Ada Sokół’s masterpieces put the admirer in immediate awe: super sleek and close-to-perfection renderings, soft pastel colors, and bizarre motives allow the viewer a glance into her extraordinary imagination. The Warsaw-based artist evokes an ultra-sensory experience that often ties play in futuristic settings or fantastic sceneries as she doesn’t like to be restricted by our realms. Influenced by all things beauty and maybe a little bit by growing up as Poland's first 3D designer’s daughter, Ada Sokół has mostly taught herself the magic of 3D art and since has been working on her own projects as well as for clients like Burberry Beauty. Meet a very unusual bread of an artist!
The independent German publishing house Slanted focuses on publications on contemporary art, illustration, design, photography and typography. With their own Slanted magazine, they aim to cover a broad spectrum of the creative industry and its designers and artists. Get to know Slanted, its publications, (maybe upcoming) projects and thoughts about the creative industry and its constant change and development.
We talked to Julia Kahl a Partner, Editor and Graphic Designer at Slanted Publishers.
With “A Thousand Breaths,” the Logische Phantasie Lab (LoPh) is developing an innovative NFT project that creates an artistic registry for breathing injustices, questions how breathing is valued, and develops funding tools for advancing a Right to Breathe. “A Thousand Breaths” is one of the winning projects of the Vienna Business Agency’s 2022 Content Vienna Competition.
We talked to co-director and head of research Daniela Gandorfer about LoPh’s work and approaches.
With the project “Big Data und das Gebaute Erbe Wiens" (Big Data and Vienna's Built Heritage), artist and architect Alunovic Oliver presents an artificial intelligence that independently designs architectural projects. The project uses the city of Vienna's open data on all realised projects of the so-called Wiener Gemeindebau (Viennese communal housing), on which the neural networks used are trained. The aim is to make the Wiener Gemeindebau sustainable as a digital content creation tool, to pass on the cultural heritage of the Wiener Gemeindebau and to offer architects a tool for creating high-quality communal housing.
Together with OHNE DEN HYPE, Forward welcomes you inside the mind of creatives, artists and designers! In intimate and personal conversations with Forward-speakers, industry legends and creative shooting stars, the podcast revolves around personal topics – completely without the hype that usually surrounds them. This tenth edition focuses on the life and creative work of type designer Ju Schnee who talks to Sven Jürgensmeier about how she always wanted to be an artist but thought it was just an unrealizable dream for a long time.
As one of our Forward Festival speaker, Ju Schnee rocked in 2022 the Forward Stage in Berlin. Ju originally comes from Graz, where she studied communication design. After she finished her studies she worked for a while as a freelancer. Then she decided to move to Berlin in 2020 and devoted herself entirely to art. After that, everything concerning her art went pretty fast. She has been exhibiting internationally in Germany, South Korea, Switzerland, Spain, France and Belgium. Since 2022 next to her studio in Berlin she is also located in Austria, Vienna.
the best-known graphic designers, Mario Lombardo shaped the design scene in this country for many years. In the age of digital aesthetics he has shifted the focus onto -experimental and craft activities, at the same time breathing new life into print media. His passion for craftsmanship continues to this day. After his studio had grown more and more, he decided after several successful years to go a different way.
Ju Schnee is one of the first artists to combine augmented reality with oil paintings. She has been experimenting with different media for several years, combining traditional paintings and sculptures with NFTs, AR and AI.
In this episode Ju Schnee and Sven talk also about galleries, self-promotion, the year of learnings, how to create an identity and cover your old tracks and she revealed to him how she found her own style, which she calls wobbly, which is very lovely as a description.
Go listen to the full episode and get a glimpse into the mind of Ju Schnee with us.
Kelly Anna spoke at Forward Festival Vienna about her work-life balance as a mother in the creative industry. She knows how to manage not only herself, but also the life of a mini version of herself and her projects as a designer all together. Kelly not only manages to do that, she also gets inspired in every way possible and is not afraid to take on new challenges. This interview gives you a sneak peek into her life as a designer, sports fanatic and mother.
Together with OHNE DEN HYPE, Forward welcomes you inside the mind of creatives, artists and designers! In intimate and personal conversations with Forward-speakers, industry legends and creative shooting stars, the podcast revolves around personal topics – completely without the hype that usually surrounds them. This ninth edition focuses on the life and creative work of type designer Mario Lombardo who talks to Sven Jürgensmeier about the courage and the realization that you are allowed to do something else when your career is actually going great.
As one of the best-known graphic designers, Mario Lombardo shaped the design scene in this country for many years. In the age of digital aesthetics he has shifted the focus onto -experimental and craft activities, at the same time breathing new life into print media. His passion for craftsmanship continues to this day. After his studio had grown more and more, he decided after several successful years to go a different way.
Today, two tasks determine his daily work - on the one hand, the perfume house Atelier Oblique, which he founded in 2016, and on the other hand, he still works as a graphic designer, but today as a one-man army, without any employees at all.
In this episode Mario and Sven talk also about his early music career, about his family's escape from Argentina in the late seventies, about the desire to belong, about getting older, about what's important to him, and about a trip to America with three million euros worth of jewelry in his carry-on bag.
Go listen to the full episode and get a glimpse into the mind of Mario Lombardo with us.
Together with OHNE DEN HYPE, Forward welcomes you inside the mind of creatives, artists and designers! In intimate and personal conversations with Forward-speakers, industry legends and creative shooting stars, the podcast revolves around personal topics – completely without the hype that usually surrounds them. This ninth edition focuses on the life and creative work of type designer Tobias Rechsteiner who talks to Sven Jürgensmeier about self-employment, the rise of type design and how Grilli Type was created.
[caption id="attachment_26015" align="alignnone" width="1000"] (c) Grilli Type[/caption]
Tobias Rechsteiner has been at the Forward Festivals multiple times, sharing his insights at workshops and talks. He is not only the Account Director of the independent Swiss type foundry Grilli Type, but also the designer of their recognizable and iconic fonts GT Hapti, GT Zirkon and more. He describes himself as a cliché Swiss perfectionist combined with a certain bit of scrappiness that’s due to the influence of his life in Berlin. His unique approach comes from his numerous experiences as a designer as well as his education in business administration. The unusual path from designer to type designer to businessman and designer at heart is one of the many aspects that make Tobias an impressive and interesting person.
[caption id="attachment_26017" align="alignnone" width="665"] (c) Hannah Schierholz, taken at Forward Festival Vienna 2021[/caption]
In this episode Tobias and Sven talk about the many facets of being a creative. From being your own boss to founding agencies, traveling all the time over to his love for type design and his role as Account Director at Grilli Type, Tobias and Sven really explore all the aspects to Tobias professional life.
Go listen to the full episode and get a glimpse into the mind of Tobias Rechsteiner with us.
Tobias Rechsteiner will hold a talk and a workshop at Forward Festival Berlin in 2022.
Together with OHNE DEN HYPE, Forward welcomes you inside the mind of creatives, artists and designers! In intimate and personal conversations with Forward-speakers, industry legends and creative shooting stars, the podcast revolves around personal topics – completely without the hype that usually surrounds them. This eighth edition focuses on the life and creative work of well-known typographer Anthony Burrill who talks to Sven Jürgenmeier about his work for MTV, weird books and his early work in web design.
Anthony Burrills work is instantly recognizable. The simple big letters, the clean but broken up lines, the black and white asthetic. When you see one of his designs it will hit you immediately that this has to be one of his works you are looking at. The graphic designer combines his love for analogue craft skills with positive messages. His pieces all bear the marks of his letterpress process and all its unique happy accidents. You will also find many of his works held in the permanent collections of various museums and exhibited all around the world.
In this episode Anthony and Sven talk about the many lives of Anthony Burrill – about summer jobs, his early work in web design, his work for MTV, cultural changes, weird books and David Hockney . Sven also had a chance to psycho analyse him and to give us an even deeper insight into his inner workings.
Go listen to the full episode and get a glimpse into the mind of Anthony Burrill with us.
Anthony Burrill will hold a talk at Forward Festival Berlin in 2022.
Together with OHNE DEN HYPE, Forward welcomes you inside the mind of creatives, artists and designers! In intimate and personal conversations with Forward-speakers, industry legends and creative shooting stars, the podcast revolves around personal topics – completely without the hype that usually surrounds them. This seventh edition focuses on the life and creative work of the infamous graphic designer Paula Scher who talks to Sven Jürgenmeier about her background, her relationship with her parents, being a female designer, and about being a fuck-up.
Sven Jürgensmeiers realized one thing while creating this podcast. No matter how much you idolize the believed creative demigods that walk our earth, they are actually just regular human beings like everyone else. And the thing that distinguishes us is not who we are but what we do. One person he had always looked up to was Paula Scher, one of the most famous graphic designers in the world, icon and legend in the industry.
Paula’s book Make It Bigger was actually the very first design book Sven Jürgenmeier ever bought. She has designed hundreds of record covers, has become one of the biggest names in identity design, and has found a new challenge in designing signage for some very iconic buildings. Since the 90s she is partner at Pentagram, the world's largest independent design consultancy and she has also made quite a splash as an artist with her very elaborate, large-scale, hand drawn maps.
In this episode Paula and Sven talk about her background, her relationship with her parents, about the the record cover that haunts her, about the wildly successful children’s book she wrote in the beginning of her career, about the story of Pentagram, about being a female designer, and about being a fuck-up. We were enamored with the authenticity in this episode and hope you will be, too. Go listen to it and dive deeper into the world of Paula Scher with us.
Paula Scher held a talk at Forward Festival Vienna in 2018.
Together with OHNE DEN HYPE, Forward welcomes you inside the mind of creatives, artists and designers! In intimate and personal conversations with Forward-speakers, industry legends and creative shooting stars, the podcast revolves around personal topics – completely without the hype that usually surrounds them. This sixth edition focuses on the life and creative work of the unique visual artist, illustrator and artist Sarah Illenberger who talks to Sven Jürgenmeier about her early creative awakening and her perspective on using different materials in her art.
Sarah Illenberger has held talks, not once, not twice but three times at Forward Festival in 2017 and 2018, visiting Munich, Zurich and Vienna. During the Forward Festival in Vienna, Sarah Illenberges and Sven Jürgensmeiers schedule didn´t quite align for the two to have a proper sit down to talk about Sarahs creative journey and how she became the tinkerer of many things for her visual art and design. But we are very happy that they did manage to meet in her workshop in Berlin to discuss all the unconventional ways Sarah likes to experiment with materials and how she comes up with her ideas.
When Sven Jürgensmeier met her in her creative workspace he realizes quite quickly that
Sarah Illenberger is many things: a little bit chaotic, adventurous and unique in her use of materials to tell stories through her visual art, but most and foremost, she is extremely likable. Which makes this conversation all the more pleasant to follow.
In this episode Sarah and Sven talk about the Solex, the watch that isn´t all what it seems and the jewelry workshop of her mother, where some of the gemstones would go missing and how all of that related to founding her own jewelry label when she was still at university in London. We were enamored with the flow and authenticity in this episode and hope you will be, too. Go listen to it and delve into the world of Sarah Illenberger with us.
Sarah Illenberger was a speaker at Forward Festival Vienna in 2017 and in Munich and Zurich in 2018.
Together with OHNE DEN HYPE, Forward welcomes you inside the mind of creatives, artists and designers! In intimate and personal conversations with Forward-speakers, industry legends and creative shooting stars, the podcast revolves around personal topics – completely without the hype that usually surrounds them. This fifth edition focuses on the life and creative work of the renowned graphic designer and creative director Mirko Borsche who talks to Sven Jürgenmeier about success in the industry and what do do next in life after you have done it all in your career.
Mirko Borsche is one of the biggest names in the german graphic design landscape. Not only is he the creative director for ZEIT Magazine, which is published every friday, he has also worked with many of the big names like Balenciaga, Rimowa, Highsnobiety and Supreme. Just to name a few. And another thing: he often says exactly what he is thinking, even if that might ruffle some feathers. Similar to his direct way of communicating, his art style can be described as straight forward and bold, while also preserving a distinct timeless notion. It really shows that his creation process is an extension of his personality. Which is probably exactly what makes him so successful.
In his conversation with Sven Jürgenmeier, Mirko Borsche starts at the very beginning. We are taken back to his youth in Munich and the influence that Graffiti had very early on in his life and career. Walking the memory lane, Mirko and Sven reflect on the graphic designers education, his early days as a young designer and how he dealt with the fame that came soon after he got some footing in the industry. We get to follow Mirko Borsche trough the processes that shaped him up and molded him into the designer he is today.
This episode guides us through all the highs and lows of a graphic designer that was shaped by early fame, how he realized it hat changed him and what he plans to do next, when this is all over.
Mirko Borsche was a speaker at Forward Festival Munich in 2020.
The new second album “In Between Places” by Viennese producer B.Visible in collaboration with a designer Daniel Triendl not only makes us feel up high, but also challenges our thoughts, gives us a sense of hope and calls to action. Ticklish and melancholic sounds gently harmonize with a cover artwork by Daniel, who seems skillfully translating his credible bold design throughout music and merge with it. We spoke to the guys about creative process and their mutual approach, confidence, doubts and bond of design and music. Here you can check out the blending sharp electronics of the album and buy vinyl.
Together with OHNE DEN HYPE, Forward welcomes you inside the mind of creatives, artists and designers! In intimate and personal conversations with Forward-speakers, industry legends and creative shooting stars, the podcast revolves around personal topics – completely without the hype that usually surrounds them. This fourth edition puts the esteemed graphic designer Esra Gülmen in the spotlight, reflecting on her career in advertising and overthinking things.
[caption id="attachment_23958" align="alignnone" width="1000"] (c) Sven Jürgensmeier[/caption]
Esra Gülmen is a Berlin-based artist and designer from Turkey. During her time in big advertising agencies, she has won many awards and worked for all the big names out there, like Coca-Cola and McDonalds. What makes her work so special is the same thing that comes out in her art – and that’s her humor. She has a way of repackaging complex and sometimes touchy topic and ideas and showing them in a witty and poignant way.
Although Esra was very successful in the advertising industry, she recently committed all her time to make art. At the time the podcast with Sven Jürgensmeier was recorded it wasn´t all entirely official yet, but you can still tell that she was done and over with working in agencies and wants to delve more into the creative processes that make her art so relatable, on point and unique.
This episode focuses on Esras perception of herself as a creative and in relation to the industry, as well as the path she wants to take for her future creative self.
Esra Gülmen is one of the highlights at Forward Festival Berlin
From doing corporate design to creating film graphics for Wes Anderson real quick! As a stickler for details, Erica Dorn didn’t have to think twice when the director asked her to design for his masterpiece Isle of Dogs and then again for Anderson’s latest strike The French Dispatch. In our interview with her, Erica Dorn dives deep into the working and creative process of The French Dispatch, explains how she manages to stay true to her personal design style and about making the film industry (visibly) more female.
Designer and illustrator Alex Trochut needs no introduction. His works have a crispness that makes them instantly recognizable, and cover the whole spectrum, from cutting-edge brands to type geeks. Through his design and typographic practice, Alex has developed his expressive visual style and aesthetic sensibility with a prescient cultural understanding. In our interview with him, the artist speaks about his career highlights, the future of 3D art and what tools he uses to create his distinctive visuals.
Agency Wieden+Kennedy has been at the forefront of bold and strong advertising. You know, that kind of advertising that gives you goosebumps, really gets under your skin and gets you thinking about the bigger picture behind the spot. We talked to Zeynep Orbay, Creative Director at Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam and the one responsible for impactful ad campaigns for the likes of Nike and Montblanc, about what’s behind those strong advertising campaigns. Zeynep Orbay will speak at the Forward Online Festival. this March.
Miró Ingmar Tiebe aka MIRUEL is a German illustrator from Hamburg. Driven by a wish for development and evolution, he is always looking for more variety of styles in his works. A selection of his beautifully depicted illustrations inspired by mystical creatures and plants anatomy "FRAGMENTS" are now published as a 100for10 book. While browsing through his works of art, you might also come across an illustration Miró has created at Forward Festival at his much noticed live art drawings. Were all of the illustrations you drew in your artist book brand new and created exclusively for 100for10?
90% exclusive, yes. My plan for the book was this one: I just got two new sketchbooks and filled them up to the very last page with new illustrations, so I would then have enough pieces for the book. I also found the idea of being able to show two original books at the end very tempting. And the plan worked out very well.
Are the illustrations coherent, or does each one of the artworks stand for itself?
They tend to stand alone. The book is intended to give an insight into my style and their variations.
What was your main source of inspiration for the illustrations?
I always like to gather my inspiration from different sources. While I was working on the book, I found a lot of inspiration from nature, as I've spent a lot of time in the countryside over the past year. These influences were then mixed with various science fiction artists of the 70s and 80s. Art Nouveau has also been a great source of inspiration for me for several years.
How much time did you spend drawing all of them?
100FOR10 contacted me in May 2021. I started right away and finished it by the end of 2021.
Are there times when you lack inspiration? If yes, what helps you get out of that state?
Of course I also go through such phases. An ideal situation for this to happen is when you would have time to spare anyways and then you can take advantage of it and give yourself time to think ideas through and not torment yourself by feeling pressured. However, if inspiration is lacking at certain a moment where the job is pending and you can’t think of a brilliant idea, it always helps me to put everything down and go for a walk. It doesn't matter if it’s stormy or sunny, walking is good for body and mind. Usually after a walk, when you get back to your workplace you definitely have at least a rough idea.
Could you tell us a little bit about your illustrating process and how you get into your workflow?
I have two ways of starting. Firstly, I draw very rough sketches with fine-liners on cheap copy paper, therefore I also don't feel wasteful. The second part starts directly on the Cintiq. As soon as the sketch is ready, it is either scanned and then a second layer of lines is depicted in Adobe Illustrator, or the second layer is switched on directly and worked out. As soon as the lines are all in place, I’m creating the shadow areas. As a third step, I put a layer under the line and shadow layers and create a colour composition.
For this book, however, as I already mentioned, I drew all the illustrations analogously in sketchbooks, scanned them and edited them in Illustrator so that they were clean and all in the same shade of black.
Get Miró’s book FRAGMENTS here!
Gabriela Namie’s design and art direction work scale globally, radiating distinctive authenticity along with striking geometry and a hypnotic color palette. The New York-based designer currently works at Google as YouTube Music’s art director, where she crafts the groundbreaking visuals and leads the branding. Aside from 10 years of experience of helping brands come to life, Gabriela co-founded the Barca Studio and was a Senior Designer at Sagmeister & Walsh. We had a chat with the art director and Forward Online Festival speaker to get a better insight of her background, creative thinking and inspirations.
What are you doing when you’re away from screen? Show us your best moment to get featured & maybe even win the first #AwayFromScreen trophy (and a huge package of surprise goodies) at the Forward Online Festival from March 10th-12th! Although the upcoming Festival is an all-digital event, we want to know what you do when your eyes are not on your screen! Do you take your favorite vegetable for a ride or do you pick up an old hobby? Whatever it is that you do “Away from screen”, show us in a creative way!
Together with OHNE DEN HYPE, Forward welcomes you inside the mind of creatives, artists and designers! In intimate and personal conversations with Forward-speakers, industry legends and creative shooting stars, the podcast evolves around personal topics – completely without the hype that usually surrounds them. This third edition has the esteemed graphic designer Eike König in the spotlight, reminiscing about his youth and the remarkable path that led him to where he is right now.
Eike König is considered to be one of the giants in the German art, design and graphics industry and has risen up to - what can be called - quite the celebrity status among his peers. His broad portfolio spreads across many different areas, from sculpture, painting and typography, to branding and printing, in addition to also being an educator at the HfG Offenbach in Germany.
Although he has lots to do, he took his time for the podcast interview and the entire atmosphere with him can be described as very relaxed. Contrary to expectations, Eike surely is not a hectic person or the type to rush.
This episode focuses on Eike as a person rather than Eike the designer. In this intimate conversation, Mr. König looks back at his beginnings, his childhood and youth, the reason he came to Berlin, the burnout with 30 years old as well as the collaboration between his studio Hort and Nike, teaching at university and why he has chosen a very free model of life, as he calls it.
Eike König is one of the highlights at Forward Festival Vienna, where he will be share insights into the creative process of his most prestigious projects.
Maxon’s acquisition of Academy Award-winning ZBrush is finalized and bound to revolutionize the entire 3D animation industry. Both ZBrush and Cinema 4D are to benefit from this move, as well as the entire creative community worldwide using them.
Graphic artist, print-maker and designer Anthony Burrill combines a knack for simplicity that packs a punch with analogue craft skills and positive messages. Anthony is known for his persuasive, up-beat style of communication. He likes to ask questions rather than give the answers, and always looks for a powerful connection with the audience. Burrill’s practice is the longstanding passion for creativity and a natural curiosity about the world and the people in it.
Ines Alpha likes blurring the frontiers between reality and fiction. And by being a 3D makeup artist she makes reality more fantastic and surreal. We had a chat with Ines Alpha about her 3D makeup routine, Kim Kardashianesque beauty standards and about creating an Alpha planet.
What makes Sucuk & Bratwurst one of the most successful 3D artist collectives out there? Sure, there is the fact that Denis and Lukas Olgac, Alessandro Belliero, and David Gönner have been friends since kindergarten and one day decided to join forces and create cool animated things. They haven’t stopped since and over the last years have gained loads of experience creating awesome designs for a wide variety of clients like Mugler, Rihanna or Nike just to do the obvious name dropping. Probably though, the most important ingredient for Sucuk & Bratwurst’s recipe for success is how the artists translate humor into their work and therefore managed to create a very distinctive visual language. Lukas Olgac tells us more.
Swiss photographer, publisher and graphic designer Nicolas Polli has a magnificent style, bold contrasts and emotional attached compositions in his still life creations. In 2012 Nicolas and Salvatore Vitale founded YET Magazine, which later became the recipient of the Swiss Design Award. After his studies in Art direction at ECAL in Lausanne, Polli found his own publishing house CIAO PRESS, which became a laboratory to push his ideas even further and work with photographers, artists and designers with a similar approach and fresh energy. Nicolas told us about his garden in Biel/Bienne, lack of rules and why he never looked for clients himself. He has almost revealed the secrets of a perfect still life, but, you know, how rotten your aubergine is - is only a tiny part of the perfect composition.
Together with “OHNE DEN HYPE”, Forward welcomes you inside the mind of creatives, artists and designers! In intimate and personal conversations with Forward-speakers, industry legends and creative shooting stars, the podcast evolves around personal topics – completely without the hype that usually surrounds them. The second edition sees graphic and motion designer Lucas Hesse speaking about finding his own style in a jaded creative world.
Together with “OHNE DEN HYPE”, Forward welcomes you inside the mind of creatives, artists and designers! In intimate and personal conversations with Forward-speakers, industry legends and creative shooting stars, the podcast evolves around personal topics – completely without the hype that usually surrounds them. The first edition sees designer Stefan Sagmeister speaking about courage and coincidences.
One seems to not be getting enough of Sucuk & Bratwurst these days. Brands like Mugler and Umbro are hungry for the Berlin-based 3D artists and lately, also Rihanna got to taste a bite of Sucuk & Bratwurst. With an animated trailer for Rihanna’s limited vinyl record edition, the designers have basically caught the whole internet’s attention and are far from done.
Between Swiss rationality and lightheartedness: Type Foundry Grilli Type creates fonts with character and type that conveys meaning beyond the words it spells out. The creators at GT run a type foundry but are at heart graphic designers and all share the love for impactful typefaces. Before his talk at Forward Festival Vienna, we had a talk with Tobias Rechsteiner of Grilli Type about perfectionism, finding original ideas, Comic Sans and the creative process behind their newest strike GT Ultra.
For Forward Festival 2021, FOUND Studio created ‘Threshold’, a film exploring the relationship between physical and virtual worlds, for our Main Title Sequence. We’re going to take a look behind the scenes and find out how FOUND, led by Creative Director Clayton Welham, and created by the two superstar designers Olly Johnson and Ionut Lupu, brought it to life.
Studio Deutsche & Japaner sounds like Dolce & Gabbana and what the two of them do have in common definitely is a lot of style. The Mannheim-based studio has proved its puristic and playful style while working for the likes of Jay Z, Nike or Saint Laurent. A holistic approach to a wide spectrum of creative fields as well as the worth of collaboration is essential to the designers at Deutsche & Japaner. We met Julian Zimmermann of D&J for an interview talking about sources of inspiration, teamwork and current projects. Also, catch Deutsche & Japaner at Forward Berlin!
NEWFORMAT is a team of design experts of various fields based in Berlin. With their focus on interdisciplinary exchange within different artistic, cultural and technological forces in the context of contemporary disruption, they create one of a kind animations, videos and creative concepts for their partners. In the past years, they’ve released various projects and campaigns for clients like Ottolinger, Beats by Dre, Adidas, and Highsnobiety x FARFETCH.
Agency Wieden+Kennedy has been at the forefront of bold and strong advertising. You know, that kind of advertising that gives you goosebumps, really gets under your skin and gets you thinking about the bigger picture behind the spot. We talked to Zeynep Orbay, Creative Director at Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam and the one responsible for impactful ad campaigns for the likes of Nike and Montblanc, about what’s behind those strong advertising campaigns. For the first time, Zeynep Orbay will speak at the Forward Festival Hamburg this July.
Mirko Borsche is known to set trends within the industry and in order to have reached this status with some of the most relevant designs for Supreme, Givenchy or lately football club Inter Milan, the creative has a reputation of always being on the go. It’s no different when we catch up with him for a quick talk about his latest projects, his sources of inspiration during a pandemic and his upcoming talk at Forward Festival Hamburg. “This is Mirko speaking”, he says when we reach him, of course, in-between two meetings. So what has Mirko Borsche been up to lately?
With his newest exhibition at Thomas Erben Gallery in New York, design-icon and Forward Festival speaker Stefan Sagmeister reflects a world seemingly out of control but sheds a light on actual improvement in our society - the Sagmeister way. His new body of work uses data to paint a more uplifting picture of the world.
Sarah Illenberger gives new meaning to everyday objects. With her interdisciplinary approach combining design, art, photography, and her hands, she has found a niche in the creative world. In her hands-on masterclass at the Forward Festival Hamburg she will focus on how to work analogue and to use your hands as a thinking tool.
Found Studio did a rebrand and it’s more than just a facelift: Behind the shiny new logo and a whole new visual presence, there is the culmination of a year spent evolving as far as creative processes, studio direction and collaborations go.
Bradley G. Munkowitz aka GMUNK is no one less than an industry legend. With 20 years of creative experience, the visual design director has always been at the forefront of innovative digital design and pushing the boundaries of multidisciplinary art.
It’s here! The 2021 Forward Festival Main Titles by Found Studio just celebrated its release and wants to inspire people to keep moving. In this interview with Clayton Welham, creative director at Found Studio, he told us about the idea and concept behind the clip, technologies, and challenges his team faced when creating the Main Titles.
Esra Gülmen is known to beautifully illustrate everyday struggles, that we have with ourselves and our lives. With her series “Don´t I look Turkish” she presented a very personal project dealing with first-hand-experienced racism and prejudices. As head of design at Heimat Berlin and a member at ADC Germany, Esra Gülmen is an artist with all her heart.
Forward Festival and Found Studio want to motivate creatives worldwide with their new clip. All the big visions, ideas, and dreams we had for 2020, let’s make them become reality!
© Niklas Schnaubelt[/caption]
Cihan Tamti on the Forward Stage[/caption]
As one of our Forward Festival speaker, Cihan Tamti rocked the Forward Stage in Berlin 2022. Cihan Tamti is a graphic designer from Bochum. He is probably best known for his poster design, merch for artists like Lauryn Hill and some projects he initiated himself. Cihan had to work hard to make his Instagram account as big and successful as it is today.
Cihan Tamti mixes timeless graphic design with his custom typefaces to give brands their own voice, that is his signature style. Cihan works with international clients like Calvin Klein, Adobe, Ebay, Netflix or Google.
[caption id="attachment_27687" align="alignnone" width="1000"]
© Cihan Tamti x Slanted Publishers[/caption]
© Werner Streitfelder[/caption]
Go listen to the full episode and get a glimpse of the holiday spirit of four creatives.
As one of our Forward Festival speaker, Ju Schnee rocked in 2022 the Forward Stage in Berlin. Ju originally comes from Graz, where she studied communication design. After she finished her studies she worked for a while as a freelancer. Then she decided to move to Berlin in 2020 and devoted herself entirely to art. After that, everything concerning her art went pretty fast. She has been exhibiting internationally in Germany, South Korea, Switzerland, Spain, France and Belgium. Since 2022 next to her studio in Berlin she is also located in Austria, Vienna.
the best-known graphic designers, Mario Lombardo shaped the design scene in this country for many years. In the age of digital aesthetics he has shifted the focus onto -experimental and craft activities, at the same time breathing new life into print media. His passion for craftsmanship continues to this day. After his studio had grown more and more, he decided after several successful years to go a different way.
Ju Schnee is one of the first artists to combine augmented reality with oil paintings. She has been experimenting with different media for several years, combining traditional paintings and sculptures with NFTs, AR and AI.
As one of the best-known graphic designers, Mario Lombardo shaped the design scene in this country for many years. In the age of digital aesthetics he has shifted the focus onto -experimental and craft activities, at the same time breathing new life into print media. His passion for craftsmanship continues to this day. After his studio had grown more and more, he decided after several successful years to go a different way.
Today, two tasks determine his daily work - on the one hand, the perfume house Atelier Oblique, which he founded in 2016, and on the other hand, he still works as a graphic designer, but today as a one-man army, without any employees at all.
(c) Grilli Type[/caption]
Tobias Rechsteiner has been at the Forward Festivals multiple times, sharing his insights at workshops and talks. He is not only the Account Director of the independent Swiss type foundry Grilli Type, but also the designer of their recognizable and iconic fonts GT Hapti, GT Zirkon and more. He describes himself as a cliché Swiss perfectionist combined with a certain bit of scrappiness that’s due to the influence of his life in Berlin. His unique approach comes from his numerous experiences as a designer as well as his education in business administration. The unusual path from designer to type designer to businessman and designer at heart is one of the many aspects that make Tobias an impressive and interesting person.
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(c) Hannah Schierholz, taken at Forward Festival Vienna 2021[/caption]
Anthony Burrills work is instantly recognizable. The simple big letters, the clean but broken up lines, the black and white asthetic. When you see one of his designs it will hit you immediately that this has to be one of his works you are looking at. The graphic designer combines his love for analogue craft skills with positive messages. His pieces all bear the marks of his letterpress process and all its unique happy accidents. You will also find many of his works held in the permanent collections of various museums and exhibited all around the world.
Sarah Illenberger has held talks, not once, not twice but three times at Forward Festival in 2017 and 2018, visiting Munich, Zurich and Vienna. During the Forward Festival in Vienna, Sarah Illenberges and Sven Jürgensmeiers schedule didn´t quite align for the two to have a proper sit down to talk about Sarahs creative journey and how she became the tinkerer of many things for her visual art and design. But we are very happy that they did manage to meet in her workshop in Berlin to discuss all the unconventional ways Sarah likes to experiment with materials and how she comes up with her ideas.
When Sven Jürgensmeier met her in her creative workspace he realizes quite quickly that
Sarah Illenberger is many things: a little bit chaotic, adventurous and unique in her use of materials to tell stories through her visual art, but most and foremost, she is extremely likable. Which makes this conversation all the more pleasant to follow.
Mirko Borsche is one of the biggest names in the german graphic design landscape. Not only is he the creative director for ZEIT Magazine, which is published every friday, he has also worked with many of the big names like Balenciaga, Rimowa, Highsnobiety and Supreme. Just to name a few. And another thing: he often says exactly what he is thinking, even if that might ruffle some feathers. Similar to his direct way of communicating, his art style can be described as straight forward and bold, while also preserving a distinct timeless notion. It really shows that his creation process is an extension of his personality. Which is probably exactly what makes him so successful.
In his conversation with Sven Jürgenmeier, Mirko Borsche starts at the very beginning. We are taken back to his youth in Munich and the influence that Graffiti had very early on in his life and career. Walking the memory lane, Mirko and Sven reflect on the graphic designers education, his early days as a young designer and how he dealt with the fame that came soon after he got some footing in the industry. We get to follow Mirko Borsche trough the processes that shaped him up and molded him into the designer he is today.
(c) Sven Jürgensmeier[/caption]
Esra Gülmen is a Berlin-based artist and designer from Turkey. During her time in big advertising agencies, she has won many awards and worked for all the big names out there, like Coca-Cola and McDonalds. What makes her work so special is the same thing that comes out in her art – and that’s her humor. She has a way of repackaging complex and sometimes touchy topic and ideas and showing them in a witty and poignant way.
Although Esra was very successful in the advertising industry, she recently committed all her time to make art. At the time the podcast with Sven Jürgensmeier was recorded it wasn´t all entirely official yet, but you can still tell that she was done and over with working in agencies and wants to delve more into the creative processes that make her art so relatable, on point and unique.
Were all of the illustrations you drew in your artist book brand new and created exclusively for 100for10?
90% exclusive, yes. My plan for the book was this one: I just got two new sketchbooks and filled them up to the very last page with new illustrations, so I would then have enough pieces for the book. I also found the idea of being able to show two original books at the end very tempting. And the plan worked out very well.
Are the illustrations coherent, or does each one of the artworks stand for itself?
They tend to stand alone. The book is intended to give an insight into my style and their variations.
What was your main source of inspiration for the illustrations?
I always like to gather my inspiration from different sources. While I was working on the book, I found a lot of inspiration from nature, as I've spent a lot of time in the countryside over the past year. These influences were then mixed with various science fiction artists of the 70s and 80s. Art Nouveau has also been a great source of inspiration for me for several years.
How much time did you spend drawing all of them?
100FOR10 contacted me in May 2021. I started right away and finished it by the end of 2021.
Are there times when you lack inspiration? If yes, what helps you get out of that state?
Of course I also go through such phases. An ideal situation for this to happen is when you would have time to spare anyways and then you can take advantage of it and give yourself time to think ideas through and not torment yourself by feeling pressured. However, if inspiration is lacking at certain a moment where the job is pending and you can’t think of a brilliant idea, it always helps me to put everything down and go for a walk. It doesn't matter if it’s stormy or sunny, walking is good for body and mind. Usually after a walk, when you get back to your workplace you definitely have at least a rough idea.
Could you tell us a little bit about your illustrating process and how you get into your workflow?
I have two ways of starting. Firstly, I draw very rough sketches with fine-liners on cheap copy paper, therefore I also don't feel wasteful. The second part starts directly on the Cintiq. As soon as the sketch is ready, it is either scanned and then a second layer of lines is depicted in Adobe Illustrator, or the second layer is switched on directly and worked out. As soon as the lines are all in place, I’m creating the shadow areas. As a third step, I put a layer under the line and shadow layers and create a colour composition.
For this book, however, as I already mentioned, I drew all the illustrations analogously in sketchbooks, scanned them and edited them in Illustrator so that they were clean and all in the same shade of black.
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Although he has lots to do, he took his time for the podcast interview and the entire atmosphere with him can be described as very relaxed. Contrary to expectations, Eike surely is not a hectic person or the type to rush.
