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Rette sich, wer kann!

Erik Spiekermann’s recent column in the German magazine FORM.

„Es kann nicht mehr lange dauern, bis wir uns wieder nach einfachen Informationen sehnen: Was in einer Packung drin ist, woher es kommt, was es kostet und bis wann man es verbraucht haben sollte. “

Read the full Article at form.de

MNTV features Edenspiekermann

Marketingnetwerk.tv (MNTV) is a new platform that aspires to be a matchmaker between clients and agencies in the Netherlands. With short documentaries and interviews MNTV wants to portray the field of marketing and communications. MNTV also visited the offices of Edenspiekermann in Amsterdam and Berlin.

FF Mister K is the Page ‘Font of the Month’

Inspired by the excentric handwriting of Franz Kafka, Julia Sysmäläinen created FF Mister K and won the renowned ISTD Premier Award. Now the German Magazine Page chose the scriptfont to be the ‘Font of the Month’. Antje Dohman (Page online) loves it too. Here’s the intro. Read the whole article here

„Unter Schiller, Goethe, Fontane, Brecht und all den anderen Klassikern, die auf dem Lehrplan meiner Schulzeit standen war mir Franz Kafka stets der Liebste. Das Rätselhafte in seinen Erzählungen, die düstere oft alptraumhafte Stimmung fand ich faszinierend. Ähnlich scheint es der finnischen Grafik- und Typedesignerin Julia Sysmäläinen ergangen zu sein, die sich derart von den Manuskripten des Schriftstellers Franz Kafka inspiriert fühlte, dass sie aus seiner Handschrift mit ihren kalligrafischen Eigenschaften einen Script-Font machte. Dabei ist die so entstandene FF Mister K keineswegs kafkaesk, sondern eine freundliche Type, die zum Spielen einlädt.“

Read the full at

Erik Spiekermann’s TEDx Berlin-Talk now online

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, the first TEDx conference was held in Berlin on 30 November 2009 at the Grand Hyatt. Erik Spiekermann kicked off the day with a presentation called “Redesigning Design”.

Studio Culture: the Secret Life of the Graphic Design Studio

Last year Unit Editions published their book “Studio Culture” presenting different sources of creative work. One of the studio portraits is the Berlin office of Edenspiekermann. The elaborate interview with Erik Spiekermann by Adrian Shaughnessy is now available on the Suite7 journal. Read part 1 and part 2

Designers maken er chocola van

Dutch magazine Marketing Tribune writes about TCHO and design as a success factor for brands in their ‘best of 2009’ special.

„De wereld veroveren met chocolade. Geen bescheiden ambitie van Timothy Childs, oud NASA-wetenschapper, en Louis Rosetto, oprichter van Wired. Maar hoe die chocolade gemaakt moest worden, eruit zou gaan zien of zelfs maar moest gaan smaken, dat lag begin 2008 nog allemaal open. Toch werd ontwerper Susanna Dulkinys van designbureau Edenspiekermann er direct bij betrokken. Een gesprek over de rol van design als succesfactor bij merken zoals het nieuwe chocolademerk TCHO.“

Read the full Article at

Erik’s lecture at the UvA

Erik Spiekermann gave the second Frederik Muller Lecture, organised by the University of Amsterdam (UvA) on Wednesday 16 December. For those who couldn’t be there: we hope to have a video of the lecture online soon. For now just photos.

Erik Spiekermann @ The Edge in London

Organised by the DBA, the Edge is a groundbreaking event making the links between creativity, risk-taking and success. Among Olivier Toscani, Michael Wolff and Malcolm Garett, Erik Spiekermann was one of the creative pioneers mingling with the crowd, hosting lunches and having group conversations.

The Edge mixes a rising generation of creative talent with the most senior and successful of its high-achievers and you’ll come together in an unusually direct way. It took place December 9 & 10 in London for the first time.

Edo van Dijk on Radio 1

Edo van Dijk was interviewed by Dutch radio programme ‘Goedemorgen Nederland’ about the paper saving typeface that is currently being developed for the City of Amsterdam.

The typeface is a narrower version of the Avenir, designed by Adrian Frutiger. Estimated savings for the City of Amsterdam are up to 80.000 euros per year. Listen to the (Dutch) radio interview on Radio 1.

Save money with a narrower, yet legible typeface

Edo van Dijk was interviewed by Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad about a paper saving typeface that is currently being developed for the City of Amsterdam.

„Van Dijk doet momenteel een proefproject voor de Gemeente Amsterdam met het ontwerpen en introduceren van een nieuwe letter, gebaseerd op de huisstijlletter Avenir. Het moet een letter worden die niet alleen mooi en leesbaar zal zijn, maar die ook moet leiden tot aanzienlijk minder papiergebruik. Dat er minder toner nodig zal zijn in de printer is ook mooi meegenomen. Maar bezuinigen op papier is vooralsnog de voornaamste reden.“

Read the full Article at

Partnership gets the best result

Chinese design magazine 360 features Edenspiekermann in their latest issue on exhibition design.

„Designing for exhibitions with visual vocabulary is one of Edenspiekermann’s strengths and passion. From an exhibition stand to a whole exhibition experience, Edenspiekermann always manages to design it memorable, experimentational and interactive. Not only its manifestos but action proves that its work adds to its clients’ bottom line, and partnership with the clients gets the best result. “

Read the full Interview at

Financial crises are of all time

Dutch newspaper the Volkskrant reports about the exhibition Capital Amsterdam.

„In 1914, aan de vooravond van de Eerste Wereldoorlog, haalden spaarders in paniek 20 miljoen gulden (9 miljoen euro) weg bij de Amsterdamsche Bank, waardoor de voorganger van ABN Amro dreigde om te vallen. Het was niet de eerste bankrun in Nederland. In het rampjaar 1672 werden zoveel gouden en zilveren munten opgevraagd dat Amsterdam in de Munttoren zijn eigen munterij kreeg. De expositie Kapitaal Amsterdam: 400 jaar financiële geschiedenis, toont aan hoe snel de kwetsbaarheid van het financiële systeem in de loop van de geschiedenis wordt vergeten.“

Read the full Article at volkskrant.nl

The Making of… “Open since 1989”

To celebrate the ‘Festival of Freedom’, over 1000 giant dominoes were toppled to symbolise the chain reaction throughout Germany, Europe and the world after the fall of the Berlin wall. The design for one oversize styrofoam domino at the Brandenburg Gate was made by Edenspiekermann.

FontCast #5 — Webfonts Week: Erik Spiekermann

FontCast interviewed Erik Spiekermann during the Typ09 in Mexico City. See the video here

„Still speaking a-mile-a-minute and showing no signs of slowing down, Erik Spiekermann coyly calls himself an “old guy”. It’s true that he’s been around for every incarnation of type — metal, film, and digital — but he’s no fuddy-duddy when it comes to new technology and new methods. Spiekermann embraced the fledgling world of digital type early on when he founded FontShop 20 years ago, and he’s just as forward-thinking now about licensing type in an era of Web-embeddable fonts.“

Read the full Interview at

Why Enexis’ cars are no longer pink

Omnimark, specialist in the execution of visual design in practice, was responsible for the fleet marking of Enexis. Read about the collaboration between Enexis, Omnimark and Edenspiekermann in Newsletter ‘Omnimarkable’.

„We listened carefully to the opinions of the Enexis mechanics. They use the company cars on a daily basis and also take them home. The previous main colour used on the cars was pink, which was not to everyone's taste. By using grey and white as the basic colours and pink and green as highlighting colours the overall appearance became much more chic. “

Read the full Article at

You say you want a Manifesto

„Manifestos - some smart, others not - are all the rage in art and design circles. An exhibition in Treviso, Italy, from September 12 to October 31, is about 13 of them that were created on varying themes by the likes of Mike Mills, Stefan Sagmeister, Massimo Vignelli, Bob Norda, Enzo Mari, Daniel Eatock, Edenspiekermann, KeselsKramer, Bre Pettis and Kio Stark, Bob Gill and Ellen Lupton.“

Read the full at printmag.com

W24: Science and technology platform inspires and surprises

A new scientific platform was launched earlier this week: wetenschap24 (science24). Broadcasting organisation VPRO, educational broadcaster TeleacNOT, kennislink.nl and the NEMO science centre are the initiators. Edenspiekermann created the identity and website (interaction and visual design, front-end templates) and contributed to the naming and campaign.

30 Conversations on Design

Typographer Erik Spiekermann about his biggest inspiration: the invention of the alphabet and movable type.

„The alphabet. Johannes Gutenberg. Being an artist vs. a designer. Changing a blank piece of paper to something with meaning.“

Read the full at thirtyconversationsondesign.com

Typ09 Mexico City

At the 2009 ATypI (Association Typographique Internationale) conference, Typ09 held in Mexico City this week, typographers, designers, educators, and typographic professionals from around the world will converge to celebrate the importance of type and to explore its history and its future. ATypI member Erik Spiekermann is one of the speakers. Read more on ATypI.org

Erik Spiekermann featured in the current Computer Arts Magazine

Communication Designer and typographer Erik Spiekermann reveals the inner workings of the type trade to Garrick Webster.

„The biggest kick I get is when I see people use my typefaces in ways that I never imagined.“

Read the full Interview at computerarts.co.uk

Educational visit from Cyprus

Today we welcomed a group of around 35 people working for the local authorities on Cyprus. They are on an educational visit to the Netherlands to learn about e-goverment and government communication and came to Edenspiekermann Amsterdam for presentations by Flip Wegner and Francien Malecki.

Francien Malecki at PLAIN 2009

The 7th biennial Plain Language Association InterNational (PLAIN) conference is hosted in Sydney this year and took place last week. Francien Malecki was speaker and hosted a workshop on form design together with our friends from alliance partner Kleimann Communication Group. In this workshop participants learn that developing forms is something everyone can learn. In 5 clear steps they are guided through the process in an active and playful way.

Achtung! Erik Spiekermann

Designers as Hunter-Gatherers

„Biologically we are still the same people who were hunting on the plains a few thousand years ago. We stand upright in order to see further than the four-legged animals we eat, and we make tools to first kill and then carve them with. Our evolutionary forebears were not only hunters, but gatherers as well; that way they could survive long winters on what they had previously brought home. We designers also gather things. Not to survive long winters, and not food, but things that we imagine might be useful one day in the future.“

Read the full Article at blueprintmagazine.co.uk

Kommunikationsdesign aus Deutschland

Der Film „Faszination Form Farbe – Kommunikationsdesign aus Deutschland“ von Maren Niemeyer und Sissi Hüetlin mit Edenspiekermann und Hering Berlin ist für den Deutschen Wirtschaftsfilmpreis 2009 nominiert.

German Communication Design

Edenspiekermann and Hering Berlin featured in Deutsche Welle TV:

Energy/Enthusiasm vs Strategy/Polder Model

Design.nl caught up with Willem Woudenberg from edenspiekermann who recently ran a design workshop in India as part of Design Yatra, Mumbai.

„What can Dutch designers learn from Indian designers and vice versa? We hear from Willem Woudenberg from edenspiekermann who recently gave a design workshop during Design Yatra in Mumbai.“

Read the full Article at design.nl

Klarheit versus Wahrheit: 90 Jahre Bauhaus

The German marketing magazine W&V (Werben & Verkaufen) honours the 90th anniversary of Bauhaus, commented by ‘Design Pope’ Erik Spiekermann. Read the article inside.

„Sie holten Architektur, Kunst, Fotografie, Werbung und Design unter ein Dach: Das Bauhaus entfernte alle Schnörkel, trommelte auf allen Kanälen und wurde zur globalen Marke. W&V hat nachgefragt, wo heute Bauhaus noch drinsteckt.“

Read the full Article at

Impressions of the 5th Brussels Debates

The debate took place in the framework of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009. Vice-President Günter Verheugen, Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry, underlined how innovation can help EU enterprises emerge from the current recession stronger. See pics inside.

Intercultural workshop at Design Yatra 2009

Willem Woudenberg (Edenspiekermann) and Frits Lintmeijer organised an intercultural workshop for Indian and Dutch professionals at this year’s Design Yatra in Mumbai.

„"Indian designers take time to argue all the ins and outs of a problem. Dutch are more eager to structure and conclude." concludes Frits Lintmeijer after a series of vivid 'Intercultural workshops' at Designyatra. Twenty Indian and Dutch professionals tackled imaginary problems with brothers and boats, made a mood-board and designed a landmark to discover and understand cultural differences, with the ultimate goal to improve mutual business.“

Read the full Event at

Finnish font wins Russian Award

FF Mister K, the font developed by the Finnish designer Julia Sysmäläinen won the International Type Design Competition ‘Modern Cyrillic’. The latin version of the typo inspired by Franz Kafka had been introduced at the this year’s TYPO 2009 conference. Mы пoздравляем Mister K!

Impressions of Kyoorius Designyatra 09

Already afraid of not having any pics of India’s biggest design conference to publish: thanks to Patrick Burgoyne, speaker at last year’s Kyoorius Designyatra, offering these wonderfully made scribbles in a blog about the designwold’s gathering September 4-7 in Mumbai:

„Erik Spiekermann brought the conference to a close with one of this trademark bursts of outspoken opinion, good sense and fierce intelligence and suddenly it was all over.“

Read the full Event at creativereview.co.uk

Hans Prummel about Fonk

Identity Matters (iM) became Fonk. Five months after the introduction of the new name for this creative magazine, strategy and naming consultant Hans Prummel, talks about the development proces.

„In her column, editor in chief Nicolette Hulsebos, asked the readers of iM to come up with suggestions for a new name for the magazine. Prummel read the column and called Hulsebos straight away. Although crowdsourcing is a popular phenomenon, Prummel feels that naming is a profession and that in the end professional help in such a matter is the best way. After only one presentation the new name was born.“

Read the full Interview at

Award-Regen: Berliner Nachwuchstalent sahnt mächtig ab

Christian Hanke, graphic designer at Edenspiekermann Berlin, has won four awards this year, one of them is a ‘best of the best:red dot award 2009‘. Congrats!

Erik Spiekermann in the EUROBIKE AWARD 2009 jury

The judging session for the EUROBIKE AWARD 2009 is taking place today in Hannover. The bicycle fan Erik Spiekermann was chosen among five other experts to bestow the most innovative products in the bicycle industry. Of course, entries should also reflect a particular level of design quality. The jury’s decision will be communicated at the Award Ceremony September 2, followed by the trade fair at EUROBIKE Friedrichshagen.

Mr. Spiekermann testing… More pics inside!

Read more on international forum design

Utrecht City Theatre Identity Presentation

Type Desk, a journal of graphic communication by Theodore Rosendorf, features the new identity we made for Utrecht City Theatre.

„I picked up this video from Font Feed where they ran a story on Edenspieker­mann winning two red dot awards for their work with Hering Berlin and Utrecht City Theatre. I was attracted to the video by its ability to communicate the Utrecht City Theatre identity work so well. The brand uses a custom version of Agenda.“

Read the full Article at typedesk.com

Edenspiekermann featured in French design magazine Étapes

Étapes publish a special on the European Design Awards, featuring Edenspiekermann’s work for TCHO and Hering Berlin.

„Privilégiant le format carré à la traditionnelle tablette rectangulaire, les emballages de la marque, signés Edenspiekermann - nouvelle structure d'Erik Spiekermann -, replacent le produit dans la sphère du luxe. Codifée par une couleur, chaque tablette est habillée de moires, de trames et de graphiques dorés inspirés de la visualisation en 3D qui traduisent les saveurs et les textures cacaotées.“

Read the full Article at

Gamma nu ook voor vrouwen

Hans Prummel is a new blogger at Molblog.nl: the most popular blog on Marketing in the Netherlands. Hans is strategy and naming consultant.

„Gamma is de bekendste bouwmarkt van Nederland met de grootste omzet en de meeste vestigingen. Gisteren opende in Amsterdam Zuidoost de grootste GAMMA van Nederland. Een ‘MEGAMMA’ met een oppervlakte van 10.000 vierkante meter. Alleen Hornbach is groter met gemiddeld 12.000 vierkante meter (twee voetbalvelden). Tot nu toe richt Gamma zich vooral op prijs en een groot aanbod aan bouwmaterialen. Het imago is bewust neergezet als stoer, robuust en no-nonsense. De hoofdkleuren blauw en grijs en de sobere inrichting geven de winkels de uitstraling van een magazijn. “

Read the full Article at molblog.nl

Do you still remember Aspa?

Hans Prummel is a new blogger at Molblog.nl: the most popular blog on Marketing in the Netherlands. Hans is strategy and naming consultant

„Na de overname door investeerders van de Benelux activiteiten van Samas komt daar een eind aan de merknaam Samas. Productieproblemen en een IT-debacle hadden Samas in grote problemen gebracht. De kantoorinrichter gaat in de Benelux verder als ASPA. Maar ASPA is geen nieuwe naam, want al in 1923 begon Adriaan Spaander onder deze naam een kantoorboekhandel in Zaandijk.“

Read the full Article at molblog.nl

Custom Type: Utrecht City Theatre

Fontfeed.com: Eden­spiek­er­mann recently devel­oped a custom type­face and logo based on Agenda for the Utrecht City Theatre.

„Agenda was chosen by lead designer of Edenspiekermann’s Ams­ter­dam office Earik Wiersma because of it’s asso­ci­a­tion with the 1930s, the era in which the the­ater itself was built by the Dutch archi­tect Dudok. Agenda was inspired by Edward Johnston’s London Trans­port face, which was adopted by the com­plete London under­ground net­work in 1933, and stands as a symbol of the time mark­ing a break from grotesque sans type­faces as one of the early human­ist sans. “

Read the full Article at fontfeed.com

Typography gets the place it deserves thanks to Spiekermann

Dutch magazine Publish about Erik Spiekermann. Text: Henk Gianotten.

Graphic designer, publicist, letter fanatic and co-owner of one of Holland’s best design agencies. But most of all Erik Spiekermann is known in our country as the founder of Fontshop. This article is set in one of his fonts: de Meta Pro.

„Deze ervaren rot maakt mooie letters, schrijft er betrokken over en geeft typografie de plaats die het in de moderne communicatiemiddelen verdient. Hoogstwaarschijnlijk zal hij door zijn directe betrokkenheid bij de Amsterdamse vestiging van Edenspiekermann ook zijn invloed op het Nederlandse grafische ontwerp nog verder kunnen uitbreiden. Neem van mij maar aan dat hij daar zelf ook intens van zal genieten.“

Read the full Article at

Chocolate experience

Dutch design magazine FONK interviewed Susanna Dulkinys on the brand she dreamed for three years: TCHO.

„We hebben briefgeld als inspiratiebron voor de illustration style gebruikt, net als oude culturen als van de Azteken. Dat resulteerde in aardse kleuren, met strakke typografie en sterk design. Dat kunnen we doorvoeren in de overall huisstijl, met b2b-producten, cadeauboxen en zelfs T-shirts.“

Read the full Interview at

Typomania, reloaded

Erik Spiekermann made this video for the BBC almost 25 years ago.. An absolute must see, not only because of the fashionable bow tie around his neck!
Two fellow typomaniacs have taken the sound track from that video and remixed it into Typefaces give us signals. See and hear for yourselves:

Design made in Germany Magazine #1

The brand new online-magazine DMIG produced by Patrick Marc Sommer und Nadine Roßa offers an interesting potpourri of German design projects, stories and point of views. In the very first issue, Erik Spiekermann talks about the Berliner Philharmoniker and Deutsche Telekom.

„Wenn der Unterschied zwischen Anspruch und Wirklichkeit zu groß wird (wie bei vielen bekannten Marken), dann geht ein anspruchsvoller Auftritt nach hinten los und verspielt Vertrauen. Dazu fällt mir immer die Telekom ein, die ein tolles CD hat, das weit entfernt ist von der Leistung im Alltag. Eine gute Agentur kann jeder nehmen, aber die eigene Kultur zu ändern ist schwieriger.“

Read the full Interview at designmadeingermany.de

60 Jahre BRD: Das Gesicht des neuen Deutschlands

The ‘Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung’ celebrates 60 years of the Federal Republic with a supplement on those German designers who have given the country a new face.

„Unsere wahren Leitsystem sind die Bilder der Alltagswelt. In 60 Jahren Bundesrepublik haben die Designer mehr für das Selbstverständnis der Deutschen getan als alle anderen Berufsgruppen. Darum widmen wir ihnen und ihren Leistungen diese Beilage.“

Read the full Article at

Erik Spiekermann and Timothy Childs @ the Creative Company Conference

The 3rd Creative Company Conference – the first international conference that brings business and creativity together in one arena – is held in Amsterdam today. On board: Erik Spiekermann and Timothy Childs telling the marvelous TCHO story.

Please welcome: Axel and Mister K.

The new Erik Spiekermann typeface ‘Axel’ premieres at TYPO Berlin 2009. ‘Mister K.’ – a font designed by Julia Sysmäläinen – is wandering through the 14th international design conference in the form of different postcards. See the pics!

Flip Wegner at the conference ‘Trends within the insurance market’

On the 12th of May, Flip Wegner is one of the speakers at the congress ‘Trends within the insurance market’ held in the World Trade Center in Rotterdam. The annual congress is meant for professionals from financial organisations and informs them about current topics and developments. Watch the video of his presentation.

Mann fürs Tragewerk

‘Berlin Maximal’ features Erik Spiekermann, Managing Partner and Creative Director of Edenspiekermann. The latest issue of the Tagesspiegel’s economic supplement portraits Germany’s versatile Ambassador of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009.

„Wer ihn erlebt, zweifelt nicht daran, dass er mit allen Mitteln versuchen wird, die EU-Kulturpolitik als Botschafter umzukrempeln. Design, das ist für ihn auch gestalten und moderieren, Nachhaltigkeit schaffen. Dafür fährt er nun regelmäßig nach Brüssel, rennt Mauern ein, macht sich unbeliebt, stellt Forderungen. ‚Gefallen muss ich da niemandem‘, so Spiekermann. “

Read the full Article at berlin-maximal.de

Jeder Mensch ist kreativ

The ‘Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung’ on the importance of promoting creativity and innovation within today’s society.

„Bisher hat man die beiden von der Bundesregierung ernannten deutschen Botschafter Karlheinz Brandenburger und Erik Spiekermann weder auf der Titelseite eines Wirtschaftsmagazins gesehen noch bei Thomas Gottschalk auf dem Sofa von ‚Wetten, dass... ?‘. Doch es wäre bedauerlich, wenn das elementare Thema Kreativität medial unterginge zwischen Themen wie Finanzkrise oder Bundestagswahl.“

Read the full Article at faz.net

Du bist Berlin: Erik Spiekermann

As part of the series ‘You are Berlin’, the magazine ‘Tip Berlin’ features people making a difference to our city – from the shoe salesman from around the corner to the type designer and information architect Erik Spiekermann.

„Vor allem die öffentlichen Ausschreibungen gehen ihm auf die Nerven: ‚Allein, wie die beschrieben sind, ist eine Katastrophe. Das wird wie im Einkauf gemacht: Ich hätte gerne drei Stück Entwurf. So kauft man auch Panzerketten oder Kinderschuhe. Deshalb formuliere ich jetzt mit, wie Ausschreibungen für Design aussehen könnten.’ “

Read the full Article at tip-berlin.de

Erik Spiekermann ist Botschafter der Kreativen

Managing Partner Erik Spiekermann has been chosen as ‘Ambassador’ within the European Commision’s initiative ‘European Year of Creativity and Innovation’. The daily newspaper ‘Berliner Morgenpost’ takes up the news. Here’s a snippet:

„Wirklich wissen wird es kaum jemand, aber die Europäische Kommission hat 2009 das ‚European Year of Creativity and Innovation‘ ausgerufen. Zu den wenigen, die sich als ‚Botschafter‘ im Rahmen von Kongressen und Projekten dieses Themas annehmen dürfen, gehört auch ein Berliner.“

Read the full Article at morgenpost.de

Typespotting 5: een nieuwe DIN aan het letterfirmament

Edo van Dijk is a regular blogger at Molblog.nl: the most popular blog on Marketing in the Netherlands.

„Linotype bracht afgelopen week een nieuwe interpretatie van de klassieke schreefloze normletter DIN 1451 op de markt: de DIN Next. En Linotype pakt het meteen groot aan: de familie omvat 7 gewichten van ultra light tot black, een condensed serie en heeft als extraatje ook nog 4 rounded gewichten. Een nieuwe concurrent dus van de FF DIN, de letter van onze landgenoot Albert-Jan Pool waarmee de FontShop al ruim 10 jaar groot succes heeft?“

Read the full Article at molblog.nl

Achtung! Erik Spiekermann

We all know that a quick sketch can be both the beginning of a process or the end of it. It all depends on what you call ‘designing’. Does it only happen while actually working on paper or screen, or does a problem, a brief, or a project leach itself to the inside of your head without you even knowing it’s there? And then come out, fully developed as a building, a painting, a chair, a lamp, or a bookcover?

Euro Taxi Conference Video

After a meeting of the this years Ambassadors for the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009, Erik Spiekermann is being interviewed by Euro Taxi.

Designers over design: Willem Woudenberg

In the design special of Tijdschrift voor Marketing (February ’09) six designers answer questions like: do consumers react differently to design in times of crisis and what are the most important trends on design for this year. Willem Woudenberg was one of the interviewees.

„Willem Woudenberg (55) is sinds 1991 verbonden aan Eden Design en sinds 2001 managing partner. Bij Eden werken 75 à 80 mensen. Het bureau werkt voornamelijk voor corporate brands in de publieke sector en de commerciële dienstverlening. Kenmerkend voor Eden Design vindt Woudenberg het geloof in aan de ene kant het vergroten van het onderscheidend vermogen van een merk, en aan de andere kant de toegankelijkheid. In 2009 fuseert Eden met het Berlijnse SpierkermannPartners.“

Read the full Interview at

Hoe kijken zes designers aan tegen de co-creatietrend?

Six designers were interviewed for a special in Tijdschrift for Marketing. Their opinion on co-creation was saved for a special article on Molblog. One of the interviewees is Willem Woudenberg.

„Co-creatie lijkt nieuw, maar het gebeurt allang. Wij kunnen ons werk niet doen als we niet samenwerken met klanten. Je wilt werken aan langdurig effect, en dus heb je draagvlak nodig en acceptatie. Het is een interessante ontwikkeling, maar het is wel heel belangrijk dat je in de gaten houdt dat je koers houdt, dat je daar uitkomt waar je naartoe wilt.“

Read the full Article at molblog.nl

Achtung! Erik Spiekermann

In the Chinese calendar, 2009 is the Year of the Ox. Apparently, the ox is ‘a revered animal who symbolizes diligence, reliability, sincerity, strength, and sound judgement.’ They seem just the sort of traits we could have done with in 2008 which was, incidentally, the Year of the Rat. 2008 was also the International Year of the Potato, as declared by the United Nations. And the International Year of Sanitation, also courtesy of the UN. If only politicians had paid more attention they could have cleaned things up early.

Heik Afheldt meets… Designer Erik Spiekermann

Heik Afeldt, former editor of the Berlin daily newspaper ‘Der Tagesspiegel’ interviews Erik Spiekermann, Managing Partner of Edenspiekermann.

„Im historischen Ullsteinhaus an der Friedrichstraße – vom berühmten Architekten David Chipperfield innen saniert – sitzen sie im dritten Stock. Seine 35 kreativen Köpfe in Großraumbüros, der dynamische Chef mit dem schmalen, intelligenten Kopf und der schnellen Zunge in einem schmalen Seitenraum, Zeugen seiner langen, erfolgreichen Laufbahn als Designer an den Wänden und auf den Regalen: Ein goldener Designpreis, ein von Schwarzenegger unterzeichneter kalifornischer Ehrendoktor, Bücher und Plakate.“

Read the full Article at tagesspiegel.de

De glazen bol: 2009 volgens de Nederlandse ontwerptop

Six directors of big design agencies in the Netherlands give their vision on 2009.

„Het nieuwe jaar zal ons veel onverwachts brengen. Des te meer behoefte aan een rots in de branding en lichtpuntje in het donker. Fontanel geeft jullie een onderbouwde fundering door de meest invloedrijke bureau's van Nederland te vragen wat zij van het komende jaar verwachten. Zo blijkt er veel eensgezindheid te heersen maar zijn er ook unieke verwachtingen uitgesproken. We delen onze bevindingen graag en verlichten jullie met boeiende adviezen van doorgewinterde professionals.“

Read the full Article at fontanel.nl

Pysop doet ‘t weer

Edo van Dijk is a regular blogger at Molblog.nl: the most popular blog on Marketing in the Netherlands.

„Pysop, die fenomenale motion designers uit NYC flikken 't 'm weer: een filmpje zoals ik 't nog niet eerder zag! Dit maal voor Smith & Nephew, een fabrikant van kunstgewrichten. Niet bepaald een sexy product, maar op deze manier gevisualiseerd citeer …“

Read the full Article at molblog.nl

‘Dutch Design is Product Design’

Interview with Enrica Flores d’Arcais in Marketing Tribune No 17, 7 October 2008.

Enrica Flores d’Arcais (41) was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts (US). She has her Italian father to thank for her name. Flores d’Arcais came to the Netherlands at the age of six. She studied history and Italian language and literature. She worked briefly in Rome for correspondent Marc Leijendekker of NRC Handelsblad and then in Siena for a literary-scholarly publisher.

Typespotting 4: online font finders

Edo van Dijk is a regular blogger at Molblog.nl: the most popular blog on Marketing in the Netherlands.

„Dit komt je vast wel bekend voor: je ziet een advertentie of een folder met een fraai lettertype en wilt weten hoe dat font heet. Maar hoe kom je daar achter? Ook hiervoor hebben handige jongens en meisjes prima websites bedacht.“

Read the full Article at molblog.nl

Typespotting 3: The typografic synthesizer

Edo van Dijk is a regular blogger at Molblog.nl: the most popular blog on Marketing in the Netherlands.

„MeekFM is een fascinerende synthese van typografie en geluid, twee domeinen die mij altijd weer blijven boeien. Muzikant wordt letterontwerper en omgekeerd. Hoe weird kan een product zijn? Of is het eigenlijk een kunstproject? “

Read the full Article at molblog.nl

The font of all knowledge

Erik Spiekermann interviewed by the Drum Scotland, Vol. 14, Issue 05/2008 (PDF).

„Typographic prophet Erik Spiekermann is known for his unequivocal views on design. So, when he visited Edinburgh as guest speaker for the Scottish Design Review, The Drum armed itself with a deluge of questions from some of Scotland’s leading players to put to one of the most revered names in world design.“

Read the full Interview at

Spiekermann gives us the business

Great interview with Erik Spiekermannm at ideasonideas back from July 2007.

„What mistakes did you make at MetaDesign and how have they shaped how you run SpiekermannPartners?
'Too many to count. I certainly have too much power to my new partners who had no experience in the business. I also didn’t always communicate what I was doing, why I was away so much or why a certain conference or presentation was important. In the end, they thought all I did was look after my hobbies. Now that I’m gone and Meta survives mainly because it’s a big brand, people have finally understood what it takes to build a big design brand.'“

Read the full Interview at ideasonideas.com