February 2009
The 14th ‘TYPO Berlin’ design conference will take a more political angle than previous conferences. German designers will discuss ways to up their profession’s profile in the public sphere. And leading lights from the fields of graphics, design, media and art will report on new strategies and communications approaches in politics, social networking and the Internet in general.
The program and the list of speakers are nearing completion. One thing is already clear: This year’s event will be more political than the past.
Esther Dyson is the charismatic opening speaker. Appearing in the Haus der Kulturen der Welt from May 21 through 23, she will dedicate herself to this year’s TYPO theme ”Space.”
A digital technology and science journalist, Dyson is considered guiding force in digital technology. She is currently in Moscow training for a possible space flight. She will serve as a reservist for software developer Charles Simonyi, who is scheduled to travel to the International Space Station in March aboard the Soyuz TMA 14. At TYPO 2009, Dyson will share her experiences training as an astronaut and talk about her favorite subject–the effect of fast-paced technology development on markets, business life and society.
With his design for the Obama election campaign logo, Sol Sender produced one of the most recognizable political logos in recent memory. At TYPO, Sender will discuss political communication tools and talk about the role of the Obama logo in the multi-media U.S. election campaign. The designer will show some of the designs that were rejected and discuss the power of a graphic symbol that is immediately comprehensible even without text.
A recent furore in Germany over a botched new logo for the city of Cottbus united German designers. Blogs were rife with discussion of frivolous competitions and disdain for the designer’s work. But the question that arose of whether designers needed a professional standards association remained unanswered.
At TYPO 2009, we hope to redefine a joint approach. The cleverest minds on the design scene will be promoting their positions, as well as reps from German design associations, including the BDG and the AGD. One of those will be Berlin designer and typographer Erik Spiekermann. As a creative ambassador for the European Union, he hopes to help design professionals get a better hearing in the political sphere.
The 2009 TYPO Berlin will be attended by some 1200 typographers, designers and media creatives from all over the world. For three days, leaders in the disciplines of graphics, design, media and art will present their positions, augmented by lectures, round tables, workshops and initiatives. Among the 40 or so speakers who have already committed are graphic designer Philippe Apeloig (France), Chip Kidd (US), Bernard Stein (Germany), Gemma O�Brien (Australia), American web designer Joshua Davis and from Germany, Mario Lombardo, art director and recipient of the �Visual Leader of the Year 2008� award.
Register to attend at www.typoberlin.de.
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