is to create.

Some Magazine #18—Studio Practice

Some Magazine #18—Studio Practice delves into the concept of the artist’s studio throughout history. From its origins as a legendary and fabled place in the early Renaissance to its transformation into a dynamic and adaptable space in the digital age, the artist’s studio has undergone significant changes over time.

This issue examines how artists’ practices have shifted alongside with technological advancement and artistic trends. The magazine examines the concept of “studio practice” and describes how artists organize their creative processes from inspiration to presentation. This issue invites readers to explore the multifaceted nature of creative work and the diverse approaches creative practitioners pursue in shaping their artistic practice.

Since 2010, changing editorial teams of young design students research, write, and layout the bi-annual Some Magazine. It is a part of the experimental design course of Prof. Sven Völker at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam.

A Magazine for Visual Inventors

Towards Home / ᐊᖏᕐᕋᒧᑦ / Ruovttu Guvlui

Towards Home / ᐊᖏᕐᕋᒧᑦ / Ruovttu Guvlui, an Indigenous-led publication, explores how Inuit, Sámi, and other communities across the Arctic are creating self-determined spaces. It is informed by the perspectives of a group of Inuit, Sámi, and settler co-editors who share the ambition to promote northern Indigenous forms of sovereignty shaped by an understanding of the land as home. The project emphasizes caring for and living on the land as a way of being, and celebrates practices of spacemaking and placemaking that empower Indigenous communities. It contains essays, artworks, photographs, personal narratives, and other forms that express Indigenous notions of home, land, future, kinship, design, and memory. ᐊᖏᕐᕋᒧᑦ (angirramut) in Inuktitut, or “ruovttu guvlui” in Sámi, can be translated as “towards home”. To move towards home is to reflect on where northern Indigenous people find home, on what their connections to their land means, and on what these relationships could look like into the future.

The publication is framed by these three concepts: Home, Land, and Future. It contains essays, artworks, photographs, personal narratives, and other forms that express Indigenous notions of home, land, kinship, design, and memory. The publication ultimately asks: What could home become across Inuit Nunangat, Sápmi, and the North more generally when defined by Indigenous architects and designers? Where do homelands begin?

This publication was conceived in parallel to research, workshops, and an exhibition at the CCA, Montréal.

 

English, Inuktitut, North Sámi edition

Vers chez soi / ᐊᖏᕐᕋᒧᑦ / Ruovttu Guvlui

Vers chez soi / ᐊᖏᕐᕋᒧᑦ / Ruovttu Guvlui, an Indigenous-led publication, explores how Inuit, Sámi, and other communities across the Arctic are creating self-determined spaces. It is informed by the perspectives of a group of Inuit, Sámi, and settler co-editors who share the ambition to promote northern Indigenous forms of sovereignty shaped by an understanding of the land as home. The project emphasizes caring for and living on the land as a way of being, and celebrates practices of spacemaking and placemaking that empower Indigenous communities. It contains essays, artworks, photographs, personal narratives, and other forms that express Indigenous notions of home, land, future, kinship, design, and memory. ᐊᖏᕐᕋᒧᑦ (angirramut) in Inuktitut, or “ruovttu guvlui” in Sámi, can be translated as towards home’. To move “towards home” is to reflect on where northern Indigenous people find home, on what their connections to their land means, and on what these relationships could look like into the future.

The publication is framed by these three concepts: Home, Land, and Future. It contains essays, artworks, photographs, personal narratives, and other forms that express Indigenous notions of home, land, kinship, design, and memory. The publication ultimately asks: What could home become across Inuit Nunangat, Sápmi, and the North more generally when defined by Indigenous architects and designers? Where do homelands begin?

This publication was conceived in parallel to research, workshops, and an exhibition at the CCA, Montréal.

 

French, Inuktitut, North Sámi edition

A PASSION THING Issue No. 10

A PASSION THING is a magazine focused on people from around the world who are driven by this wonderful force we call passion.

For this 10th anniversary issue, we talked to Magazine Makers, Cultural Directors and took a deep dive into Japan. We curated must-visits in Paris, talked to a professional basketball player and wrote about how to build a little food empire.

Featuring: Carla Rumler, Teja Oblak, Rika and Junichi Tatsukawa, Tyler Brûlé, Robert Thiemann, Mathilde Roseanne Brégeon, Robert Punkenhofer, Simone and Adi Raihmann.
For the cover story we pay a visit to LUNA LUNA the world’s first art amusement park that got a revival in L.A.

A PASSION THING Issue No. 9

A PASSION THING is a magazine focused on people from around the world who are driven by this wonderful force we call passion.

This issue is a celebration of Austria, as most of the interviewees come from our beautiful home country. We also dive into the beauty of Mexico, the idea of slow jobs, as well as living a creative career in art & design.

Featuring: Marie Kreutzer, Ting Wang, Alice Stori Liechtenstein, Peter Fetz, Susanne Kaufmann, David Wurawa, Ana Holschneider and Ariadna García, Benjamin Hofer, Marco Dessí.
From our neighborhood in Vienna: Alexandra Palla, Nicole Adler, and Alexander Ehrmann.

A PASSION THING Issue No. 7

A PASSION THING is a magazine focused on people from around the world who are driven by this wonderful force we call passion.

The first female power issue featuring seven amazing women also takes us to Portugal, Beirut, and London.

Featuring: Saskia Diez, Rana Salam, Stephanie Dettmann, Ju Schnee, Georgia Brooks, Anna von Hellberg & Laura Castien.

Where The Poplars Grow

How does a German village get to Kyrgyzstan?
Before the autumn of 1988, Irina Unruh, who was nine years old, left Kyrgyzstan, which was then part of the Soviet Union, with her family. Two decades later, she returned to Telman, her home village, which lies in the valley of the Chui River and is called Grünfeld by the older residents.
Her documentary photographs tell stories of loss, origins, and the search for identity. Through the history of Russian Germans, Unruh tells her personal story of escape, displacement, and home. Unruh’s photographic journey reveals the secrets that have been hidden for generations, the memories that are loudly remembered, and those that are only a whisper.
Her photographs capture vast landscapes, intimate family moments, and friendly interactions.

SPOD #3 Design heisst Entwurf

“The belief that a humane environment can be created through design is one of the fundamental errors of the pioneers of the modern movement. People’s environments are only to a small extent visible and subject to formal design; to a far greater extent, however, they consist of organizational and institutional factors. Changing these is a political task.”
Lucius Burckhardt

Two texts and four watercolor paintings with a foreword by Bazon Brock.

The open-ended publication series Studienhefte Problemorientiertes Design SPOD makes historical and contemporary reflections on the social and political dimension of Design accessible. It is a collection of irregularly appearing texts that critically examine the practical, cultural, methodological and everyday functions of Design. The problem-oriented approach aims to link design to the contradictions, potentials and circumstances of reality.

Based on a critical examination of the possibilities and limitations of Design, alternative models of Design are outlined that contradict the established market-based design practice.

SPOD #5 Drei Vorlesungen zum Design

“If consumer potential is to be reached, production must be tailored to those who have it. Valuable materials, sophisticated surface treatment, astonishing material combinations and artistic composition become highly traded design categories. However, the whole thing is not an exploratory desire to expand the necessary repertoire, rather the design is being artificially created. The trade in these goods is combined with the propaganda of designer personalities. They appear like ‘cultural’ idols, like ‘stars’, only not on such a massive scale. This is particularly true in the furniture and interior design sector. Myriads of chairs, armchairs, shelves and lamps fill the international design journals. The main interest is in the sensual qualities of things. Their context of use is primarily representative. Their use becomes a demonstration of luxurious circumstances, a display of wealth and abstract modernity, a cheeky decoration. Strange !”
Chup Friemert
Re-print of the first publication in the series Materialien Nr. 4 / 83, published by the Press and Information Office of the Berlin University of the Arts 1983.
The open-ended publication series Studienhefte Problemorientiertes Design SPOD makes historical and contemporary reflections on the social and political dimension of Design accessible. It is a collection of irregularly appearing texts that critically examine the practical, cultural, methodological and everyday functions of Design. The problem-oriented approach aims to link design to the contradictions, potentials and circumstances of reality.
Based on a critical examination of the possibilities and limitations of Design, alternative models of Design are outlined that contradict the established market-based design practice.

Slanted Magazine #43—Ukraine

This Slanted issue is not about war. Instead, it delves into the lives of remarkable individuals within the creative industry in and hailing from Ukraine, as they endeavor to maintain a semblance of normalcy amidst their diligent efforts. This narrative underscores the inseparable bond between culture and design, raising the question of its feasibility.

During the NEED conference in Warsaw in early September 2023, the Ukrainian delegation motivated the Slanted team to initiate a magazine dedicated to the Ukrainian design sphere, advocating that “better now than never!” Without their invaluable assistance, input, and valor, such an endeavor would have been inconceivable. The editorial policy refrains from producing issues centered on a city or country if physical presence isn’t feasible, as the essence of a place cannot truly be captured from a distance. However, with each new connection established, the palpable tension among individuals becomes increasingly apparent, underscoring the universal impact of current circumstances.

The sheer volume of nearly 1,500 submissions was overwhelming, and the selection process inherently subjective. Despite meticulous deliberations, every decision, formulation, and work runs the risk of being perceived as flawed, insufficient, or misunderstood. The compilation features 20 interviews with designers and creatives both within and beyond Ukraine, offering diverse insights, responses, and perspectives.

Many of the showcased works and texts reflect upon the ongoing war, which has persisted for over two years. Despite this, there remains a glimmer of hope for its resolution, with a collective aspiration for design discourse to eventually transition to other topics. This issue serves as a significant contemporary time capsule, a testament to the profound impact of design, and an expression of Slanted Publishers’ unwavering commitment to this cause.

The magazine features three different covers by with artworks by Mykola Kovalenko, Dasha Podoltseva, and Anna Sarvira (no selection can be made).

Also, check out our Limited Special Edition Ukraine; it includes 10 stickers featuring designs by artists from Slanted Magazine #43—Ukraine.

Stick your message! #standwithukraine

Hannah Höch: Bilderbuch

Hannah Höch’s Bilderbuch (Picture Book) presents the fantastic adventures of Runfast, Dumblet, Snifty and Meyer 1, mythical creatures which seem like a dream in a zoological garden, surrounded by fairy tale flowers and plants.

Yet, it is not only a wonderful book for children, but an important cultural and historic document, as it was created by Hannah Höch, the most important female artist of the Modernist period in Germany. It is designed through the Dadaistic principle of photomontage which Höch developed, together with Raoul Hausmann, in the early years of the 20th century.

Gunda Luyken writes in her essay about the book: “To counter the grey postwar years, Höch developed in 19 collages and accompanying texts a magical world populated by fantastic exotic plants and animals. People play no role here, apart from the baby emerging from one of the eggs that Madame Marklet has collected around her. … Although Höch always spoke of her ’picture book’, the texts are an essential part of the work. For each of the collages, the artist thought up brief, delicate rhymes that sketch out miniature stories and are reminiscent of the verses of Joachim Ringelnatz or Christian Morgenstern. She gave her impish creatures the oddest names—Loftylara, Brushflurlet, Unsatisfeedle and Runfast. Although Höch conjured up in images and words a fantastic world, it is one not free of human weaknesses like dissatisfaction or disagreement, as represented, for example, by the couple Longfringes. All the same, the book exudes a cheerfulness and light-heartedness that the philosopher and writer Salomon Friedländer also attributed to the artist herself: ’Basically, you are a fabulous and wonderful girl—and whoever doesn’t get you must be a dull and totally impossible guy. And who does understand you? A child, just like you.’”

The book also contains the original German verses by Hannah Höch.

The English version of this book is also available as Picture Book.

Karoline Schreiber: Fingers like Toes

Karoline Schreiber is one of the most interesting Swiss artists employing a variety of painting and drawing techniques.

This monographic book brings together her work from the last 20 years and will accompany her large scale solo exhibition at Kunsthaus Uri in summer 2019. The book consists of dense image sequences that allow an insight into the highly productive work of Schreiber, comprising drawings, painting, performance and text. Schreiber is known for her performative drawings and keeps pushing the limits of her disciplines ranging from intuitive-automatic approaches to conceptual series of works.

This monographic book allows a deep and complex insight into the prolific and sprawling cosmos of Schreiber’s often surreal and unsettling images and her artistic quests. The book adaptation reflects the visual diversity and artistic concepts: Fingers like Toes is a surprising mix of catalogue and artist book.

With essays by Daniel Morgenthaler and Barbara Zürcher.

The Architecture of Loneliness – Reflections on Displacement and Welcoming

The aftermath of the Covid restrictions, mental problems, being confronted with the influx of people with a different background and culture, the alienation of ourselves and of others, not being able to relate to other people; these can all cause deep feelings of loneliness.

What is loneliness, as different from solitude? Whereas solitude is a chosen condition that refrains from social relations, loneliness suffers from the lack of these.

The three essays in this book each explore a side of loneliness, strongly connected to the encounter with the other.

South-African psychologist Wahbie Long lays out what kind of relationships to the outside world emerge from childhood experiences of playing and relating to others. He dives into the difficulty of not only encountering, but finding others. Long brings together a great many aspects that all contribute to the feeling of loneliness that characterizes the lives of migrants, asylum seekers, or refugees on the road.

French philosopher Marie-José Mondzain uses the metaphor of architecture with its terms as threshold, doors, walls, windows, a bench in front of the frontal wall; elements that construct ‘home’, the architectural and emotional place where encounters can happen, where ‘strangers’ should be welcomed and trusted.

French psychoanalyst Lysiane Lamantowicz discusses a form of loneliness that we see all around us: the consequences of social networks on the internet. Although it seems that we are part of a crowd, that we have many ‘friends’, we are in reality alone in front of a computer screen. What is the effect on how people can still relate to the intricacies of real life?

In our current harsh political climate this book encourages a heartfelt interest and connection with your ‘neighbour’, close and far.

Mieke Bal is a cultural theorist, video artist, and Professor Emerita in Literary Theory.

Limited Special Edition Ukraine: Sticker Set + Slanted Magazine #43–Ukraine

In collaboration with artists from Slanted Magazine #43—Ukraine, we’ve selected 10 designs and had stickers printed in a limited edition. With Artworks from Anton Abo, Oleg Bilyi, Yurko Gutsulyak, Stas Kolotov, Mykola Kovalenko, Olya Kuzovkina, Dasha Podoltseva, Igor Renko, Serhii Serbin, Mariia Sharova, and Lina-Mariia Shlapak

For each Limited Special Edition Ukraine sold, 5€ will be donated to the German aid organization ART HELPS with which we worked together two years ago for the project Posters Can Help. Stick your message! #standwithukraine

The “first aid” for people in emergency situations is food, clothing, and a roof over their heads. But what happens next? ART HELPS takes care of the “second aid”: They provide hope and perspectives. Through diverse creative projects on-site, they primarily engage children and teenagers in crisis areas and difficult life circumstances, providing variety, creating perspectives, and fostering creative thinking among those affected so they don’t lose hope Have a look at their different projects in Ukraine here.

ART HELPS also assists in transporting Slanted Magazine #43—Ukraine to Kyiv.

Slanted Magazine #43–Ukraine
Spring/Summer 2024

This Slanted issue is not about war. Instead, it delves into the lives of remarkable individuals within the creative industry in and hailing from Ukraine, as they endeavor to maintain a semblance of normalcy amidst their diligent efforts. This narrative underscores the inseparable bond between culture and design, raising the question of its feasibility. Read more here.

Die typografische Komposition

Typography and layout are based on proven technical and aesthetic principles that give you orientation and support in the design process. The system “Typography and Layout” forms the basis for your design.

Martin Mosch will guide you from the smallest element, the letter, through word and line, column and format to the big picture, the principles of composition and layout.
In this practical workshop, you will recognize how detailed decisions influence the effect of the overall composition, which visual strategies work and how, what needs to be considered in the design process – and how you can make your everyday creative life easier and more successful.

Based on viewing habits and reading behavior, this book provides you with the tools for the skillful use of type and images – a foundation on which you can rely and build your top performance in visual communication.

Grafikmagazin 02.24 – Education

As the name indicates, Grafikmagazin is a print magazine focusing on all things graphic design. Primarily it’s aimed at professional creatives and design students from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and beyond.

Grafikmagazin presents outstanding work from graphic design, typography, illustration, photography, design theory, research, paper, and printing every two months.

The editorial team of Grafikmagazin created a variety of sections and categories but selected focus themes for each issue, like “Education”. The topics portray how imaginative, eclectic, and playful graphic design can be while featuring successful branding concepts and niche ideas.

The extensive “Showroom” section lets readers know other creatives and the stories behind design studios worldwide. The “Design and Research” category presents interdisciplinary projects that show how science and research can benefit from creative solutions and play an active role in graphic design. In the “Production and Publishing” section, everything revolves around print. You will find exquisite books, sophisticated annual reports, and high-quality embossed greeting cards. Also, the cover artists of each issue are interviewed or get to highlight their ideas.

Each cover is printed on a different paper, and the design interprets the particular Grafik+ theme more broadly or shares a fresh perspective on a unique design technique. This particular cover was realized in six different versions from different studios and artists, each riso-printed. The Grafikmagazin team, its correspondents, and freelancers are bound and driven by the firm belief that print is not dead. With the will to prove just how alive it is, and the motivation to start something fresh yet deeply traditional, they strive for nothing less than to create another print magazine that makes history.