Internacional Dise単o Kultur
Internacional Dise単o Kultur
Foreword — Jonathan Finch
I
Internacional Disñeo Kultur — A look at independent studio culture and contextual influences from around the world.
Two subjects that interest me most are design and geography. Thus studying where these themes overlap has created a focal point around which to base my contextual publication that documents influences on my design practice over the past three years. Where you are born; Where you grow up; Where you study; Where you work; Where you visit — The impact that location has upon design culture intrigues me a great deal. Decisions behind a choice of colour or typeface and and how they are applied, or a certain message or tone that is delivered through graphic design varies wildly between cities and countries and is inevitably influenced by local culture. But I am interested to learn what extent does this affect their personal practice as a designer and how does it manifest itself in their work? Also, are they concious of their location shaping their practice day-to-day and would they distinguish their work as being identifiable to a certain geographic region? The contemporary design industry – like all things – has been revolutionised by globalisation which has led to a much more connected world. Most explicitly, the internet has turned graphic design on its head. Never before had designers been able to share or see what is happening with everyone at such a rapid pace. Before, it would have been books and periodicals documenting changes in the industry but now there is the opportunity to be perpetually informed of new work, trends and technology through unlimited blogs, forums and websites. This has led to what some would call a ‘global design culture’. Since everybody can now see instantly what each other is doing, boundaries have started to blur and design work that is identifiable to different geographic areas is harder to distinguish. This change undoubtly has its benefits since it is stressed to us that design is about communication and through our work we should be able to communicate with almost anyone. Whilst I broadly agree with this, personally I enjoy looking at design that evidences detail that you would only get through being a graphic designer that has lived in a certain place and experienced everything that would go along with it. I suggest it probably reverts to a yearning for integrity and originality in your work that most designers strive for. A specific local culture determined by a specific geographic location can add something to your work that is more personal which I think is key. Being able to identify personality in a piece of work is more likely to speak to someone more effectively and subsequently fulfil the role of communication in design anyway. This book only begins to scratch the surface of the relationship between design and geography and the questions it raises, but through a visual showcase that is intersected by articles and interviews with graphic designers from different corners of the globe, I hope to have made a start.
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Contents
Foreword —
Jonathan Finch
I
North America —
Working Format Established Manual Studio Lin Triboro
Page — 06/09 Page — 10/11 Page — 12/13 Page — 14/15 Page — 16/19
Latin America —
Anagrama Face Manifiesto Futura Menosunoceruono Campo Quadradão México ‘68, Eye Magazine
Page — 22/25 Page — 26/29 Page — 30/31 Page — 32/33 Page — 34/35 Page — 36/37 Page — 38/41
UK —
Berg Mind No Days Off Teacake
Page — 44/45 Page — 46/47 Page — 48/51 Page — 52/53
Scandinavia —
Heydays Lundgren & Lindqvist Stockholm Design Lab Bond Agency Tsto
Page — 56/57 Page — 58/59 Page — 61/62 Page — 63/66 Page — 67/68
Central Europe —
Mucho Helmo Raw Color Britta Siegmund Deutsche & Japaner Anymade
Page — 70/71 Page — 72/73 Page — 74/77 Page — 78/79 Page — 80/81 Page — 82/83
Asia —
Foreign Policy IdN Magazine
Page — 86/89 Page — 90/91
Oceania —
Coöp Fabio Ongarato Maud Toko
Page — 94/95 Page — 96/97 Page — 98/99 Page — 100/101
Acknowledgements
—
Page — 102/103
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North America Vancouver, Canada — Working Format New York City, USA — Established, Studio Lin, Triboro San Francisco, USA — Manual
UK Glasgow, Scotland — Berg Leeds, England — Golden London, England — Mind, No Days Off Manchester, England — Teacake
Latin America Monterrey, México — Anagrama, Face, Manifiesto Futura, Menosunocerouno Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — Campo São Paulo, Brazil — Quadradão
World Map — Locations & Studios
Page 03
Scandinavia Oslo, Norway — Heydays Stockholm, Sweden — Stockholm Design Lab Gothenberg, Sweden — Lundgren & Lindqvist Helsinki, Finland — Bond, Tsto
Central Europe Barcelona, Spain — Mucho Paris, France — Helmo Eindhoven, The Netherlands — Raw Color Berlin, Germany —‚ Britta Siegmund Mannheim, Germany — Deutsch & Japaner Prague, Czech Republic — Anymade
Asia Singapore City, Singapore — Foreign Policy Hong Kong, China — IdN Magazine
Oceania Melbourne, Australia — Coöp, Fabio Ongarato Sydney, Australia — Maud, Toko
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North America
North America
Page 05
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Working Format Working Format is a Vancouver-based design studio founded by Abi Huynh, Grace Partridge & Ross Milne specializing in graphic design, art direction and type design for print and screen. Working Format collaborates with creative agencies and clients throughout North America and Europe, producing a diverse body of work across cultural and commercial fields. Working Format 1090 Hornby St. Vancouver, British Columbia V6Z 1V6, Canada workingformat.com studio@workingformat.com
Mannam / Meeting Exhibition
+1 604 566 2648
North America — Vancouver, Canada
Page 07 — Working Format
Interview conducted via email with one of the founders of Working Format, Ross Milne.
What’s the story behind your studio name? When we set up on our own, we found it daunting to think that decisions we made early would be with us for 15 or 20 years. Among other things, the name Working Format was a way of avoiding this. Can you roughly describe a breakdown of your working process? Our name also suggests that everything is in flux, that the studio can and will change direction and that at the core of what we do is a process. Is there a particular influence or focus that has led you to your current work? I’ve always been interested in the distinction between Italian and French traditions in cooking. In the latter, the chef is the hero, something that has led to an array of methods and complex techniques. Italian cooking on the other hand seems to celebrate the ingredient itself. Our studio mantra — if we have one — is to use good quality ingredients, cooked as little as possible. Could you describe your studio environment and the impact that the physical space has upon your creativity? We’re very accustomed to working in a variety of environments, though good lighting is a must. Are you conscious of your geographical location shaping your design practice in any way? This is a tough one. Because we’ve been educated and have worked professionally in foreign countries (Holland and the United States), we are very sensitive of the unique visual culture from one place to the next, though find it difficult to say how Canada’s has influenced our work. We’ll rely on others for that. How would you describe Canada’s current graphic design scene to somebody who has no experience of it? Canada has an uneasy relationship to its own visual culture. It’s a very large country with few people relative to its size. It often looks to its geography for inspiration and just as the geography varies, so does the visual culture. Young studios are starting to emerge, led largely by those out of Montreal. In Vancouver, a number of strong studios are establishing themselves with an awareness of work being produced elsewhere, be it Montreal or beyond. Are you particularly influenced or inspired by the design scenes of any other countries? Having spent time in the Netherlands, it’s impossible not to be
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amazed at the way graphic design is integrated into the county’s identity. French and Japanese design carry a lightheartedness that we find admirable. Has the internet limited individuality and created a global design scene where geographical position and local culture no longer impact upon the work produced? The internet has helped small studios find each other and break from the traditions of larger, established studios. Because the internet allows you to focus so intensely on what you’re already interested in, it’s easy to neglect the range of ideas, styles and opinions that make international graphic design so diverse. It also makes trends that much more ubiquitous. Do you consider the work of your studio to have a certain ‘style’? I’m sure it does, though as Working Format is the sum of its parts, we try to let the individual voices carry through. How would you sum up the attitude and direction of Working Format? Young and beautiful. By Any Other Name
North America — Vancouver, Canada
Page 09 — Working Format
The Cheaper Show
Royal Academy Of Art Type Specimen
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Established Established was set up in 2005 by Sam O’Donahue and Becky Jones. A full service boutique agency, Established offers Architectural, Graphic and Product design under one roof that merge to create comprehensive brand identities which are fully realised over multiple applications. Established 401 Broadway Suite 800 New York City, New York 10013, USA establishednyc.com hello@establishednyc.com +1 212 633 0373
Round Hill Music Stationery
North America — New York City, USA
Page 11 — Established
Laughing Man Stationery & Packaging Round Hill Music Identitty
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Manual Manual is a design and visual communication studio. Our work strives to uncover the intangible essence of a brand and express it through unique visual solutions. Through our process of conceptual design thinking, we help businesses and organisations articulate their Wo Hing: Store Identity
unique offering, giving them more value and distinction. Manual Creative 340 Bryant Street, Suite 205 San Francisco, California, 94107, USA manualcreative.com info@manualcreative.com +1 415 932 6369
North America — San Francisco, USA
Page 13 — Manual
The Slanted Door: Restaurant Branding Wo Hing: Stationery
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Studio Lin Studio Lin’s approach is founded on a desire to explore new territory through challenging collaborations with creative visionaries in the fields of architecture, industrial design, art and fashion. Behind every Studio Lin design is a highly defined rationale but not a singular style — a common denominator is a fresh, modern sensibility. Studio Lin 11th floor, 164 west 25th Street, New York City, New York 10001, USA studiolin.org info@studiolin.org +1 646 266 1425
Fab Manifesto Posters
North America — New York City, USA
Page 15 — Studio Lin
2012 Calendar
American Design Club Gift Fair Poster
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Triboro Triboro is the husband and wife team of David Heasty and Stefanie Weigler. Triboro creates design solutions for clients in publishing, art, fashion, music, lifestyle, and for cultural institutions. The studio excels both in building inspiring brands from the ground-up and in shepherding established brands into new territories. Triboro Design Solutions 239 Nassau Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11222, USA triborodesign.com hi@triborodesign.com
Poster Of Fortune
+1 718 389 7163
North America — New York City, USA
Page 17 — Triboro
Interview conducted via email with the creative director of Triboro, David Heasty.
What’s the story behind your studio name? Triboro is a common identifier in New York affixed to various businesses and locations (literally meaning 3 boroughs). We are based in a post-industrial area of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Many of the industrial businesses here are called Triboro Floor Tiling, Triboro Custom Shelving, etc. So we thought that since the neighborhood is in the process of transition — from an industrial based economy to a creative economy — it might be interesting to repurpose the term and preserve a link to the past. Can you roughly describe a breakdown of your working process? First we get briefed by the client. We like this part of the process, observing how they dress, their tastes and inspirations. Then we go back and brainstorm ideas that we think will address the problems/parameters/audience of the project but in a way that is (hopefully) unique. We do a lot of work for start-ups and we like this best because we are starting with a blank slate — helping to build a brand from the ground up is very satisfying and we really enjoy working with entrepreneurs. Usually our ideas come from a strategic place which is helpful when selling the client on the concept. We try to embrace objective reasoning not subjective tastes. When the client understands that the design we are presenting has some rational foundation they are usually confident in accepting the design outright. Is there a particular influence or focus that has led you to your current work? No, we approach each project with an open mind and try to come up with a solution that surprises us but is appropriate to the client/problem. Could you describe your studio environment and the impact that the physical space has upon your creativity? We have a combined live/work studio space and love it. There are no boundaries, and life and work are combined in a symbiotic mess of good vibes and creative chaos. Are you conscious of your geographical location shaping your design practice in any way? Absolutely, we are very inspired by the New York mentality (full speed ahead) and the New York aesthetic (an eclectic visual chaos) and being here is intensely stimulating. The energy of the people and environment is slightly addictive. We work a lot with start-ups and entrepreneurs are an enthusiastic bunch and there are a lot of new businesses starting all the time. Also New York is home to a wide variety of industries and we enjoy working with as many of them as possible. The opportunities that New
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York provides we could not replicate in another location. I think to your question, designers should acknowledge the influence location has on their work. Sometimes we don’t notice it but it is always there. In a city as diverse as New York and a country as vast as the US, is it possible to notice any recent trends in graphic design? It’s hard to generalize about the the rest of the U.S. but it really feels like an “anything goes” atmosphere in New York. Maybe there are companies focusing on a particular style, but we find that clients are generally open to any approach that feels appropriate to their business. Do you draw inspiration from any certain traditions or aspects of culture or design that is distinctly American? We are inspired by all sorts of things, but probably not anything specifically related to American design history. Certain local vernacular aesthetics we find fascinating, for example the midcentury hand-painted signage that adorns many of the industrial buildings in our neighborhood, or local supermarket posters. But usually we look more to creative output done outside graphic
1 Colour New York Subway Map
design. Movies from Kubrick or collections from Alexander McQueen offer much more sustenance in our opinion. Are you particularly influenced or inspired by the design scenes of any other countries? Not influenced, but we really respect some of the work that comes out of Tokyo. But really there seems to be interesting work coming from everywhere these days. Has the internet limited individuality and created a global design scene where geographical position and local culture no longer impact upon the work produced? It seems more that everyone is feeding off everyone. We are not so attuned to the trends of the moment but sometimes you see a type treatment done by designers in Berlin or somewhere and then the next week you receive a student portfolio that looks exactly the same. The dissemination of stylistic conceits seems to be somthing that has been around awhile. When we were students we saw it with Carson’s work or Designer’s Republic, now it just happens much faster with the blog/ internet culture.
North America — New York City
Page 19 — Triboro
BLK Denim Identity
Do you consider the work of your studio to have a certain ‘style’? We have a conceptual approach, a way of coming to ideas that seems to create a consistency in our work but we usually hear from others that our work lacks a singular visual style. If true, we are fine with this. Style is overrated. We get bored easily and look for opportunities to try new things and surprise ourselves and our clients. If clients approached us looking for a particular style this would take all the fun out of the creative process. How would you sum up the attitude and direction of Triboro? Who knows? Categorizing ourselves is not very interesting. We would rather put our work out there and let people judge for themselves.
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Latin America
Latin America
Page 21
Theurel & Thomas Interior
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Anagrama Founded in 2008, Anagrama is described as a brand intelligence group that aims to deliver highly a personalised service. Their set up includes professionals from a variety of creative backgrounds that combine to produce work that is incredibly well considered from every viewpoint. Francisco Naranjo 224, Colonia San Pedro, San Pedro Garza García, Nueva León 66230, México. anagrama.com Theurel & Thomas Branding
hello@anagrama.com +52 (81) 8336 6666
Latin America — Monterrey, México
Page 23 — Anagrama
Interview extracted from Computer Arts Projects magazine issue 152 (Print Design) pages 46 – 53, Written by Garrick Webster.
Cast aside your preconceptions about Mexican style. The lucha libra costumes, imagery of Dia de los Muertos and tattoo art of Latino street culture have a certain visual flair. But they’ve quickly become clichés and if you look inside México itself you’ll uncover a far more sophisticated design culture evolving. Here, you’ll find Anagrama is a great example – an emerging studio that oozes class and consistency in everything it does. “We do not see design as being reggionally defined. Design must firstly be functional and it must communicate no matter what language you speak,” says designer Miguel ‘Mike’ Herrera. “When we see projects by Stockholm Design Lab or BVD, we think everything should be done that way. We love how history gave Switzerland, Germany, England and France a chance to be innovators in the fields of information design and typography.” Herrera’s comment is a great clue as to what inspires the studio and it always shows throuh in the effusion of wonderful typography that comes out of their work. The other co-founders of Anagrama are Gustavo Muñoz who runs the business and project management side of things and Sebástian Padilla who, like Herrera, is a self-confessed design perfectionist. The trio’s long list of international influences covers everything from Mies van de Rohe to Metallica, Haruki Murakami and Joseph Muller Brockman, with a little Daft Punk, Call of Duty and old calligraphy thrown in for good measure. The studio was founded in 2008 after Muñoz and Padilla had collaborated on a few projects together. They brought in Herrera and set up in a spare bedroom at Muñoz’s house.Three years on and the studio has moved into a new twostorey house in the downtown area of San Pedro Garza Garcia, in the Nuevo León region near Monterrey. During that time they’ve been joined by three more graphic designers, two web developers and an extended team that includes an architect and two industrial designers. Anagrama’s business is small but, as the saying goes, perfectly formed. It enables the team to get right inside projects and offer a service that bigger studios cannot: “Small is not a representation of expertise or success. For us, in part, it is a way of letting our client know that we are comitted to delivering ultra-high-quality work and giving them personalised attention” explains Muñoz. “When evaluating projects, we make sure that we have a connection with our client and that the project will be executed with great results.” The main focus is on brand development and this has three elements – consistency, attention to detail and process. quite new in the Mexican market, but there are still plenty of opportunities in the country for studios that can
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achieve high quality brand design. As an agency that recognises this, Anagrama positions itself as part of an emerging cultureshift in Mexican design. However, because Mexico is still a developing country, there are plenty of challenges. Anagrama are involved in exciting new commissions that will see their profile grow within México and internationally. “We hope to become a reference point for Latin American and international design,” says Muñoz. “We’d love to expand into other countries, establishing offices and to keep expanding our multi-disciplinary team, whilst being extremely careful to maintain the quality of our work. We’d love to get involved in airlines, hotels and the Olympics.”
For the love of print: “We greatly appreciate how digital gives us infinate graphical possibilities, but in the end we feel print involves much more creativity,” reflects Miguel Herrera. “Many other variables and parameters must be considered, such as textures, dimensions, cuts and finishes. These add depth to the experience and communication potential of the designed pieces.” MTLL Architects Branding
Latin America — Monterrey, México
Page 25 — Anagrama
La Fabrica Del Taco Menus
Nemesis Identity
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Face Founded in 2006, Face is an intelligence-driven supermodernist design studio based in Monterrey, Mexico whose work range includes, design solutions, advertising, editorial projects and custom publishing, corporate identity, web design and brand development. Face Creative SA de CV Vasconcelos 204B, Second Floor, Bosques del Valle 1er Sector, San Pedro Garza García, Nueva León México designbyface.com rik@designbyface.com Face, 5 Year Anniversary
+ 52 (81) 8356 1001
Latin America — Monterrey, México
Page 27 — Face
Interview conducted via email with the creative director of Face, Rik Bracho.
What’s the story behind your studio name? Face was the last option we came up with actually, but as soon as we had it, we knew it was the perfect name for us. The story is very basic, we wanted a universal name that wasn’t really obvious about design, but that had something in it that could say something about aesthetics. Face is the most important feature to remember a person, it says a lot of things and it’s the main feature that makes us fall in love with someone. In a metaphorical way, we create those faces for our clients. Can you roughly describe a breakdown of your working process? We have a method and a formula based in tools, but we’re humans, and the client doesn’t always know what he wants or needs. Is there a particular influence or focus that has led you to your current work? Yes and no, we are all influenced by everything that the world has to offer, from competitors to teachers to inspiration of all kinds and shapes, we like to admire the basic rules and work that the geniuses did and left for us. Could you describe your studio environment and the impact that the physical space has upon your creativity? Our studio is inside an old brick building, which is something not that common in Monterrey. We redesigned some of the spaces and designed the desks, added some color and a few more things to make it look and feel comfortable. The environment is very relaxed, we try to have music all day, to chat about projects, things around us, etc. We have whiteboards and blackboards to write stuff and discuss our projects, and we try to have some beers once every week, to unplug for a few minutes or hours and talk about more than design. Are you conscious of your geographical location shaping your design practice in any way? Yes, but actually I think so far it has been good. Monterrey is an average city, not so bad, not so good, but the people (specifically the designers) are very aspirational, and we like to investigate and asbsorb what the world has to offer. The bad thing is that sometimes it’s hard to have better challenges and projects to design for. How would you describe Mexico’s current graphic design scene to somebody who has no experience of it? It’s divided into: Monterrey, Mexico City and the rest of the republic. Monterrey has the upper hand here, and it’s not only because we’re there. There at least five or ten amazing and
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internationally acclaimed studios in this city, and we are kicking Mexico’s ass in a good way. Do you draw inspiration from any certain traditions or aspects of Mexico’s design history? Not really, I mean, it depends. If the project needs something, we’ll look for the right resources to be inspired. Mexico has a lot of history, tradition and folklore to work with. Are you particularly influenced or inspired by the design scenes of any other countries? Well, we love Swiss design, but nowadays Swiss design is very international. We love the Bauhaus, Modernism (European and American) and we love Japanese design too. Has the internet limited individuality and created a global design scene where geographical position and local culture no longer impact upon the work produced? Internet is great. Globalization is amazing these days, you can be anybody anywhere in the world doing amazing things and the world can see your work and you can be reached. But even with this flexibility, where you are is always a very important factor to the things you create and inspire your work. Do you consider the work of your studio to have a certain ‘style’? We call it supermodernism. But it’s actually based in modernism with a human touch, it’s based in honesty and aesthetics. How would you sum up the attitude of Face? We are in love with what we do, and we want to do it better everyday.
Page. The Magazine
Latin America — Monterrey, México
Page 29 — Face
Hardpop Club Identity Page. The Magazine
MF Self-Promotion
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Manifiesto Futura The goal of Manifiesto Futura is to make the best of Mexican design, to change the shapes, strategies, the narrative… through clear messages and smart incentives. Yet to keep the mexican character, wit, and the charisma intact. Manifiesto Futura Col. Obispado Monterrey, Nueva León. México mfutura.mx hola@mfutura.mx +52 (81) 8881 7097
Studio Typography Project
Latin America — Monterrey, México
Page 31 — Manifiesto Futura
Joy Motion Graphics Branding
Manifiesto Futura Identity
Chinolatino Menus
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Menosunoceruono Menosunocerouno is an advertising agency, branding boutique, editorial house and digital agency designed as a one-stop-shop. They say their structure allows them to speak four languages: Business, Strategy, Creativity and Design. Menosunocerouno Pablo, Moncayo 135, Colinas de San Jer贸nimo 11O. Monterrey, Nuevo Le贸n, M茅xico menosunocerouno.com hello@menosunocerouno.com + 52 (81) 8478 0513
Chinolatino Restaurant Identity
Latin America — Monterrey, México
Page 33 — Menosunocerouno
Just In Case. Apocolypse Branding
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Csmpo is the small but exciting Brazillian design agency of Carolina Aboarrage & Paula Tinoco. They work across a variety of media but their practice is often characterised by innovative and colourful print-based formats for work within the culture sector that sits in a contemporary, Latin-American style.
Campo R/ Minas Gerais, 364 sala 4 Higien贸polis SP Rio de Janeiro 01244-010, Brazil nocampo.com.br contacto@nocampo.com.br + 55 (11) 2478 1772
Grupo Vegas Business Cards
Latin America — Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Page 35 — Campo
Campo Poster Series Vermelho Gallery Identity
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Established in 2008, Quadradão was founded by three university colleagues in São Paulo, Brazil. They claim to be able to design anything from a poster to a chair and act as a one-stop shop for everything from sourcing materials to the execution of a project.
Quadradão Rua Frei Caneca, 667, casa 6
Brazillian Museum Poster Competition
Consolação São Paulo, SP Brazil .quadradao.com.br quadradao@quadradao.com + (55) 11 2501 3180
Latin America — São Paulo, Brazil
Page 37 — Quadradão
Latin American Contemporary Music Meeting
Poster Module Series
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As a graphic designer, my interests lay primarily within design for identity and promotion. The identity created for the México 1968 Olympic Games is up until this point my single favourite piece of graphic design which led to me covering this topic for my dissertation. It ties in neatly with the context of this publication since location plays a huge part in designing for the Olympics as each host city attempts to define itself on a global stage. The hugely successful identity developed for México changed peoples perception of the country for decades to come and the reasons behind it’s success are docuented in the following article extracted from Eye Magazine.
This is 1968. . .This is México Linking Huichol imagery to Op Art gave the México Olympics a memorable graphic identity, by Carolina Rivas, Daoud Sarhandi, (Eye Magazine 56) Of all Olympic events staged in living memory, Mexico 1968 – the XIX Olympiad – is one of the most fondly and best remembered. Not because it was the Olympiad where a woman first lit the Olympic flame, nor because more world records were broken in Mexico than in any other prior Olympiad, nor even because of the clenched-fist, Black Panther salutes of two African American athletes whose names almost nobody now recalls. México ‘68 sticks in the mind because the originality and cogency of its system of communication converted it into a paradigm of modern graphic and event design. If we define communication as ‘a connection allowing access between persons or places’, then México ‘68 communicated supremely. It connected people with people, places with places, and each with the other as logically, elegantly and joyfully as may be possible. Above all, the value of the design was in the concept and construction of a graphic system within which every design element was integrated into a general proposal. The proposal delivered a jolt through the ingenuity of its imagery. Beneath the general proposal, there was a profound aesthetic sensation: contemporary Mexico. The perfectly balanced combination of the general and the subliminal generated a secret and immediate influence: the graphic surprise. The visual publicity contained a language created from provocative images; and yet from one image to another, within the eye of any beholder, anywhere, it produced a state of constant enunciation: ‘This is the Olympics. This is Mexico. This is 1968.’
In July 1966, when Arquitecto Pedro Ramírez Vázquez was suddenly and unexpectedly appointed to take over the presidency of the Organising Committee for the Games of the xix Olympiad (after the original head stood down due to poor health), he understood quite clearly that his overarching responsibility was the presentation of Mexico’s image in the world. ‘Of least importance was the Olympic competition; the records fade away, but the image of a country does not,’ he recently told us. In a number of big cities, on more than one continent, 1968 was a year defined by intense social restlessness. In the face of Mexico’s own student-led, anti-government, pro-social justice movement (that just ten days before the Games started, resulted in a military massacre of more than 300 persons, which very nearly caused the Games to be cancelled), and confronted with the rejection of Mexico as a viable Olympic site by much of the world (due to Mexico’s cited ‘Third World’ status, its lack of basic infrastructure, and the oxygen-thin altitude of a capital city plagued by chronic material poverty), the Mexico Olympics were born. As Ramírez Vázquez puts it: ‘The challenge in 1968 was not the sport; for Mexico the challenge was to stage the Olympics.’ This was the primary motivation for shaking the viewer with surprising graphic images – images that were held in place by a communication system encompassing every aspect of design – from stamps, cultural events programmes, posters, uniforms, sculptures, signage and bumper stickers to balloons, street lighting and souvenirs.
Alfonso Soto Sorio: The Huichol Source
Latin America — México ‘68
Page 39 — Eye Magazine
When did Pedro Ramírez Vázquez first invite you to collaborate on the Olympic programme? In 1966, after he took over the Games. I was working at the National Museum of Anthropology. He knew that among other things I had designed and mounted the Museum’s Huichol exhibits. So one day he called to ask me if I could bring some Huichol to help develop the logotype. And so I made contact with them.
Pedro Ramirez Vazquez : Integral Design
How did your relationship with the Huichol start? I was travelling in their territories in the 1950s, when it was very difficult to reach them. And in 1962 I was responsible for organising some of the first exhibitions of Huichol art. Ramírez Vázquez mentioned one Huichol in particular who worked on the Olympic identity. His name was Pedro De Haro. He was chief of a Huichol community called San Sebastian, el Haute. Most of the Huichol are divided between five towns, and the most traditional is San Sebastian, in the state of Jalisco. Pedro De Haro was my assistant when I was designing the Huichol room in the Museum of Anthropology, and working alongside him at that time were a group of young Huichol. They carried out the reconstruction of traditional Huichol dwellings. What was Pedro Ramírez Vázquez’s original proposal? He suggested we develop some ideas for the Olympic identity, along the lines of the art the Huichol normally create: using lines and the sorts of colours they like to use. How did you start to work? I made contact with Pedro De Haro, and I explained that we were attempting to create a logotype for the Olympics and Mexico, and that as part of this process we were looking to produce a series of Huichol tablas [small squares of wood covered in a sticky resin; into this resin the Huichol push coloured beads or lengths of dyed yarn]. For this reason De Haro came to Mexico City with two Huichol. But there were others living here at the time, too. And so the Huichol artists followed his ideas, and between them produced a series of tablas, integrating the number ‘68’ with the five Olympic rings. When was the first time you saw the ‘6 ‘and the ‘8’ integrated with the rings in this way? In Ramírez Vázquez’s office. One day he picked up a pencil and sketched this idea. But in reality the fusion of the numbers with the rings was perfected by the Huichol in their tablas, because they work with concentric lines as a matter of course. The fusion was essentially created through their way of seeing the world.
What was your immediate intention when you accepted the presidency of the Olympic Organising Committee? When Mexico was granted the Olympics in 1964, the whole world protested about a ‘Third World’ country having been given the honour of staging the Games. I was worried about international rejection. So in 1966 my primary intention was to find an image for Mexico. I had to give it an image that would immediately provoke surprise, an image that was effective. ‘We are going to need very good publicity,’ I thought. How was the graphic design concept originally defined? Reflection on the concept was very easy: we were going to address the whole world. So we had the task of finding a language that the whole world could understand. We needed everyone to identify us as ‘Mexico’, but also as a modern, current, contemporary country. At that time, in New York, in Paris and London – throughout the Western world – popular art was Op Art; that was the language of the time. And looking at it more closely, I realised that Op Art uses convergent, divergent, parallel and concentric lines, just like art of the Huichol Indians. In the late 1960s the two styles collided. And so the concept was born from this coincidence of time, you could say. Having decided this direction, with Alfonso Soto Sorio’s help we had Huichol artists work out the first drafts of the logotype design. Once we had the basic design concept down, the next important aspect of its development was the extension of the letters. It certainly wasn’t easy, and this idea was developed by Eduardo Terrazas. The application of the concept was then realised by Lance Wyman. How did you begin to spread information on an international level? First we made a small folded pamphlet which contained both cultural and logistical information. In it we included an impression of Mexican culture – architecture, painting, sculpture, literature, whatever – alongside a description of the preparations being made for the Olympics. In collaboration with ibm, we drew up a directory of the 106 International Olympic Committee member-countries that were going to participate in Mexico. And every fifteen days we sent a pamphlet to selected people in these countries, with 28 countries targeted as the most important. We asked each country’s embassy for a list of their most influential citizens – bankers, businessmen, writers, journalists, athletes, professionals of all types – we sent a copy of our bimonthly pamphlet to each one of them personally. At the time I thought: ‘After seeing the pamphlet so many times, people are
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going to ask, “What is this country? Mexico? What are they doing with the Olympics?”’ That is how we began to disseminate information on an international level. The envelope we sent also included a little bell as a gift. In this way we lingered in the minds of influential people all over the world. And that was the beginning of our integral design system. What exactly do you mean by ‘integral design’? I mean that we were attempting not only to develop a sign or a pamphlet or a poster, we also had to find a way to adorn the city; a way to design the transportation; we had to design sales kiosks, stamps, tickets, uniforms, street signs; everything! You name it! We wanted the whole world to remember the event and through the event to remember Mexico. That is how it became ‘integral’. I remember calling Eduardo Terrazas. I told him we needed to develop such a system; to develop something that hadn’t been done before in any Olympics. I explained to him that we needed to demonstrate that Mexico could put on a very original Olympics. Not only for the sports events, but in all ways, in every aspect of Mexican life. Terrazas finished things he was doing in New York and started work with us. And his vision was hugely important for the whole development of the idea of integral design. What was the background to designing the symbols for the sporting events? The background for these symbols – as well as the twenty cultural event symbols – can also be found in our pre-Hispanic past, in its glyphic systems of communication. Initially, when we had to design the symbols for the twenty sports, I met a designer called Jesús Vilchis. He was working with Manuel Villazon at the Iberoamericana university. Well, Jesús suggested something very intelligent; he said, ‘Each sport has a very different physical movement, but each sport also has a tool.’ What is the basic tool of cycling? The bicycle. What are the basic tools of swimming? The arm and water. What about boxing? Two interconnected arms. Jesús’ suggestion underlines that what is important in design, first and foremost, is the concept; the concept gives any design its foundations. That concept was created by Jesús Vilchis. He came up with the concept and ordered the designs drawn up by the draughtsmen. And where was the México ‘68 lineal typographic font used? Everywhere. The uniformity of the typography was a great device. People saw it and instantly knew that this or that place was an Olympic location. For example, we put up a sign saying ‘Village’. It wasn’t necessary to write ‘Olympic Village’ because the typography instantly identified it as such.
How did you go about decorating the city? We began by putting an orange stripe on the lamp posts along the Periferico [ring road]; a pink stripe on Churubusco; a blue stripe on the way down to Xochimilco. Every lamppost had a stripe of colour. And when people saw these striped lamp posts they asked themselves, ‘What is this all about!?’ ‘Ah, it must be something for traffic control,’ some people probably thought. Not true. The point was for people to think about the Olympics every 30 metres. Billboards were also placed on rooftops. I asked Abel Quezada – a well known cartoonist at the time – to conceptualise them. I said, ‘I don’t want Olympic rings, and I don’t want you to write the name of the Organising Committee anywhere.’ So Quezada depicted joyful scenes that read, ‘Everything is possible in Peace.’ And that phrase announced the Olympic ideal. We wrote it in English, French, Arabic and Chinese, as well as in Spanish. And when our people saw the billboards in other languages they thought, ‘What does this mean!?’ ‘What are they saying!?’ But then they saw the phrase in Spanish they said, ‘Ah! This must be for the Olympics, because foreigners are coming from all over the world.’ They thought about the Olympics, though we never directly said, ‘Think about the Olympics.’ Through these kinds of techniques we got people thinking about the Olympics 30 or 40 times a day, for many months. Eduardo Terrazas: Redeeming popular Méxican art Before you started work, did you and your colleagues make a careful, even ‘scientific’, analysis of previous Olympic design? We looked at some things from Tokyo, and we had a little book about Rome. That was all, I think. And maybe something from Melbourne. But ‘scientific’, no. Some designers do these ‘scientific’ analyses when they design juice cartons, or whatever. But they are selling a product, and need to justify their decisions to a client. We were not selling anything and were lucky enough not to have to justify what we did. Did you not feel you were selling México, or at least selling the Games? Well, the Olympics have to resolve a lot of problems. They have to resolve all the problems related to the architectural infrastructure; they have to provide information to the world and the country about what is going on; they also have to know how to cope with the whole logistical nightmare: 125 nations and their thoroughbred sportspeople and diplomats, 4000 journalists, hundreds of thousands of tourists, etc. And then there is an image which has to satisfy the world, as well as the country itself. It has to be conceived, developed, produced and dissemi-
Latin America — México ‘68
Page 41 — Eye Magazine
nated in such a way that it helps resolve all these problems and its own internal ones. Good design synthesises these things, but is also a thing in itself. Culturally, logistically, politically and aesthetically it is more complex than ‘selling’ anything.
to be about: a modern, democratic Mexico. And Ramírez Vázquez had good political sense – in knowing what this country needed at all times. He was involved in making the University city; he did the Museum of Anthropology; the Museum of Modern Art; and 35,000 prefabricated rural schools, which were built in just one year! And many, many other projects. Ramírez Vázquez was the only person in Mexico who could have got us to the Games.
What for you was the strongest part of the México ‘68 graphic image? México ‘68 was not a graphic image per se. It undervalues it to think of it in this rather limited way. What people forget is that México ‘68 was not just graphic design. It has been presented as that by Lance [Wyman] and a few others, because they are graphic designers, and they understand things only from the graphic design point of view. But México ‘68 was much more than a ‘graphic image’. Could you summarise, then, what México ‘68 implied for you? Above all, as far as I was concerned, it was a political and a cultural statement. Or rather, it was an opportunity to make a political and cultural statement. Which was? Look, whatever we call ‘politics’, Mexico has forgotten that. In the 1930s, the Muralist movement – with [Diego] Rivera, [José Clemente] Orozco, [David Afaro] Siqueiros – began as a political movement. And not just muralists, but architects, illustrators, etc. They were ‘involved’, with a social responsibility, involved with politics and with the people. I think we – some of us Mexicans working on the project – were probably the last of the generation that was dedicated to Mexico. Everything we did was in order to benefit the social and economic situation of Mexico. Today the vast majority of creative people in Mexico are doing things for themselves. They’re not doing things for the people. There’s just no concern for others.
I’d like you to talk a little about your passion for México’s popular arts. In the 1920s and ’30s there was a mini-Renaissance here in the popular arts, with Frida Kahlo and the bohemians of the time. A store even opened in the downtown selling Mexican craft objects. That had never happened before. For most people in Mexico, though, these things were and are considered very far from ‘art’. And for me, too, at one point. I have to say that when I was young – before I lived abroad for six or seven years – I thought the popular, folk arts were shit! But outside Mexico – especially in the Soviet Union, where we organised a phenomenally successful exhibition at the Hermitage – I began to appreciate popular art through the appreciation of others. When I came back to Mexico I wanted to transform Mexico’s perception of its artisan crafts.
So you saw the Olympics in essentially political terms? Absolutely! It was the parting of the waters. The point where something ends and something else begins. When we were doing the Olympics, the last thing that crossed our minds was, ‘Oh, we’re the greatest designers.’ We were trying to organise something that made sense, that had a kind of cultural logic. How do you perceive the special talent of Ramírez Vázquez in terms of México ‘68 ? Ramírez Vázquez was a son of the Revolution; he was born around 1917. And he poured into architecture all the ideals of the Revolution – or at least what the Revolution was supposed
The unmistakable México ‘68 poster featuring the Op Art and Huichol Indian inspired typography.
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UK
UK
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Berg Studio Berg are an independent design and ideas studio that work across a wide range of interdisciplinary media from brand identity to environemental design. They also set up their own online shop - ‘Editions of 100’ where they sell non-commercial projects, in the form of
Editions of 100 Exhibition
posters, to the public. Berg Southblock Studio 107 60 Osborne Street Glasgow, G1 5QH UK bergstudio.co.uk info@berstudio.co.uk +44 (0) 1412 714 707
Alpha Mensewear Retail Packaging
UK — Glasgow, Scotland
Page 45 — Berg Studio
Editions of 100 Identity
Alpha Mensewear Window Display
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Mind Mind Design is an independent London based graphic design studio founded in 1999 by Holger Jacobs. They focus on integrated design which combines corporate identity, print, web and interior design. Mind work for a wide range of clients – from startups to established The Collection: Restaurant Menu
companies whilst their philosophy and approach is based on a passion for craftsmanship and typography. Mind Design Unit 33A, Regents Studios 8 Andrews Road London, E8 4QN UK minddesign.co.uk info@minddesign.co.uk +44 (0)20 7254 2114
Paramount Club Interior
UK — London, England
Page 47 — Mind
Restaurant Signage
Paramount Club Menu & Drinks List
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No Days Off No Days Off is a design consultancy based in London. They deliver creative solutions and intelligent ideas to clients big and small: arts organizations, fashion brands, record labels, advertising agencies, royal palaces and interesting individuals. They are creative in the way that they think – they are curious and get excited about the possibilities of design. No Days Off Unit B107, Lighthouse Studios 89a Shacklewell Lane London E8 2EB UK nodaysoff.com info@nodaysoff.com
Coggles Press Book
+44 20 7275 8962
UK — London, England
Page 49 — No Days Off
Interview conducted via email with founding partner of No Days Off, Patrick Duffy.
What’s the story behind your studio name? No Days Off is a lyric from the song Twenty Four Hour Party People by Happy Mondays. I got these three words tattooed onto my arm in 2003. When I was struggling to think of a name for my new company in 2006, my friend suggested using No Days Off. At the time, I liked the fact that the original meaning of the words - staying up all night, every night — would now be read as relating to being diligent and working hard. Can you roughly describe a breakdown of your working process? My personal working process is usually based more around words than images. I scribble a lot of ideas into my notebook, along with some very basic thumb-nails. It usually ends up as a dialogue with myself as I work the idea through, looking at it from different perspectives. When I’m satisfied that the idea works, then I start putting it into practice, in whatever medium is appropriate. I tend to find more inspiration in books and songs than I do in still images or films, and my working process reflects this obsession with words. Luckily, Teo, my partner at No Days Off, is very much a visual thinker, so it all balances out nicely. Are you conscious of your geographical location shaping your design practice in any way? I’m not conscious of it, but it’s a good question. We work for clients in Europe and the US as well as in the UK, so I don’t think we have a purely English outlook. But there is definitely an English sense of wit (I hope) in some of our work — we like to be a bit cheeky when we can. How would you describe the UK’s current graphic design scene to somebody who has no experience of it? I wouldn’t bother describing it, there are magazines and blogs out there for that. Do you draw inspiration from any certain traditions or aspects of culture or design that is distinctly British? We don’t really draw much inspiration from design, to be honest. Our inspiration tends to come from other aspects of culture — literature, music, art — and from our own personal lives. Are you particularly influenced or inspired by the design scenes of any other countries? I’m not interested in any design ‘scene’. Has the internet limited individuality and created a global design scene where geographical position and local
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culture no longer impact upon the work produced? The internet will only limit your individuality if you allow it to be limited. It’s definitely much much easier now to make something look ‘designed’ there are millions of images available online to copy. That’s why I think it’s better not to be involved too much in any design ‘scene’. Much better to sit in your room on your own and figure stuff out for yourself – you’ve got more chance of getting it wrong if you do it yourself, and once you’ve got it wrong, you can figure out your own way to make it right. Do you consider the work of your studio to have a certain ‘style’? No. Having style is important; having a style is not. How would you sum up the attitude and direction of No Days Off? Bad; sideways.
Jean Machine SS ‘12 Collection
UK — London, England
Page 51 — No Days Off
Nonpareil Exhibition Catalogue
Jean Machine Packaging
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Teacake Teacake is something quintessentially British, inventive & conscientious. They are a creative partnership specialising in brand identity, typography and editorial design. We love visual organisation, people, places and the idea of creating a tangible interaction with those who see our work. Karina Lax Stationery
Teacake Design Studio 4 – 3rd Floor 8 Lower Ormond Street Manchester, M1 5QF UK teacakedesign.com rob@teacakedesign.com +44 (0) 7834 483 898
Prom Prom Prom Seaside Promotion
UK — Manchester, England
Page 53 — Teacake
Karina Lax Identity
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Scandinavia
Scandinavia
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Fotograf Holien Mo
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Scandinavia — Oslo, Norway
Page 57 — Heydays
Heydays Heydays is an Oslo-based design studio that creates strong visual concepts that trigger curiosity, create excitement and show ambition. We work across a variety of media and fields, ranging from identity design to art directing photographies. We listen, research and challenge. We remove noise to add value. Heydays AS Heydays Stationery
Vibes gate 17 0356 Oslo Norway heydays.no studio@heydays.no (+47) 905 19 260
Heydays: Self Branding
Oskar Kullander Identity
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Scandinavia — Gothenberg, Sweden
Page 59 — Lundgren & Lindqvist
Lundgren & Lindqvist Lundgren & Lindqvist is a Swedish design and development bureau offering services within branding, design for print and digital, illustration and art direction. We believe that good design is more than ink or pixels on a surface; it is understanding how a message is received and experienced. Lundgren & Lindqvist Sockerbruket 17, Floor 06 SE-414 51 Gothenburg Sweden lundgrenlindqvist.se hello@lundgrenlindqvist.se +46 (0) 31 757 11 00
S.C.J Interiors Identity
Moderna Museet Stockholn
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The Venice Biennale Identity
Scandinavia — Stockholm, Sweden
Page 61 — Stockholm Design Lab
Stockholm Design Lab Stockholm Design Lab is a multidisciplinary design agency. We create brand identities and solutions that build strong customer relationships. We don’t differentiate between design, architecture, digital and other forms of communication. The perception of a brand is dependent on its slightest components. Stockholm Design Lab Sturegatan 11 Moderna Museet Stockholn
114 36 Stockholm, Sweden stockholmdesignlab.se bjorn@stockholmdesignlab.se +46 (0) 8 5555 1900
The Venice Biennale Programmes
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Interview conducted via email with the creative director of Bond Agency, Arttu Savolaara.
What’s the story behind your studio name? We wanted a name that people would remember easily. Then one of us came up with Bond, and the we realised that it also tells about our commitment and way of working — see our manifesto at our site. Can you roughly describe a breakdown of your working process? It’s quite normal I guess. Brief – strategic insights/observations about the consumers and their industry – Sketches – Concepts – Implementation. Is there a particular influence or focus that has led you to your current work? Hmm.. branding is what we all have done, and that is our focus. Could you describe your studio environment and the impact that the physical space has upon your creativity? We have a long table where we all sit. This is really good; we dont need internal meetings almost at all because you can talk and discuss things really easily. Are you conscious of your geographical location shaping your design practice in any way? Yes. Finland has a strong heritage in design. How would you describe Finland’s current graphic design scene to somebody who has no experience of it? I think the scene is very progressive at the moment. Do you draw inspiration from any certain traditions or aspects of Finnish culture and/or design culture? Minimalism, functionality, materials, craftsmanship. Are you particularly influenced or inspired by the design scenes of any other countries? Sweden, Norway and the UK... Has the internet limited individuality and created a global design scene where geographical position and local culture no longer impact upon the work produced? Yes internet has created a global design market, but our experience is that your culture is still very important, and also reason for customers to choose us.
Scandinavia — Helsinki, Finland
Page 63 — Bond Agency
Bond Agency Bond are a creative agency focused on branding and design.They create and renew brands. Bond is founded and run by designers who work for clients who value creative and practical ideas. They try to demonstrate their expertise through our work rather than talking, because design is, first and foremost, a craft for them. Bond Creative Agency Oy PL 176 00101 Helsinki Finland bondagency.com info@bondagency.com + 358 40 556 0247
PINO Brand Identity
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Do you consider the work of your studio to have a certain ‘style’? We do not aim to design certain style, but naturally each of us working here have own style an this is seen in the results.
Åhléns Signage Design
How would you sum up the attitude and direction of Bond Agency? Our motto: quo
Scandinavia — Helsinki, Finland
Page 65 — Bond Agency
HarriKoshinenWorks Identity PINO Retail Design & Stationery
Flow FestivalEvent Programme
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We Are Helsinki, City Magazine
Scandinavia — Helsinki, Finland
Page 67 — Tsto
Tsto Tsto is a creative agency founded by six designers, specialised in coming up with ideas and visualising them to help our clients define and communicate their identity and message. We tackle an assignment by first taking it apart to its bare essentials, and then building it in a new way that best serves the client. Tsto Flow Festival 2011
Laivanvarustajankatu 9 C 54 FI-00140 Helsinki, Finland tsto.org contact@tsto.org +358 207 490 430
Duotone: Photographer Identity
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Central Europe
Central Europe
Page 69
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Mucho Mucho is a visual communications and graphics studio. Its work consists in disciplines such as art direction, strategic and corporate identity, editorial design, Arte y Mecenazgo, Type specimen
packaging, graphic communications and digital design. Mucho values the visual ambition of projects as much as the commercial will, and considers excellence its permanent objective. Mucho Calle Morales 27K 08029 Barcelona Spain mucho.ws mucho@mucho.ws +(34) 934 814 089
Murmuri Hotels & Restaurants Identity
Central Europe — Barcelona, Spain
Buenas Migas (Foccacia) Restaurant Packaging
Page 71 — Mucho
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Helmo Helmo is a small and quirky design studio based in France and run by the partnership of Thomas Couderc and Clement Vauchez.Their practice is focussed around design for the culture sector which is often delivered through innovative and unusual print resolutions. Their original and independent style is very bold ; an accumulation of beautiful materials, processes and finishes. Helmo atelier La bonne merveille 2 rue Marcelin Berthelot, 93100 Montreuil sous Bois, Paris France helmo.fr contact@helmo.fr + 33 (0) 960 075 069
Coloured Smoke
Central Europe — Paris, France
Page 73 — Helmo
Gaîté Lyrique Publication
Jazzdor Festival ‘11
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Raw Color The work of Raw Color reflects a sophisticated treatment of material and colour by mixing the fields of graphic design and photography. This is embodied through research and experiments, building their visual language. Daniera ter Haar & Christoph Brach work on self initiated and commissioned projects in their Eindhoven based studio. Raw Color Klokgebouw 127 5617 AB Eindhoven The Netherlands rawcolor.nl info@rawcolour.nl
Raw Color 1
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Central Europe — Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Page 75 — Raw Color
Interview extracted from IdN Magazine (Volume 8 No.4) Mono-graphics Issue: Colour Toning, pages 17-20.
When Daniera ter Haar and Christoph Brach came together and decided to form a studio, their first project involved research on natural pigments originating from vegetables. Use of these raw materials gave them the idea of calling their company Raw Color. Since day one, their work has reflected a sophisticated treatment of materials and colours in the fields of graphic design and photography. Through research and experimentation, they have gradually built a unique visual language for themselves. “We don’t use the word ‘craft’ in connection with our work, though we do have a fascination with materials and haptics. For us, the quality of the paper, and of the colour, is very important: coated, uncoated, matte or glossy, we love it all. There is a great silk-screen workshop in Eindhoven, called Daglicht, where many graphic designers and artists bring their work. We have done quite a few projects there, which has probably given us a more direct approach to print making. We don’t print a lot of things ourselves, but it does give us a feel for the process. Arriving at the required quality of colours we use can be quite a physical activity. We like to think with our hands. We very much like the aesthetics of mono/duotone images, but our use of them has grown out of necessity in many cases. Since we are working for many cultural clients, budgets for publications are mostly small. So you try to make a nice book within the budget, which means saving money by reducing print layers – one or two colours are cheaper to print than four. We always see this limitation as a challenge that can really help to instil a strong structure into a book. It brings a certain logic that dictates the outcome. Even if the images we have to work with are of limited quality, a monotone can actually lift them, even if they’re only snapshots, and enrich them. Full-colour is not always better. “Monographics can have a stong impact in the structuring, for example, of a book. It can form a unity with the type that can be harmonised with shades or contrasted.” We have always like the quality of the monotone since it can become a very pure, somewhat reduced, image. You can use it in a stronger sense for composing; surprisingly, black fonts and full-colour imagery can often create a somehow greyish overall appearance. We like the brighter palette, it somehow reminds us of the light spectrum. Nostalgia is inevitably implied since printing was less accessiblein the past, and out of neccessity, there were fewer colour levels involved. But for us, monographics is not so much linked with nostalgia; rather, we
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regard it as a tool to our message, or aesthetic, across. It might feel minimalist, but as I’ve said, it can be richer than full-colour. It is a very sensitive approach, since you can use all shades in combinationto emphasise the colour itself. Think about flesh colour with blue-ish green – that already puts you in a certain mood. “It is an absolute myth that full-colour is always richer, or better, which is not to say that we don’t ever employ a full colour style.” Interview answered by Christoph Brach.
Raw Color Agenda 2011
Central Europe — Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Page 77 — Raw Color
This Is Basic: Books & Poster Raw Color Agenda 2011
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Eigen/Artig Publication
Copenhagen City Guide
Central Europe — Berlin, Germany
Page 79 — Britta Siegmund
Britta Siegmund Britta Siegmund is an independent designer who’s work is driven primarily through the basic graphic elements of typography and colour. As such, layout, editorial and Eigen/Artig Publication
font design are at the core of her practice which are develped and presented in a sophisticated and contemporary manner. Britta Siegmund Silbersteinstr 78 12051 Berlin Germany hello@brittasiegmund.de brittasiegmund.de —
Abschlusskatalog ‘10
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O You Are My Wonderful Utopia
Albi Publication
Central Europe — Mannheim, Germany
Page 81 — Deutsche & Japaner
Deutsche & Japaner Deutsche & Japaner was initiated in 2009 and offers expertise in various disciplines, such as graphic design, product design, interior design, illustration and scenography as well as conceptual creation. The studio focuses on communication, regardless of its physical condition, environmental, haptical or visual, but always in regard of sustainable experiences. Deutsche & Japaner Weylstraße 4 68167 Mannheim Germany deutscheundjapaner.com info@deutscheundjapaner.com +49 621 32674360
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Young Gallery, Blue Notebook
Muah! Festival 2011
Central Europe — Prague, Czech Republic
Page 83 — Anymade
Anymade Anymade Studio was founded in 2007 in the Czech Republic. During past years the studio evolved into a multifunctional platform whose activities combine various genres and fields, such as graphic design, photography, typography, illustration, video, motion design and sound. Anymade Studio Krkonošská 10 120 00 Praha 2 Czech Republic anymadestudio.com info@anymadestudio.com +420 775 393 011
Muah! Festival Silkscreen Poster 2011
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Asia
Page 85
Asia Singapore City, Singapore — Foreign Policy Hong Kong, China — IdN Magazine
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Interview conducted via email with the creative director of Foreign Policy, Yah-Leng Yu.
What’s the story behind your studio name? What better foreign policy to connect with the world than design. ;-) The name came about from our experience in New York - having worked with the different people of different culture and school of thoughts, we want to continue to be able to learn, exchange and inspire ideas from the various ways of lives and system of thinking. This is also a constant reminder for us not to be stuck with inward thinking. Can you roughly describe a breakdown of your working process? I am always trying to understand as much as possible about the project or the client in what we called a Discovery session. For lack of a better term, I would like to say we “co-create” with our clients, they are very much part of the process. Their input are very important as points of reference or source of inspiration to help put together thought process and creative vision for that project, usually a collection of words or images to start with. Idea incubation then ensues to generate stories/ concepts that the project would be based on. Then I start building some kind of a visual language and move onwards to the design development. My approach is possibly very research-focused compared to most graphic designers, but I find it valuable and important to have a strong base of communication to support the visual. In that way, the design would be more endearing and enduring. Of course, sometimes, the idea just hits and I’ll be stuck to the chair working till the design is matured. And yes, I still use my pencil and I sketch a lot. Is there a particular influence or focus that has led you to your current work? The Japanese immaculate detail to attention is something that I respect a lot. Over the years, I have been conscientiously working in this manner. Could you describe your studio environment and the impact that the physical space has upon your creativity? We have an open space at the studio where all the designers work from one big desk. This promotes a lot of interaction and exchanges of ideas. The studio is kept fairly friendly and chill, without looking intimidating by over designing it with super sleek furnitures or furnishing. Very much true to our gut we are always intrigued and inspired by raw materials - the studio has some “rawness” in certain areas. Thus, the space allows us to speak our own voice; there’s nothing contrived about it or predictable about it.
Asia — Singapore City, Singapore
Page 87 — Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy Foreign Policy are a small team of idea makers and story tellers who help craft, realize and evolve brands with creative and strategic deployment of ideas narrated by various appropriate media. Foreign Policy Design Group 78 Yong Siak Street, #01-04 Singapore 163078 foreignpolicydesign.com +65 6222 0878
Wanderlust Branding
affairs@foreignpolicydesign.com
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Are you conscious of your geographical location shaping your design practice in any way? Yes, very good question. Singapore being a very tiny market, does have its challenges and influence in our evolution. We are made constantly thinking on our feet about how to innovate or do it differently. When we were working in NYC, we were a pure digital agency what only served fashion clients. This is really impossible in Singapore - we expanded our services to beyond digital and included a wider roster of clientele. How would you describe Singapore’s current graphic design scene to somebody who has no experience of it? I would describe Singapore as a toddler in terms of design maturity, when compared to Europe or America. The last two/three years had been an interesting one where we have started to feel and see a bubbling vibrant scene happening. There’s an interesting entrepreneurship trend - people opening up interesting cafes/restaurants, book stores, design-centric accessories stores etc. These new entrepreneurs understand and value design, so in a big way, they have been the patrons of design and we see interesting branding work coming out
Wanderlust Collateral
from design studios. The government from its economic point of view, also has an interest to push the design education and industry. All in all, I think for someone visiting Singapore, it’d be refreshing and probably rejuvenating. For us, this is encouraging and positive. Do you draw inspiration from any certain traditions or aspects of local culture or design? Yes. Depending on the brief and context of the project, we study and consider that particular aspect very thoroughly so that we would know how to apply design with it. Are you particularly influenced or inspired by the design scenes of any other countries? Tokyo and Copenhagen are two of my favorite cities in the world. Whenever I am there, I feel I live in design. So very much, these are the two places that inspires me. Just by hitting the streets in these two cities, it is design all around. As for design scenes - the New York design scene definitely has a much greater influence and inspiration on me since I was based for a very long time.
Asia — Singapore City, Singapore
Page 89 — Foreign Policy
Table No.1 Branding
Has the internet limited individuality and created a global design scene where geographical position and local culture no longer impact upon the work produced? Good question. I think the internet has such powerful impact on design - no longer we need to travel from our armchair to notice what are the new designs across the continent. Inspirations and knowledge come fast at a click. However, the over-reliant on this sort of, what i called “armchair travel” has made some designers lazy to go out there to get involved in the tactile world. Design is telling a story; it is really just communication. I feel it is prohibiting and challenging to fully communicate about a certain object if I cannot understand how it feels like or how it actually works in front of me. Do you consider the work of your studio to have a certain ‘style’? I think our consistent style is that all of our work has a story to tell and that we tend to use very basic typography on some kind of interesting material to convey the context of the story. How would you sum up the attitude and direction of Foreign Policy? We are idea makers and story tellers.
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Interview conducted via email with the renowned design publication — IdN Magazine.
How did IdN magazine get started and what are its main aims? It started in 1992 as a desktop publishing magazine informing readers of things such as color separations for the graphic art industries. What do you think is the most important attribute of IdN Magazine? It’s content. Good publication design accentuates the work of artists and creators. What do you look for when sourcing content for the magazine? Someone who is genuinely good at what they do, whatever that may be. IdN is well known for combining multiple stocks and finishes into its production which are generally considered too expensive by other magazines – How do you achieve this? Staying independent is one reason why we can keep doing this. We care more about the product than the profits we make. You often include features on the design scenes of specific cities or countries – why is this of particular interest? “Creative City” is a column where we look beyond art & design, but people and cultures, where local influences impact upon their work. From sourcing and curating content for those features, do you notice geographic location influencing any particular aspects of work that is produced? Yes. Has the internet limited individuality through creating a global design scene where geographic location and local culture no longer impact upon the work produced? The internet is one of the reasons that geographic locations are slowing diminishing in today’s day and age. But it hasn’t limited individuality, it has in fact embraced individuality. What are your future aspirations for the magazine? IdN digital version perhaps.
V18 No.4 Monographics Issue: Colour Toning
Asia — Hong Kong, China
Page 91 — IdN Magazine
IdN Magazine IdN is an international publication for creative people on a mission to amplify and unify the design community. It is devoted to bringing designers from around the globe together to communicate with, learn from and inspire one another. It has truly become what the initials of its title proclaim it to be — an international designers’ network. Systems Design Ltd) 4th Floor, Jonsim Place 228 Queen’s Road East Wanchai, Hong Kong idnworld.com info@idnworld.com +852 2528 5744
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Oceania
Page 93
Oceania
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Victorian College of The Arts Publications
Victorian College of The Arts Identity
Oceania — Melbourne, Australia
Page 95 — Coöp
Since opening in 2004, Coöp has undertaken a variety of projects ranging from small art-based briefs to expansive design contracts. Positivity and experimentation are at the core of the studio’s practise. Coöp Melbourne Australia —
Coöp co-oponline.net.au paul@co-oponline.net.au —
Rooftop Cinema Prospectus
Object Gallery, Annual Manual
Coöp is the studio of designer Paul Marcus Fuog.
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Crown Metropol Hotel Identity
Gertrude Contemporary Publications
Oceania — Melbourne, Australia
Page 97 — Fabio Ongarato
Fabio Ongarato’s work is informed through strategicallydriven thinking and research to ensure that it is distinctive and goes beyond the expected; ensuring the outcomes surprise them, delight them, reassure them and engage them. Such feelings are the product of our broad ranging craft, and the essence of Fabio Ongarato Design 40 King Street Prahran VIC 3181 Australia
Fabio Ongarato fodesign.com.au press@ongarato.com.au +61 3 9421 2344
Gertrude Contemporary Identity
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Kivuli Photography Publication
Finch Identity & Publication
Oceania — Melbourne, Australia
Page 99 — Maud
Finch Identity
Maud are as passionate about the core ideas as the images they produce. They continually strive for creative excellence through consultation, collaboration and detailed execution. They tailor a strategic process to each client they work with to deliver effectiveand creative communoication.
Maud Redfern 2016 Brazil. maud.com.au contact@maud.com.au + (61) 02 8665 4257
Washed Up, Photography Branding
GO5 – Ground Suite 5 59 Great Buckingham Street
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Platfrom Event Branding
Platform Event Publication
Oceania — Melbourne, Australia
Page 101 — Toko
Toko is a multifaceted creative practice committed and driven by passion.Formerly based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands and since 2008 permanently operating out of Sydney, Australia. It’s creative output can be appreciated through their extensive portfolio of work realized for both national and international clients in a diverse range of fields.
Toko Toko Level 1/ 80 Campbell Street Cnr Foster Street, Surry Hills, 2010 NSW, Sydney Australia toko.nu info@toko.nu Breda Graphic Design Festival Poster
+61 (0)4 136 133 81
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Acknowledgements
I’d like to express my sincere thanks to the following individuals & studios for taking the time to write me their insight and opinions on the graphic design industry. It is you that have have added genuine value to this publication through answering my questions so carefully – and the responses I recieved have given me plenty to think about regarding the profession which I have studied for. You include:
Ross Milne, Working Format David Heasty, Triboro Rik Bracho, Face Patrick Duffy, No Days Off Arttu Savolaara, Bond Agency Yah-Leng Lu, Foreign Policy IdN Magazine
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Design Context — 09/12