Interview

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.

The current times sure are scary ones to live in. Social injustices, climate change, and a pandemic shape our present into an unpredictable future. Austrian designers Sophie Falkeis and Kris Hofmann have made it their mission to impact the world around them positively with what they do. With AR and multidisciplinary design, both of them are at the forefront of impactful art and trying to bring complex topics to a wide audience. Both have been awarded with this year‘s Content Vienna production grant for outstanding digital design projects. Content Vienna is a funding program by the Vienna Business Agency, a long-standing partner of Forward Festival, and dedicated to the production and ongoing development of digital projects ranging from games to virtual reality and animation. In an interview, Sophie and Kris speak about how design can make the globe a better place.

With the fashion industry as well as Berlin changing at fast pace, VooStore in Kreuzberg remains a constant in both terms. Ever since Yasin Müjdeci founded Voo over a decade ago, it not only stands for fashion besides mainstream but mostly for a special Voo-flavoured lifestyle, that is established way across Berlin’s borders. For our “Featured by #jungbleiben”- series, Yasin Müjdeci speaks about the Voo-way of living, setting trends while sticking to your values and fashion as a chance for inclusion.

Paula Scher is one of the most influential graphic designers in the world and a Pentagram Partner. You might have seen her in the Netflix documentary “Abstract: The Art of Design” where she gives a glimpse into her daily work routine and challenging projects. She developed the graphic identities of Tiffany & Co and Citibank and worked for a broad range of clients like Microsoft, Coca-Cola, The Museum Of Modern Art,  among many more. We talked to the inspiring graphic designer about the biggest work challenges for women, the importance of atmosphere in a room and global design trends. Interview by Catherine Hazotte

With her face filter Beauty 3000, she broke the internet: Johanna Jaskowska’s futuristic, hyper-shiny, highlight-perfect filter adorned over 500 million faces all over Instagram, including the ones of Lady Gaga, Kendall Jenner, or Billie Eilish. The artist seems to have a sixth sense when it comes to setting trends and creating hypes in the field of AR. Her creations stretch our perceptions of reality and show us how it can be changed and enhanced. Drawing on cutting-edge tech, Johanna Jaskowska has established herself as a creative at the forefront in the field of extended reality, creating viral face filters, the first-ever digital haute couture, or avantgardist NFTs. In our interview, she speaks about her passion projects, the hybrid reality we live in, and where AR can take us.

Felipe Pantone takes graffiti to the next level. With his work, the Spanish-Argentinian artist conveys a collision of an analog past and a digitized future. A prism of neon gradients, geometric shapes and jagged grids are classic Felipe Pantone and adorn murals around the world as well as a 1994 Chevrolet Corvette. We had a chat with the artist about his first graffiti, his until today unknown identity, and the future of street art.

If you were amongst the lucky ones, who saw Kaitlyn Chang’s talk at Forward Festival Vienna (and if not, you can rewatch it here) you surely remember how she entered the stage: with her baby daughter in her arms. With symbolically stressing the problem of being a leading female creative in a man’s world, Kaitlyn Chang of  Accenture Interactive wowed the crowd by speaking about disappearing women from leading positions when having a baby. We had a chat with the woman of the hour!

Conceptual and spontaneous, clever and witty - Christoph Niemann’s designs and illustrations have reached cult status. Whether it be eye-catching editorials for the New York Times or personal Sunday Sketches, the illustrator has the magic touch for a design that goes a long way. In our interview, we talked about creative flows and blocks, the fear of not being good enough, and if it’s actually necessary to overcome those doubts.

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.

3D filmmaker Nikita Diakur makes beauty ugly. With his very own characterful style the creative developed ugly filmmaking and has defined a whole new approach to the scene. In our interview with him, we talked about perfectionism, finding an idea and about his creative concept behind Ugly.

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!

In a world flooded with images, eye- and attention-catching photos are a rarity. With his humorous and on-point photography, Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek has found a way of catching the eye and actually staying in one’s mind. After interning with photo agency Magnum, de Koekkoek started working as a freelance photographer focusing on fashion and animals. Welcome inside the creative mind of Austrian artist Daniel Gebhardt de Koekkoek!

Stephanie Dewhirst aka “stephDAwurst” is a 3D designer and Head of 3D at animation studio Art&Graft. The independent team of talented and ambitious creative minds makes colourful and quirky characters come to life and tell us visual stories. Art&Graft is the studio behind powerful motion graphics campaigns for global brands like HP, Playstation and Virgin Media. Before her talk at Forward Festival Berlin, we had a quick chat with Stephanie about her early career, her favourite project and about how she finds inspiration in everyday life.

Graphic designer, artist, and professor, father, partner, and above all human being; this is Eike König. Growing up in Germany in the 1970s, he lived through exciting eras, but also emotional ups and downs have made him the person he is now. Linguistically, Eike König is absolutely in his element and admires the aesthetics and the art of sport. We had a chat with him for our series “Featured by #jungbleiben magazine“.

Sven Marquardt is one of the most prominent figures of the Berlin underground scene. Back in the ‘80s he was portraying GDR’s underground scene using black and white film and an analogue camera. These days he is steeped in the club scene which he perfectly captures mostly in black and white. You might also know him from the documentaries Beauty and Decay and Berlin Bouncer about his photography, his contribution to the infamous Berlin club scene and making Berghain one of the most famous clubs in the world. We spoke to him about his art, changes in the cultural world and how the pandemic has affected it all. by Ana  Maria Carabelea

Johann König likes to do things out of the ordinary. Art has always been a constant in his quite extraordinary life with lows - as a child he almost lost his sight - as well as highs. One of them being König Galerie Berlin, which is one of the most prestigious galleries of Central Europe. Why? Johann König wants to make art accessible to everyone and that you can see in everything he does with the gallery. We talked about his so-called megalomania, his approach to art, and the digitization of the scene.

If you see playful yet minimalistic designs in popping colors that are fondly animated, chances are design studio Illo is behind it. The Italy-based collective was founded by Ilenia Notarangelo and Luca Gonnelli back in 2012 and since then has grown to a team of 15 people, all of them thriving on getting the best out of the combination of design and technology. Before their talk at Forward Festival Hamburg, we had a chat with Ilenia Notarangelo about what’s behind all those fun animation designs.

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?

Grand Budapest Hotel, Isle of Dogs, Tudors: Annie Atkins is indispensable in the film industry. With her unique graphics and designs for many Wes Anderson films, the designer has made herself a permanent fixture in the industry. In this interview, she talks about inspirations and habits for new projects, about her creativityflow, and how she turned Covid-19 into a new project with a charity aspect. We had a chat with her for our series “Featured by #jungbleiben magazine“.

Ever since 2016 the Forward Festival and the Gartenbaukino are a perfect match. The home of our Vienna Festival impresses with its gorgeous foyer, the unique powder room, and the giant cinema hall, which has seen iconic speakers such as Stefan Sagmeister, Erik Kessels or Oliviero Toscani. Now, the Gartenbaukino is getting a glow-up: Under the motto “Back to the future”, the Grande Dame of cinemas is being renovated.

Maša Stanić has made a name of herself within the creative scene with kind of a laissez-faire approach to photography. Her photos often show nudity, middle fingers, and the most ordinary motives. While some may see her as a provocateur, the artist would never describe herself like that. We had a chat with Maša about what she is doing, doubting, and what she is dreaming of.

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.

Somewhere in between art, science, technology, and new media, Ouchhh has found its place. Working with highly advanced artificial intelligence, the new media art studio creates magical immersive art installations. Ouchhh has made a name for itself over the past years by designing and programming prestigious projects such as the world's biggest AI data sculpture. We had a chat with Ouchhh-founder Ferdi Alici about the very beginnings of working with AI, its boundaries, and future projects.

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.

Former competitive swimmer Max Siedentopf sees things from different angles and loves what he does. He is a cosmopolitan, the youngest partner in the history of KesselsKramer and a master in creating creative, provocative and above all unique works. Max is who he is and that's a good thing. We had a chat with him for our series “Featured by #jungbleiben magazine“.

Ferry Gouw is a an illustrator, graphic designer, and art director based in London. He was the art director of Major Lazer and one of our favorite Forward Festival speakers. We interviewed him after his inspiring talk at the Forward Festival Vienna 2018 and spoke about drawing, his career, and his favorite comic books.

Anton Rahlwes and Nina Sieverding share the new position of editor-in-chief at design magazine form. We have talked to the two of them about design journalism, their new adventure and changes in print due to crisis and digitization.

Micol Talso is the Art Director of Toiletpaper Magazine, a label that can be applied to a variety of objects and situations, starting from a magazine to a party, a girlfriend or a design object. We spoke to her about Toiletpaper as a project, her workflow and how to juggle several roles in life.

Kaitlyn Chang, a real award winning advertising professional, just started working as Brand Innovation Lead at Accenture Interactive, right before the corona lock down. We talked to her about the “new normal”, long overdue digital change, home office curiosities, and nerdy habits.

Sarah Illenberger gives new meaning to everyday objects. As an artist, illustrator, and designer, she explores areas that cannot be defined by a common job title. In our interview for #jungbleiben magazine, she tells us why Italians allow more creative freedom than Germans.

A couple of months ago, Artefact created an AR app for our festival. One of the functions of this app was to augment artworks you can find in our Print Magazine. Now that there's no festival, you might not have our Print Magazine (you can order it here). Here's the good news: These artworks are online in our Moon Exhibition, so you can discover them from home. Find out how to do it. 

Advertising in a perfect world? Nonexistent, says Spanish artists Vermibus, who is particularly known for his adbusting. Using solvent, he brushes away faces, flesh and branding, and creates art that criticizes advertising and its effect on society. 

As fireworks illuminate the sky of London, the city is bathed in a strawberry-flavored cloud. Sounds fictional, but it's actually the work of Bompas & Parr, a studio for multi-sensory experience design. Sam Bompas and Harry Parr combine food with a wide range of creative disciplines and thus create works of art and experiences for all senses. We had a chat with them for our series “Featured by #jungbleiben magazine“.

By day, Gavin Strange is a senior designer for the interactive arm of Aardman Animations, producing internationally beloved characters such as Wallace & Gromit or Shaun the Sheep. Via his night alias JamFactory, he works on his passion projects as designer and director. Forward met him to hit him with some questions, with answers worth listening to.

Musician, painter, DJane, student, curator, boiler room member, cult survivor - Sofie Fatouretchi moves in various commercial and artistic circles and cannot be put in a box. Still, her definition of safe space is "myself, alone at home". After living in California, she is now back in Vienna and more creative than ever before. We had a chat with her in her favorite Viennese coffee house to find out more for our series "Featured by #jungbleiben magazine".

Jessica Walsh is the founder and creative director of &Walsh, one of the few creative agencies around the world that are led by women. She talked to us about sexism in the creative industries, role-models and her approach to dealing with stress. This is an extract of the 2020 Forward Print Magazine. Find the full interview here.

Graphic artist, print-maker and designer Anthony Burrill is best known for his “Work Hard & Be Nice To People” poster. The thought-provoking phrase has become something of a mantra within the design community. It reflects the persuasive and up-beat style of communication that we connect with Anthony’s work and that we have all come to love.   Interview by Marco Markovic

How do you convince your client that your solution works best for the job, and what do you do when your best friend stops talking to you because your creative ideas take up too much of your personal life?  Mirko Borsche has been part of the Forward Festival line-up several times now. He is the founder of Bureau Borsche, a Munich-based graphic design studio offering design and communication consultancy for clients from all fields of interest while creating original works within the scope of art, subculture, and design. In our series "Featured by #jungbleiben magazine", he explains how his team handles idea-finding and why speed is the main requirement for a graphic designer.

We have met with Artefact, an up-and-coming mixed reality company from Vienna to talk about this new medium, their work and approach to projects, and the recent collaboration with Forward Festival.

Lately we haven't been able to get to work without noticing certain posters all over town. With the start of the new season at Burgtheater, quite a lot has changed; not only the program or the people working on it but also the entire look and feel. Less of a fortress, more of a theatre, more inter-, less national. Artistic director Martin Kušej is on a mission to erase the term „Burg“ for Burgtheater - a vision that needed its visual identity to go along with.

Tobias van Schneider is a German multi-disciplinary maker of useful, curious and beautiful things. Born in Germany and raised in Austria, he now lives and works in New York City. After dropping out of school and teaching himself design at the age of 16, he worked as hard as he could to become who he is today: designer, founder, speaker, mentor and maker.

DXTR the Weird is a Berlin-based artist and freelance illustrator. Starting out as a graffiti artist, he now works for multiple brands and is one of the founders of the art collective THE WEIRD. Translating his style between wall and print, DXTR is a well known entity in the Forward universe. We met him after his talk at Forward Festival Vienna 2018 and asked him some questions.

The Scottish design director Ruth Wassermann runs one of the most intriguing platforms for budding designers in the moment. She is the head of design of MADE's new crowdsourcing and crowdfunding platform TalentLab, where young designers can submit projects that they would like to see realized. We had the chance to sit down with Ruth and talk with her about the idea behind TalentLab, the first collection and her vision for the future of living.

Patrick Marc Sommer and Rüdiger Quass von Deyen are the brains behind the Future of Reading congress (FURE). On 24th of November a handpicked selection of speakers will come together in the German town Münster to discuss the importance of print in the era of digitization.

„Das eigene Geschäftsmodell neu denken“: Unter diesem Fokus hat die Wirtschaftsagentur Wien mit dem Creators Lab während des Forward Festivals 2017 in Wien Gründerinnen, Jungunternehmer, Start-ups und erfahrene Unternehmen unterschiedlicher Kreativbranchen an einen Tisch gebracht.

„Das eigene Geschäftsmodell neu denken“: Unter diesem Fokus hat die Wirtschaftsagentur Wien mit dem Creators Lab während des Forward Festivals 2017 in Wien GründerInnen, JungunternehmerInnen, Start-ups und erfahrene Unternehmen unterschiedlicher Kreativbranchen an einen Tisch gebracht.