Location: Dortmund via Webex

Link:  https://fh-dortmund.webex.com/meet/jens.mueller

Lecture Language: English

Abstract:

Corporate design, visual identity, logo design, branding: There is a whole range of different names for this field of communication design. All terms refer to design solutions that aim to create recognizability across different media. Historically, this practice was first used by companies that wanted to sell products or services. Today, virtually every sports club, museum, university or indie band has its own visual identity. Corporate design has evolved into one of the central tasks in communication design. It is all the more astonishing that fundamental facts on the history of the development of this field are rare. In the course of my research work, I repeatedly come across projects from the past that have fallen into oblivion, in which common practices of today were applied for the first time. Whether it is the variable use of logos, the discovery of the pictogram as a communication medium, or the invention of (seemingly) non-communicating private label products. In the first part of my presentation, I give a brief overview of the development of corporate design in the 20th century and introduce some previously unknown aspects. In the second part, I will go into some very recent developments in the field and show fields in which I intend to work with students in the coming semesters.

Bio:

Jens Müller, born in 1982, studied communication design in Düsseldorf. Subsequently he opened his own design studio and worked for a wide variety of clients from the worlds of culture and business. For Deutsche Post, he has realized over a dozen special stamps since 2007, which have been printed in editions of millions. Together with Karen Weiland-Adams, he won the renowned corporate design competition of Kieler Woche in 2013. Since 2019, he has been running the design studio vista in Düsseldorf together with Katharina Sussek and Andreas Magino. In addition to his work as a designer, he researches the history of international graphic design and is the author of highly acclaimed reference books, including bestsellers such as Lufthansa+Graphic Design, Logo Modernism and The History of Graphic Design. His design works and writings have been featured in international magazines including Wired, Time, La Repubblica or Spiegel. In 2021, Jens Müller was appointed Professor of Corporate Design at the Design Department of the Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts. His upcoming books will be on the beginnings of modern brand design (Logo Beginnings, Taschen, 2021) and the archiving of design (Collecting Graphic Design, Optik Books, 2021).

Website: https://www.studiovista.de/studio