Author: Marko Rakic

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Erik Spiekermann

Location: Berlin, Germany

Website: www.spiekermann.com

Background

Erik Spiekermann, born 1947, studied History of Art and English in Berlin. He is information architect, type designer (FF Meta, ITC Officina, FF Info, FF Unit, LoType, Berliner Grotesk and many corporate typefaces) and author of books and articles on type and typography.

He was founder (1979) of MetaDesign, Germany’s largest design firm with offices in Berlin, London and San Francisco. Projects included corporate design programmes for Audi, Skoda, Volkswagen, Lexus, Heidelberg Printing and way-finding projects like Berlin Transit, Duesseldorf Airport and many others. In 1988 he started FontShop, a company for production and distribution of electronic fonts. He is board member of ATypI and the German Design Council and Past President of the ISTD, International Society of Typographic Designers, as well as the IIID. In 2001 he left MetaDesign and now runs SpiekermannPartners with offices in Berlin, London and San Francisco.

In 2001 he redesigned The Economist magazine in London. His book for Adobe Press,“Stop Stealing Sheep” has recently appeared in a second edition and a German and a Russian version. His corporate font family for Nokia was released in 2002. In 2003 he received the Gerrit Noordzij Award from the Royal Academy in Den Haag. His type system DB Type for Deutsche Bahn was awarded the Federal German Design Prize in gold for 2006. In May 2007 he was the first designer to be elected into the Hall of Fame by the European Design Awards for Communication Design.

Erik is Honorary Professor at the University of the Arts in Bremen and in 2006 received an honorary doctorship from Pasadena Art Center. He has just been elected an Honorary Royal Designer for Industry by the RSA in Britain.

Speakers: Teemu Suviala, founder

Location: Helsinki, Finland

Website: www.kokoromoi.com

Case

Change of identity, from Syrup Helsinki to Kokoro & Moi.

“Kokoro” is japanese for Heart/Mind, “Moi” french for Me and finnish for Hello/Bye. The name reflects our philosophy in design: when you connect ideas that haven´t been seen together before you can create something unique and new. You have also a pattern for this which is 1+1=3. Usually it´s even more.

Background

The design agency Kokoro & Moi specialises in brand, corporate and product identities, creative direction, art direction, graphic design and consultancy. Their innovative expertise covers both traditional and digital channels. The agency’s large international clientele represents commercial players from multinationals to start-ups, as well as various cultural and public institutions. Amos Anderson Art Museum, Blyk, City of Helsinki, Design Forum Finland, Jaiku, Lycra, New York Magazine, Nokia and Toyota are just a few examples of Kokoro & Moi clients.

Kokoro & Moi is known for innovative approach, passion for excellence and dedication to the success of their clients with whom they have been working on a broad range of projects, from designing identities to orchestrating complex design projects for print, screen, products and environments. The agency believes in originality, innovation and the power of great design in brand strategies.

Kokoro & Moi was founded in 2001 by Teemu Suviala and Antti Hinkula.

Speakers: Lizá Defossez Ramalho and Artur Rebelo, founders

Location: Porto, Portugal

Website: www.r2design.pt

Case

Unfinished Trajectories

Graphic Instalation in Casa da Música, Porto

Reflection based on visitors’ emotions and other viewpoints, suggested by the spaces of the Casa da Música. ⁄ The objective is to list, classify, contextualise, build relations and map the respective content. ⁄ Experiences represented in various forms that in turn generate a series of unfinished “scores” based on a wide array of details. ⁄ This project aims to question standard trajectories and propose new possibilities. New forms of discovering spaces thereby emerge, organised in alphabetical order, by scale, capacity or other criteria… ⁄ This is an unfinished project, delivering improbable and sometimes absurd itineraries.

Client: Casa da Música, Porto

Background

Lizá Defossez Ramalho (Troyes, 1971) and Artur Rebelo (Porto, 1971) graduated in Communication Design from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Oporto University (Portugal) and have Masters in Design Research from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Barcelona University (Spain). In 1995, they founded R2 design, a studio based in Oporto (Portugal), where they have since undertaken projects in the field of visual communication design.

Since 1996, their work has included: teaching design in various Portuguese colleges, particularly Oporto Polytechnic; coordinating workshops in many universities and colleges, amongst them the Faculty of Letters at the University of Oporto; and leading workshops, such as in l’Intuit Lab (Paris), and design biennials like ‘Moi du Graphisme’ (Échirroles, 2004). Lizá and Artur have served on various juries, with a special mention to the international jury for the Chaumont Poster Festival in 2007, while Lizá took part, in 2004, in the jury for ESAG Penninghen (Paris) evaluating the final examinations for students there; they have also participated in conferences at many faculties, major schools and institutes: the Coimbra University School of Arts (Portugal, 2003), the Faculty of Fine Arts at Barcelona University (Spain, 2005) and Oporto Polytechnic (Portugal, 2006); the Faculty of Fine Arts at Oporto University (Portugal, 2007); Rencontres de Lure (France, 2007).

Client: Cultural Center DOM

Location: Moscow, Russia

Websites: www.ostengruppe.com, www.ostengruppe.com/mobile

Case: DOM: Full art directorship

It is an on-going project of visual support for cultural center DOM. The project has been art-directed for the last 5 years and covers logo development, catalogs, posters (more than 200 for the period), CD-covers, DOM’s souvenirs and calendars etc.

Project: Complex art directorship. The ‘look’ of the cultura; center projects: concerts, festivals, cultural events.

Creative concept: Graphic expansion and identification of dom’s style. Very aggressive and bold. Only two colours used (red and black). Daring and experimental. Well oiled production mechanism (texts, illustrations, design and print). End product – original art work.

Results: DOM brand and style recognition, graphic recognition. Over 200 posters, nearly 50 cd covers. numerous calendars, books and photo albums.

Background

OSTENGRUPPE design bureau was founded in 2002 by Eric Beloussov, Igor Gurovich, and Anna Naumova. Dmitry Kavko joined the group in 2003 and became the fourth member of OSTENGRUPPE. The company’s projects, which can be seen at www.ostengruppe.com, focus on functional contemporary design in a range of areas, including graphics, TV, Internet projects, video, interiors, furniture, fashion, and stage settings for events.

OSTENGRUPPE posters have been selected for the International Triennial of Posters in Toyama 2000 and 2006; the International Poster Biennial of Graphic Design in Brno 1998; the International Poster Biennial in Warsaw, 2005; the International Biennial in the Poster in Mexico in 2006, and the International Poster and Graphic Arts Festival of Chaumont in 2001, 2005 and 2006. In 2003 and 2006 OSTENGRUPPE was a Design Innovation Award (DIA) winner in the Graphic Design category, receiving the award for a series of posters for DOM cultural center and creating an experimental Olympic 2008 uniform for the Russian national team. In 2005, OSTENGRUPPE’s Plate&Play lighting collection won the SalonSatellite 2005 designer competition at Milan ISaloni Worldwide, a furnishings and interiors exhibition held in Moscow. In 2006, HOME COMFORTS ON THE GO Collezione Mobile was shown at Salone Satellite in Milan

Speakers: Magnus Voll Mathiassen & Magnus Helgesen

Location: Bergen, Norway

Website: www.grandpeople.org

Case: Beast per music

The case: Powerblytt Myths

Product: 12″ vinyl series, compilations

Music Type: Electronic pop music, remixes

Short about the case:

Powerblytt Records is a newly started small Norwegian label for electronic pop music. Grandpeople is involved as art director, with full creative control on every level, except the music. Powerblytt Myths is a music compilation series with various remixes. The design concept is a mix of combining the awkward music compilation aesthetics from the 70/80s with Norwegian fairy tales/myths. The idea is to create a strong visual look based on traditional designs with even older traditions to create a product that is strange, and that gives shelf impact directed to curious persons. It is the “face-on-the-cover” tactic, done differently.

Media: ink illustrations, logo, typography, photography

Client: Powerblytt Records

Background

Magnus Voll Mathiassen, Magnus Helgesen and Christian Strand Bergheim has been working together since they met at art school in 2000. In 2005 they put up the studio Grandpeople.

The studio’s name can to a certain point reflect the approach they have to the material they create: put opposites or dissimilarities together to get a third element.

Hailing from a country associated with a type of Scandinavian modernism that conflicts their perception of true Norwegian culture and mindset, the focus on contrasts and nature occupies much of their work.

Grandpeople work with everything from small local clients to big international brands, often as both illustrators and graphic designers, in the fields of advertising, culture and identity design.

Speaker: Henrik Nygren

Location: Stockholm, Sweden

Website: www.henriknygrendesign.se

Background

Henrik Nygren was active in Stockholm design and advertising agencies from 1983-1991, and subsequently launched own company. Henrik Nygren Design mainly deals with analysing the client’s market potential, with strategy in accordance with this potential and the design and production of books, magazines, packaging, corporate identities, advertising campaigns, exhibitions, etc.

Speaker: Christian Altmann

Location: Stockholm, Sweden

Website: www.propeller.se

Case: 3D + 2D, A interdisciplinary approach.

Client: Looft Industries AB

Background

Propeller was founded in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1995 and is one of Scandinavia’s top design agencies – a highly creative group of product, interaction and graphic designers with an articulated intent to deliver commercial creativity to our clients. This trait, in combination with our teams’ wide experience and interdisciplinary approach, strengthens our clients’ brands by adding value and identifying opportunities. In addition to winning a number of Swedish and international awards, our work directly contributes to proven commercial success.

The Propeller graphic design department focuses on Identity, Print, Packaging, Editorial and Architectural Graphics

Speakers: Dimitris Papazoglou & Dimitris Koliadimas

Location: Thessaloniki, Greece

Website: www.designersunited.gr

Case: Redesigning “Makedonia” Newspaper

The project took place in Thessaloniki during the four months of May to August 2007. “Makedonia”, one of the most historic Greek newspapers, will be celebrating its 100 years in 2012. Redesigning a newspaper is about redesigning the structure of modern press, not only by terms of form and function, but also by context. This attempt, even though complex and laborious, may be the most fundamental typographical challenge for a typo/graphic designer.

The final outcome depends not only on the systematic methodology that the designer employs, but most importantly on managing the process itself, since interaction with journalists, cooperation with page makers, and training of employees are critical aspects in order to secure the newspaper’s longevity and prosperity.

Client: “Makedonia” Newspaper

Background

“designersunited.gr” is a design group that was founded by acclaimed art directors Dimitris Koliadimas and Dimitris Papazoglou in order to engage visual research and systematic methodology into the design process. Founded in Thessaloniki Greece, and with the addition of George Fassas as Studio Manager in 2006, “designerunited.gr” has successfully completed a variety of demanding projects, both print and screen, by creating a visual language that enables clients to improve and strengthen their visual identity. It remains until this day the only design studio in Greece that has been awarded twice with the “Grand EBGE”, Greece’s top National Award for Design and Illustration.

Speakers: Gediminas Siaulys & Andrius Kirvela

Location: Vilnius, Lithuania

Website: www.petpunk.com

Case: Vilnius – European Capital of Culture 2009 (…or how we try to survive somewhere between East & West)

National tourism campaign

Medium: Animated clip

Broadcast area: International

Topics:

1. East vs West experiences and influences. Local culture background based unique style research.

2. Case study “Vilnius 2009”.

3. Quick overview of few other PetPunk’s projects, that deals with modern approach to national identity.

Client: Public establishment “Vilnius European Capital Of Culture 2009”

Background

PetPunk is two freelance artist’s studio, based in Vilnius, Lithuania. In 2005, Andrius Kirvela and Gediminas Siaulys quit their jobs and joined their creative forces to work freely with personal commercial and artistic projects. At present time studio works basically in fields of design, animation and motion graphics.

Lithuania, after being in Soviet Union and forced with culture from east (Russia), gained it’s independence in 1991 and fully opened and was overflowed with modern culture from the west. In 2004 Lithuania became EU member.

Andrius and Gediminas grew up with some interesting experience of two those radically different worlds and tries to deal with it in their authentic, unique artistic style and approach.

Worked with brands like: Sprite, MTV, Vodafone, SEB Bank.

Works published in “Print”, “.Net”, “DIGIT”, “Etapes”, “Stash” magazines and “Young European Graphic Designers”, ” 100@360 Graphic design’s new global generation” books.

Screenings at: “PSST!2” (USA) and “onedotzero 10” (UK).

Speakers: Pascal Béjean & Frédéric Bortolotti

Location: Paris, France

Website: www.labomatic.org

Client: Theatre National de la Colline

www.colline.fr

Background

The group’s five member are all coming from different backgrounds (graphic design, fashion, architecture, fine arts, and computer) and skills. Their work concerns mainly projects from the cultural sector (such as theatres, museums, art galleries, the music industry, publishing houses etc.).

Speaker: Richard van der Laken

Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Websites: www.volkskrant.nl/gorilla, www.designpolitie.nl

Case: De Volkskrant

Since october 2006 De designpolitie maintain a visual column on the front page of De Volkskrant, one of Hollands main newspapers. Together with Lesley Moore and Herman van Bostelen they are the collective ‘Gorilla’. In words and images they react on the news of the day.

They say:”For us this is a great opportunity to ventilate our views on politics, the environment and all those subjects you worry about, but don’t know what to do with”.

Gorilla is awarded with an the ED-Award Jury Prize , an ADCN lamp, a Dutch Design Award and a Reddot Design award in 2007.

Client: De Volkskrant, one of Hollands main newspapers

Background

De Designpolitie is a graphic design agency, based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. De Designpolitie belongs to the “Dutch design” family. Its members were brought up in the Dutch design culture and rich tradition of Dutch art, design and tolerance. In keeping with these traditions, De Designpolitie follows simple but ruthless methods. Their working process often ends in a stripped image which is a critical but always communicative solution.

De Designpolitie works for various small and big clients in the non-profit and commercial sectors. De Designpolitie also initiates exhibitions, festivals, books, lectures and workshops. De Designpolitie consists of a small group of ambitious and talented creatives and was founded by Richard van der Laken and Pepijn Zurburg.