e:
OP S T O i T Y’S DI in U A M W ST R N NO SIG DE m he
Bleed’s Vienna office has previously worked with Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, who passed away last year. Photo: Bleed.
Award-winning agency challenges conventional design The highly acclaimed Norwegian design consultancy Bleed is a multi-disciplinary studio working to question the definition of design, and striving to blur the lines between design, art and technology. By Line Elise Svanevik
Although its headquarters are in Oslo, Bleed opened a branch in Vienna six years ago, which has recently relocated to the eighth district in the Austrian city. Founded in 2000, the company is headed by some of the top talents in Scandinavian graphic design. Working with a broad range of clients, including Norwegian, Red Bull, Damien Hirst, Oslo National Theatre, Tom Wood, HYPEBEAST, Deutsche Bank, Studio Zaha Hadid, NRK and Innovation Norway, the agency’s main goal is to create strong 22 | Issue 100 | May 2017
identities, experiences and services that stand out in their field. “The diversity of clients, tasks, target groups and geographic challenges has given us experience and insight that is unique,” says creative director and founding partner of Bleed, Svein Haakon Lia, who is one of Scandinavia’s mostprized graphic designers. Bleed is also focused on challenging conventions across digital, physical and printed media. “We intend to solve more than
just a need; we want to achieve excellent results and work out every detail and potential,” Lia explains. “We are aware that creativity and innovation do not come by themselves, and therefore we spend a lot of time challenging our own thinking, with self-initiated projects or contributions to exhibitions and art projects.”
European Design Leader Throughout its 17 years in the field, Bleed has won more than 180 national and international awards and, for the past five years, the agency has held the title of European Design Leader – a highly coveted title that only a few studios around Europe hold. In 2016, Bleed took two gold medals in the Visuelt design competition, hosted by