Preorder: Slanted Magazine #37—AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become—besides being an over-hyped buzzword across industries (that the design world is no exception to)—a reality. We debate about the impacts of AI and its subsets, machine and deep learning, and consider everything from virtual to augmented realities, and how these technologies may change our lives, jobs, and social relationships altogether.

We live in times where decisions about what we want is no longer under our control. While we believe to be free (at least in our western World), algorithms dictate our lives, hopes, and dreams. We are the parents and children, gods, and slaves of the technology we invented: Although it dominates us, we are deeply addicted to it. If “algorithms will liberate themselves entirely from us,” Peter Weibel proposes, dystopian science fictions may help us clarify what we desire and do not want.

At Slanted, we are “hands on.” We love the human spark, provoke happy accidents (scratches and glitches), explore edges, and consistently enter unknown terrain. So yes, although this is a printed issue, it could very well have been transported to a neural chip. More than ever this issue made us adventurers: looking with doubtful eyes at this new world of computation, numbers, and transhumanism, where (OMG!) machines are in many areas smarter than us and, occasionally, even encoded with higher ethical and moral standards than we will ever have.

Many generations grew up with art in private rooms and exhibition spaces, with telephone booths and postal letters. Bike messengers and fax machines were a game changer. Then, computation exploded. We now need to make decisions, Donna Haraway argues, as “we’re inside of what we make, and it’s inside of us. We’re living in a world of connections—and it matters which ones get made and unmade.”

Preorder: Cihan Tamti — Breakout–100 Posters Book

Please note: The publication will be published earliest in March 2021. If you order it now, your parcel will be shipped directly when it comes from the printer. You will be notified about it.

Cihan Tamti started treating Instagram like a graphic design gym, and worked on designing a poster every day. Without constraints, he was able to experiment, often creating work that no normal agency would approve. Such freedom of approach allowed him to develop designs with strong, experimental typography and complex compositions. Unexpectedly, these daily designs ended up winning some competitions and attracting some cool clients along the way, which now gave him the last necessary push to publish a book that combines all his ideas and creations.

Cihan’s “Breakout–100 Posters Book” summarizes 100 selected posters from the past few years. These posters include free and personal ones, real commission work, exhibition posters, and award-winning posters. But what it makes even more important is that it encourages and inspires to breakout oneself and to start spreading one’s own visual messages.

Teasing Typography

How does typography behave under extreme conditions? What visual phenomenons, patterns, artifacts and graphic elements can be provoked by pushing type through extreme grids and using extreme typographic parameters? At what point does a text step back to its original purpose of informing the reader? When does text become something else: a graphic element, a grey surface, a static noise or a haptic pattern?

To investigate these questions, graphic designer Juliane Nöst systematically pushed text through various grids in the framework of a typographic study. Starting with the InDesign default-settings, a range of font-sizes and columns were used to generate a broad spectrum of diverse typographic outcomes.

In a further step, existing results were layered and collaged, aiming to create additional sets of unexpected forms and graphics. The outcome of this research leads to a variety of visual peculiarities, creating absorbing patterns, interacting with the grids, sometimes making them visible while disappearing under other parameters.

The 500-page book is a glimpse into the endless possibilities that may emerge when teasing typography.

Preorder: Ar/KATE Mannheim

Please note: The publication will be published earliest in March 2021. If you order it now, your parcel will be shipped directly when it comes from the printer. You will be notified about it.

Ar/Kate Mannheim is a specific guidebook connecting architecture and skateboarding. The pocket guide by architect and skater Florian Budke contains ten different urban locations with photographs and a map where a variety of skate spots can be found. Short additional texts inform the interested viewer about both the architecture and the skate spots which also convey new perspectives on existing architecture. Thus, both skaters and those interested in architecture can use the guide equally.  

The architecture influences and shapes the creativity and type of skating. It creates the backdrop and at the same time is part of the action. It is both environment and obstacle. Skateboarding itself transforms and reinterprets the built environment and its architectural elements. Skaters’ perceptions of urban structure are also different from the urban impressions that non-skaters have—because skaters are always looking for new skate spots. Thus, every architectural or street structure object is scanned for its “skateable” potential. 

Skateparks try more and more to imitate these architectural elements, but often it is nothing more than an attempt. The true character of street skating takes place in real confrontation with real architecture in real urban situations. The architecture influences the scene, the vibe, and the feeling while the skaters are there. The act of skateboarding is deeply connected to the built environment.

Mannheim, a medium-sized city in southwestern Germany, is located between Frankfurt and Stuttgart and is known for its square city layout, its Baroque castle and its buildings from the Brutalist period, such as the Collini Center and the “Neckarbebauung” (Neckar Building). On the other hand, Mannheim is also characterized by its large and networked skateboard scene. No other place shows this more than the “Mezz,” the “old Messplatz” in Neckarstadt, a district of Mannheim. It is the local spot par excellence. And it is the starting and end point for spot explorations within Mannheim.

A smart pocket guide about the famous skate spots of Mannheim and the architecture behind them!

zur Linde

“zur Linde” is an ode to the lime tree which is deeply rooted in German culture as a place of communion and as a symbol of justice and love. Not only has it played a prominent role in village life and graveyards, but it was also a location where judicial courts were held, and frequently appeared as a motif in art and literature. In addition, aside from traditional and folkloric connotations, the iconic lime is part of everyday life–used widely as a means to bring green to cities and often serving as a landmark; it has even leant its name to a TV series.

The photographer Michael Romstöck explores the significance of the lime tree as a site of pre-Christian assemblies and in the romantic experience of nature, while also examining its ideological exploitation.
Over a period of one and a half years, Romstöck visited more than sixty places in Germany with his analog, large-format camera. He selected them either because they boast a lime that holds an important place in the country’s cultural history or are associated with the tree’s symbolism in some other way. Investigating the lime’s current status, Romstöck unites a variety of motifs, different types of images, and text fragments into an essay-like narrative: Why did earlier generations raise (natural) monuments and how can we maintain them in future? What meaning do they have today and how does this meaning change in our rapidly evolving world? What can we learn from them–and what can they tell us about ourselves?

With high-quality duotone reproductions of Romstöck’s photos.

Hometown Journal–Episode 01

The Hometown Journal is about who we are—as creatives, as humans, as citizens. It’s where we come from and where we want to be going. Hometown investigates the work of passionate creators all over the globe, as a reflection of today’s constantly evolving zeitgeist. By digging deep into the complex dynamics of modern-day systems and their functions, they hope to reach the core of each topic, and collectively discover new possibilities for change.

Rooted in film, Hometown as a Duo has always been about telling stories. In the beginning, two high school friends, Alex and Eric, produced, shot, and directed their own documentaries, as well as music videos. Those films had one thing in common, they centered around the joys, habits, and suffering of human beings. When a global pandemic hit in 2020, making films was off the table for a while. What was left was the desire to tell stories. Annoyed by the fast-paced online platforms around them they wanted to find an outlet that was real. Not a file name, but an actual, crafted piece. Hometown Journal was born.

They approached the magazine as a film project, looking at it from a wide range of perspectives. What can print do? How can we tell the story right? What is fun to look at and what creates excitement for the reader? The team of three started to look for their origin. What is Hometown? What does it mean to their creative collaborators? And what is still wrong in the world we call home? Artists were as carefully gathered as topics and the written word in itself. But also the choice of paper and different ways of printing were considered to tell a single story. Every element within the magazine is meant to tell the story of Hometown, creating a haptic guide throughout the chapters. This episode is not perfect, but it is crafted with love, it is a documentation of the process of creating in itself, and the outlet of three friends, wanting to bring joy into the world.

So what is Hometown? Hometown is for anyone who lives and breathes art, who embraces the medium, whether it be photography, illustration, music, or film. It’s meant to be a source of inspiration and to lift the curtain for those aspiring to know more. It’s for those who like to take a ten minute break from the day, and anybody who gets tired of the digital world from time to time. This one’s for you. Welcome to our Hometown.

If you like this issue, keep your eyes open: The second issue of Hometown will be out soon.

Inspired by Method: Creative Tools for the Design Process

What is inspiration? Can there be a method for finding inspiration? “Inspired by Method: Creative Tools for the Design Process” is both a guide to and a source of inspiration. Designing involves individuality and a systematic approach, which we may apply consciously or subconsciously, depending on the project. The 5D-method for inspiration, created by Alexandra Martini, is an incisive little tool that you can use in any design process. It takes away the fear of starting a new project. This method uses the following five dimensions: Formal-Aesthetic Dimension, Haptic Dimension, Production Dimension, Cultural Dimension and Interactive Dimension. It will help you analyse, experiment with and realise your ideas. The first phase of the book will get you started.
The second phase encourages you to experiment and explore some unusual paths. Classical principles, such as composition and proportion, are interwoven with contemporary manufacturing processes such as 3D printing and aspects of human-machine interaction.

For all budding creatives who are involved with design, in any way, that want to deepen their knowledge and intellectual portfolio professionally and develop their design skills further. “Inspired by Method: Creative Tools for the Design Process” provides orientation, guidance, methodology and a soft process algorithm.

Zurich Type Design. Ein Fach- und Lesebuch für alle an Schrift Interessierten

Font design is booming enormously in the “western world”. This trend was primarily triggered by new technologies from the beginning of the 1990s that enabled a scalable and mathematically accurate representation of graphic elements without a loss of quality.
There is a wide spectrum of brand-new creations for display, graphic and title fonts–a terrain which decorative graphic artists are increasingly taking over. A second group digs out old fonts, redraws them and launches them digitally.
Docents and students of Type Design study programmes in Zurich have been working on new text fonts. These post-diploma courses have focused on text fonts for printing, screens and wayfinding since they began. They are suitable for reading longer texts. Texts without extravagant and obtrusive typefaces foster a person’s capacity to imagine and think about what he or she has read.

All graduates realised a text font, and this publication shows their approved results. Some 70 font designs are presented as specimen pages. Besides that, the docents shed light on individual disciplines and reflect on important aspects of their work:
André Baldinger comments on teaching methods, attitudes and zeitgeist in type design, while Anton Studer contemplates on seeing and perceiving. Katharine Wolff emphasises “the importance of calligraphy in the digital age”. Georg Salden insists that font design is a physical process. Walter Haettenschweiler tells us about his career as one of the world’s most illustrious designers for title and display typefaces. Robin Kinross (E) uses monotype as an example to explain economic, social and technical correlations.

Further contributions by Rudolf Barmettler, Remo Caminada, Christian Flepp (E), Hans-Jürg Hunziker, Bruno Margreth, Fiona Ross (E), Mischa Senn.

• 70 new text fonts from type design courses in Zurich
• 17 cross-discipline essays on readability, the history of fonts, calligraphy, and teaching type design, etc.

The Digital Shift

The Digital Shift is changing the world as we know it. Previously unimaginable technological possibilities are already in motion – or just around the corner. The rise of Artificial Intelligence will create new business models, products and services. But in order to establish a new global prosperity paradigm, the industry must finally start thinking radically from a human perspective. Artificial Intelligence must become civilized. Artificial Intelligence must complete a transition, to what we call Personal Intelligence. Whereas it is currently a tool used only by the elite, Artificial Intelligence must become a tool for everyone. As a consequence, the discipline of design will take on a prominent role in the personalisation of Artificial Intelligence. How do corporations adjust to this new personalised technology? To move corporations forward, Christian von Reventlow & Philipp Thesen, have developed series of radically new, human-centered methods and models, delivered in this fascinating book The Digital Shift.

As Chief Innovation Officer and Chief Designer at Deutsche Telekom, Von Reventlow & Thesen have analysed the societal repercussions of the increasing adoption of AI. During the past five years, the duo has shifted Deutsche Telekom from being infrastructure-led to being design-led, placing empathy and humanity at its core. By fostering one of Europe’s largest design teams, the two have gained deep understanding of how artificial intelligence works within the public domain, and how it leaves an impact on millions of users every day.

Detail in typography

An attractive, interesting layout can certainly attract and please the reader; but when the details are not good, reading requires more effort and any pleasure is short-lived. Detail in typography is a concise and close-up view of the subject – letters, words, the line, and the space around the elements – and it discusses what is essential for the legibility of the text. Yet this is more than a guide to correct typography. How is it, Hochuli asks, that text can be set perfectly and yet look insufferably dull? Answers may be found here, not least in the way the book itself has been set and produced. Jost Hochuli is a Swiss typographer, internationally renowned for his book design work. As a teacher, he has had long experience in Zurich and his home town of St. Gallen. As a writer and editor, his books include Book design in Switzerland (1993), Designing books (1996), and Jost Hochuli: Printed matter, mainly books (2002). He has edited and designed the annually published Typotron series of booklets (1983-1998) and the Editions Ostschweiz (from 2000).

Unjustified texts

Over twenty-five years of engagement, somewhere in the borderlands between journalism and the academy, Robin Kinross has written for magazines and journals, making a case for typography as a matter of fine detail and subtle judgement, whose products concern all of us, every day.

This selection of his shorter writings brings his major themes into focus: the unsung virtues of editorial and information design, the fate of Modernism in the twentieth century, the work of dissident and critical Modernist designers, the contributions of emigré designers from Europe in the English-speaking world, the virtues of a socially-oriented design approach.

He argues for a design that is of use in the world, and against the cult of design and the delusions of theory. Pieces move from patient exposition, to sharp critique, to warm appreciation. This book presents an unexpected body of writing, which stakes out fresh territory between the purely academic and the merely journalistic. The whole is an unusual and powerful contribution to the subject of typography.

“In short, a nice book to read and the perfect antidote to all those slick design books.”
Mathieu Lommen, Items

Modern Typography

Situating the birth of modern typography around 1700, when it started to be distinct from printing, Robin Kinross introduces in Modern Typography a new understanding of the subject: as something larger and more deeply rooted than a modernism of style, echoing Jürgen Habermas’s proposition that modernity is ‘a continuing project’. Starting with the early years of the Enlightenment in France and Britain, different cultures and countries successively become the focus for the discussion as they gain significance. Examining the social, technical and material contexts in which typographers operate, the argument also considers principles and explanations of practice. This essay is seminal in many ways, providing a lively and critical narrative of historical development, a springboard for further investigation, and reproductions of not-often seen items.

‘This is a book to read and reread. It is provocative, dense, opinionated, and thoroughly original. […] It deserves to become a classic.’ Alastair Johnston, Bookways

Systematic book design?

Does designing a book follow a logical and well-thought-out process? Swiss graphic designer and typographer Jost Hochuli studies the crucial role played by instinct throughout the various stages of planning a book, from selecting a typeface and its size to determining the layout of the blocks of text.

Drawing on his own experience and examples taken from various books he created, Jost Hochuli considers the questions which arose while they were being designed and the importance of intuition in rational thought.

“Systematic book design?” was written for a lecture Jost Hochuli gave for the first time in Munich in 2007, and then at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris in 2011 on the initiative of F7. The text has been first published in Back Cover magazine in 2011. John Morgan’s foreword was especially written for the present edition.

Jost Hochuli’s text was translated from German by Charles Whitehouse.
Foreword by John Morgan

PIN-UP GUINEA PIGS CALENDAR 2021

Hi, there you cheeky little rascals. It’s us, Gin Tonic, Belissa and the other eleven showstoppers from the Pin-Up Guinea show. We knew you would land here, dusting off that old 2020 vibe. Ready for some well-deserved glitz and glamour for this new year. And let us tell you: we’re all here for that, honey.
In the PIN-UP GUINEA PIGS CALENDAR 2021 you will experience month by month an increase in health, money and love, just by looking at us. Great things will happen. Many great things! We wish you a splendid new year and don’t forget to turn the page every month. It’s such a power move, XoXo.

(Only vegan, animal friendly, and cruelty-free products were used. Animals were not harmed and treated with love and respect.)

LUDIFIED

LUDIFIED offers a comprehensive insight into the artistic research project “GAPPP–Gamified Audiovisual Performance and Performance Practice” which was based at the Institute of Electronic Music and Acoustics of the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz from 2016-2020. In this project, a team of artists and researchers set themselves the task of exploring the artistic potential of elements from computer games in the context of audiovisual composition and performance. The examination of almost twenty artistic works that have arisen in connection with this project has led to numerous findings, which are not only reproduced here textually but also aesthetically.

In addition to various texts by the core team consisting of Marko Ciciliani, Barbara Lüneburg and Andreas Pirchner, LUDIFIED also presents texts, pictures and sketches by guests who accompanied the project. The integrated USB stick contains high-quality documentation of audiovisual works that were of particular importance for the project. Numerous illustrations and the integration of an augmented reality part complete the aesthetic impression on the one hand, and on the other, convey the process of creative and research work.

The book is divided into two main parts, one in which the project is introduced in general, and various methodological research approaches are set against works by different artists. Another part is exclusively dedicated to Marko Ciciliani, the head of the research project, who contributed numerous newly created audiovisual compositions to the project and thus set significant focal points in the research.

Also, it contains an USB-Stick and Augmented Reality–for those who wonder.

Woodcut Vibes

Roman Klonek, born in Kattowitz / Poland, has a spot for old fashioned cartoons and modern block printing styles. In the 90s he studied Graphic Arts in Dusseldorf and discovered a passion for woodcut. With this book the Dusseldorf-based artist gives a detailed insight into the working process and the background of his woodcut prints.

The woodcut technique is particularly interesting, as it is primarily known as a “very old” medium and therefore often creates a surprise effect, especially with contemporary motifs. Feel invited to follow the pages about a variety of whimsical characters, often half animal / half human in preferably curious surroundings and embarrassing situations.

A bizarre balancing act between propaganda, folklore and pop!

Sunflowers—Artist print

Working across photography, moving-image, wheatpasting, and text, Dorrell Merritt’s work explores, incorporates and often blurs the lines within a range of genres, primarily by way of staging or orchestration. Themes such as nature, sexuality, voyeurism, identity, and the uncanny regularly manifest within his works. He has exhibited in galleries across the U.K and have had works reviewed and published by platforms such as Outpost, Source.ie, Optology Magazine, Aint Bad and more.

Sunflowers (2019) photograph, by London-based visual artist & writer, Dorrell Merritt.

Edition of 3 signed, numbered and dated prints.
Will be shipped flat, unless requested otherwise.

Moving Pictures – The complete film posters of Hans Hillmann

Between 1954 and 1974, Hans Hillmann designed over 150 film posters for masterpieces of cinema—including films by Jean-Luc Godard, Luis Buñuel, Alfred Hitchcock, Sergio Leone, Ingmar Bergman, Orson Welles, and Akira Kurosawa. In the early 1950s, while still a student, Hillmann began designing posters for the newly founded film distributor Neue Filmkunst Walter Kirchner. With little or no intervention by the client he had the freedom to create unique graphic design solutions. He used drawing, photography and typography in a complementary interaction and quickly gained international recognition. In his twenty years of work for Neue Filmkunst, he revolutionized poster design for independent movies and became one of the trailblazers of modern graphic design in Germany after the Second World War.

This book shows, for the first time, all of Hans Hillmann’s film posters. Unpublished sketches and drafts from his estate along with commentary from conversations and interviews provide an insight into the creative process of the award-winning designer. His principle to “compete with himself” and to develop different approaches for each task is a universal and timeless leitmotif for all designers and can be explored in the best possible way here. With over 300 illustrations, reproduced and printed in the highest quality, the book presents one of the most remarkable oeuvres in graphic design history.

Tonight at Merlin

Over the course of a year, graphic designers Mark Bohle and Raffael Kormann designed posters for all concerts at the music and arts venue Kulturzentrum Merlin in Stuttgart. The publication “Tonight at Merlin” captures this noticeable collection. For each of the 80 posters, some of which have been awarded internationally, the publication offers an honest glimpse into the visual making-of and the corresponding thoughts behind. Moreover the publication is linked to the bands and their posters, enabling the reader to listen to the corresponding sound while deep diving into the artworks.

Three essays by Arne Hübner (booking Merlin, designer and DJ), Niklaus Troxler (poster designer and founder of the Jazz festival Willisau), and Das bisschen Totschlag (Brunchpop-Band) contextualise this stimulating symbiosis of visual communication, music, and popular culture.

“The present publication ‘Tonight at Merlin’ shows an impressive annual production by a design team that draws on unlimited with high design standards.” —Niklaus Troxler

The 41st Annual of the Type Directors Club

The Type Directors Club of NY reinvents itself. The TDC book as a classic remains! Excellent typography, nothing else.

Design competitions are now a dime a dozen, but one shines as a beacon in the world of typography: that of the Type Directors Club of New York. Founded in 1946 as an informal lunch meeting of typo-savvy agency creatives, the TDC focuses on judging typographic quality. A TDC Award accelerates graphic design careers. The 41st Annual of the Type Directors Club showcases the latest winning work from book design to packaging and posters to exhibition concepts, interactive applications, and corporate design.

It is a trend seismograph, inspiration and yardstick, documentation of zeitgeist and quality timelessness in design. Because quality craftsmanship unites the works that make it into the book. Cutting edge is allowed, but without skill it is worth nothing. Regularly leafing through the book sharpens your eye for detail—and inspires your work.

The TDC is unbiased and unprejudiced. Simply the best wins!

character#02

character#02 is the second specimag by Character Type—a blend of type magazine and a typeface specimen. Their rich archive of collected typeface specimens and type magazines has inspired them to marry the two into one creative space and share some recent type-related thoughts and insights, while introducing Character Type’s newest typeface super family NewsSerif.

character#02 features a photographic essay by Bettina Theuerkauf about the self-destructive tendencies of modern society. We also look at the history of type families and also work our way through the concept of variable fonts.

Zweitakt

Thirty years after the German reunification, the name Simson is immediately associated with the legendary two-wheelers which today have acquired an iconic status even in the West of Germany. The cult surrounding the many different versions of the Simson moped, produced at the Suhl factory, appears to grow steadily. This product of the GDR attracts increasing fascination the more time goes by since the eclipse of the regime.
Simson clubs continue to mushroom everywhere in the East and West of the country. Adjusting screws, painting, polishing, riding, partying, and enjoying the collective spirit–these are what the Simson community are all about. The Simson moped unites people of all social classes as well as the young and old alike.
The hype around the moped is not based on nostalgia for everything retro from the former East–a phenomenon called “Ostalgia”. Shortly after the reunification, the vehicle already enjoyed a great degree of popularity among people in western Germany almost unrivalled by any other eastern product. With its distinctive look, the moped rapidly became a design icon promising a lifestyle of youthful liberty and metropolitan flair in countless cinema and TV films.

Maren Katerbau’s book is a photographic tribute to the moped, affectionally known as the Simme. She has visited Simson enthusiasts everywhere from Munich to Stralsund and has made portraits of them while working on their mopeds, riding them, and exchanging know-how. The result is a truly exceptional volume, a loving homage not only to the Simme, but also to its faithful custodians.

– A photographic tribute to the Simme
– The book on the iconic GDR moped
– An ode for the people of the East and West

Coffee Table »Klabunde«

The sculptural »Klabunde« Side Table takes on a new appearance from each angle at which it is viewed. Flexible in use, it is blending most perfectly with corners.

Made in Germany
Each product is especially handcrafted for you, so please allow 2-4 weeks for production.
Powder-coated in RAL color.

Cap »Cancel«

When your life gets cancelled, buy this cap and wear it with proud. Not to be confused with a famous french fashion Brand.

hinzkunst Curved Classic Snapback
Embroidered in Germany