The Weltformat Graphic Design Festival celebrates its tenth edition this year. An occasion to reflect on the past, one's own career path and the future. At the Weltformat symposium, a number of exciting designers from all over the world will give an insight into their biographies and report on milestones and turning points that have shaped them.
The symposium will be hosted by design historians Robert Lzicar (Hochschule der Künste Bern HKB) and Miriam Koban (Uni Fribourg / Hochschule der Künste Bern HKB). The talks usually last 30 to 40 minutes. They are held in German or English.
Erich Brechbühl
The Weltformat co-founder and director talks about the
highlights of the past ten years of the Weltformat festival.
Eike König
The Berlin-based designer, artist and lecturer talks
about his career and gives an insight into the work of the design collective
HORT.
hort.org.uk
Ghalia Elsrakbi
The designer, who now lives in Cairo and Amsterdam, shows how she uses design as a tool to document and analyse social and political changes in the Middle East, especially in her home country Syria. Most of her projects are initiated by Elsrakbi herself. Her approach could be described as slow graphic design; Elsrakbi’s designs are preceded by intensive research – interviews, archive visits, field trips.
foundland.info
Qu Minmin and Jiang Qian, Mei Shuzhi and Li Zhenghong, Hou Ying
Jianping He is a visual designer, professor and publisher as well as curator of the exhibition Chinese Binding. He has invited five Chinese designers to present their work at the Weltformat Symposium. Jiang Qian, teacher and graphic designer, founded the studio QQQQ Design in 2015 in Nanjing together with Qu Minmin, an editor and book designer. Mei Shuzhi and Li Zhenghong, art directors from Hangzhou and founders of the studio 702design, work and experiment in the areas of communication design, signage, branding and editorial design. Hou Ying from Beijing is an art director and founder of Inwa Design. She completed her studies at CAFA and the School of Art at Yale University in 2012 and 2014, respectively.
The Rodina
The Amsterdam-based designers originally from Czech
Republic have not only broken new ground geographically but also in terms of
design: the duo’s roots are in the arts.
therodina.com
Daniela and Linda Dostálková
The Prague-based sisters work as designers, artists
and curators and give insights into thier work, which blurs the boundaries
between individual disciplines and establishes a connection between art, design
and the public.
dostalkova.com
Ludovic Balland
As a student of the Basel School, Ludovic Balland's
work is still rooted in the tradition of the institution. The visual parallels
to design icons such as Wolfgang Weingart are clearly visible in his design. In
his lecture, Balland will provide insights into his career and his attitude
towards the legacy of Swiss Style. He is the designer of this year's festival
poster and shows his concept of Poster-Talks
in an exhibition.
ludovic-balland.com
Panel Discussion
Miriam Koban and Robert Lzicar invite all speakers of the symposium to the following panel discussion. Is there such a thing as global movements in design or do regional differences still dominate? Which factors influence an entire style? And which ones the work of an individual designer? The hosts and guests will get to the bottom of these and many other questions.
