2011 02 10

Mission statement — A résumé…

I’ve been working as a professional designer for some years now. As a trained graphic designer my skills focus on communication with text and images. But I never wanted to be limited by discipline and preconceived job descriptions. I still tend to create conceptual work — I do basic research, to create small individual experiences and unknown/unseen images. During the last five years some kind of “values” have emerged, and I would like to mention them here:

Emptiness, moments and richness

I prefer to focus on the creation of emptiness. Empty vessels are offering countless possibilities to be filled. Structures that do not give definite answers and involve the viewer/user. Thus I aim to create small poetic moments, small individual experiences in our everyday life. I believe these small moments are what makes our days so rich.

Irritation, expectation and question

Coming up with questions is also creation. Questions create leverage and momentum. They challenge the status quo. That’s because many people intuitively block them. And that’s the reason I resist, and keep asking. There’s a scarcity of questions.

Time, serenity and error

The interesting things happen inbetween (A and B). You start to see things you haven’t been able to think off before. Inside the process, when you just trying something, exploring something. And its usually the mistakes that take you somewhere you haven’t been before. These are the exciting moments. I need to be able to respond to that.

Filter, meaning and value

I like being involved with work that I can relate to. I like to do projects where I can use my own judgement. I use myself as the filter: how do I feel about this. I do work that means something to me, and creates value for my client.

Less, naturalness and profundity

The world urgently needs reduction. We urgently need focus. I miss a certain degree of profundity in the creation of everyday communication. An appreciation of naturalness. Profundity and suggestion rather than revelation.

As you can see I approach my work somewhat like an artist does. And yes, I deeply believe in the leverage of authorship and ‘Eigensinn’ (a term that only exists in German language, approx.: wilful obstinacy). Some may think this a no-go for a service contractor. But I guess it is a requirement in order to create something new and authentic.

2011 01 31

Emptiness in brand communication

Yesterday successfull brand communication was defined by the old message/communicator/listener model. Simple structure, precise message (hopefully), one-way – a monolog. Look over here, we’re cool – buy or die. Today (thankfully) this model has been replaced, the world has become far more complex. Now successfull branding and brand communication is based on conversations, on dialogs. On dialogs between customers/clients, on dialogs between the company and the customers/clients. Conversations with a human voice.

Evoking this kind of conversations requires a totally different approach in comunication design. Now there is no sense in creating closed/completed messages. When you complete the message too much, there is no room for the viewer/customer/client to involve himself. You need to concentrate on the (brand) essentials and leave bits of space. Small spaces of emptiness to be filled by the viewer. People want to talk about things they can relate to. So there needs to be room left for them.

As a consequence there is no single story about you, your company or your product. No single plot you have total control of. You are not the ‘owner’ of the conversation, you are a participant at eye level. Learn to listen carefully and find your human voice.

2010 12 27

Atlas

atlas, maps to get lost by, Peter Roth

Sometimes you need to hold on for a moment and sort what you have discovered – take a second to digest the relevant fragments. To reframe the big picture. To see clearly what has changed and how the process of thinking and doing has inevitably changed you. Reflection and stocktaking of oneself.

It is a perfect time, now, at the end of the year. So here is my plan: I will review the territory I’ve crossed during the last two years and put all the pieces together. This will be my »atlas«. I know it will take some time to do this and I will let you participate in the process. The collection will be both analog and digital. I’m going to share some pieces here in my blog, tagged atlas. Feel free to comment and give feedback.

I’m curious where my atlas will take me. Maybe new ground. Maybe back to the ‘old’ stuff. We’ll see.

2010 11 22

Future of design — 13. KoelnDesign Gruender- und Profitag

I attended a one-day conference in cologne on tuesday last week about the future of design. The event was hosted by Kölndesign, platform for design and business. For everyone who has missed this very inspiring event I want to share some notes about the lectures. I warmly recommend you to read online about the lecturer, just refer to my links set below.

David Grasekamp, creative director at mowaii and board member, gave a short introduction about KölnDesign and underlined the fact that at its foundation KölnDesign was the first and only association or initiative in germany aiming on assisting and supporting designers, and not on supporting design. Yes, that’s a big difference!

Joachim Kobuss, coach and scout for designers and entrepreneurs, attempted to work out a draft of the future of design together with the audience. He outlined how to position a highly specialized and authentic design service on the market and how to be preceived as a professional design consultant and entrepreneur.

Christof Schreckenberg, representative of the federal initiative »Kultur- und Kreativwirtschaft« (Culture and Creative Industries), presented the winners of the contest »Kultur- und Kreativpiloten Deutschland«, gave a short introduction into the work of the initiative and put emphasis on the vast creation of value in our industry. My favorite from the contest: dark horse from berlin! Design Thinking put into business. Applause!

Holger Nils Pohl, concept designer and chairman of KölnDesign, gave a lecture about (social) networks and networking, and how to improve networks to become intelligent systems wherein innovation and creativity can flourish and new ideas gain momentum. Very inspiring!

Barbara Ströbele, finance and insurance consultant, addressed the topic of financial and insurance protection for designers and how this field will evolve in the future.

Prof. Torsten Stapelkamp, interaction designer and design professor at FH Hof, stated that design today is passion for creativity and entrepreneurship. Design is making sense and business. The future of design in a nutshell! Just perfect!

Sabine Zentek, lawyer specializing in copyright and design law, gave a valuable insight into the legal protection of creative work and illustrated it with various examples from her experience. Did you know: the term »design« isn’t mentioned once in german copyright law… You can only rely on the notion »applied art«. How outdated is that?! Weird…

One day is such a short time to approach this very complex topic — the future of design. It’s not an easy task to keep it thrilling and inspiring throughout the day and  to avoid being superficial, just scratching the surface. But they really made it a perfect experience! With inspiring people sharing profound information, personal experiences and professional expertise. Thanks to the lecturers, the organizers and all the committed people at Kölndesign for making this day happen!

—
Oliver Schwarz shares his photographs he took during the event on his flickr account, have a look.

2010 11 18

Analog or digital? — A culture of gifts

A client confronted me with an odd opinion: He doesn’t want his work (music) to be released online. No MP3! Bad quality! Pirate copying! No. Never. No!

Let’s face it:
Anything that can be digitalized, WILL be. And anything digital that can be copied, WILL be…

Time to take it to the extreme – just imagine: Digital stuff, everything that can be converted into ones and zeros, will be available for free. RIAA or GEMA won’t stop it. The publishing houses won’t stop it. Hollywood won’t stop it. Apple won’t stop it.

Only »analog« experiences, like concerts, meeting people (yes, in the real world, not on facebook), painting/drawing (yes, material matters), products (clothes, porcelain), etcetera, can be monetized.

Scary, right!? But I think it’s worth it to think about this ‘vision’ for a second. Can your business, your art be digitalized? May be it could be reckless to ignore it. The record industry can tell you a thing or two about it.

Why don’t try this one:
You should give away a digital version/part/piece of your art as a gift.
Share it. And it will multiply.
Also it will enhance the value of the analog experience of your art. You will surely receive interest and appreciation for it.

Foodnote:
The notion »art« refers to Seth Godin.
Check out his book: »Linchpin – Are You Indispensable?« (Affiliate link) and his blog post
»The hidden power of a gift«.