Unerhört – Posters for New Music
Typographic Explorations of Sonic Territories
Methodologies for visualizing sound and music as a means of typographic expression in design education
Juergen Hefele
Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Design
The Augsburg University of Applied Sciences
Germany
Friday, April 30th, 2021, at 2:30 pm CEST, Munich
Presentation in English
Cover Image: a detail image of a student work by Anne Rusch
“New music is new listening,” writes John Cage in “Silence” [1]. New contemporary music is boundless, and it searches for novel forms and sounds. It requires open and attentive ears and senses beyond listening habits.
What is new music? Are we unbiased enough to listen and accept new sonic experiences? How can we visualize noises, sounds, and rhythm? How can we transform complex music into typography and graphic design to create eye-catching posters? These are the primary questions that I asked the 2nd year students of our typography course to address. In typography, rhythm and timbre are key elements of design and composition, so it’s an ideal marriage.
Jürgen’s students explored artistic and typographical concepts of music visualization. Works of the Swiss masters Weingart, Hofmann, and Mueller-Brockmann inspired them. With exercises, the students explored the possibilities of typographic visualization of sound and rhythm in a playful and conceptual way. They designed posters for the music of Steve Reich and other selected composers of new and electro-acoustic music from the 20th century to contemporary young artists.
This course reflects Jürgen’s method to explore and apply analog and digital design. In the talk, Jürgen discusses the method and educational approach, explains design processes, and shows fascinating design solutions created by his students.
1 John Cage: Silence: Lectures and Writings, Wesleyan University Press, 1961.
Webinar Contents
Introduction
Jorge Brandão Pereira
UDA Vice President of Design Ethics
Lecturer
School of Design
Polytechnic Institute of Cávado and Ave
Portugal
Presentation
Juergen Hefele
Senior Lecturer
Faculty of Design
The Augsburg University of Applied Sciences
Germany
Discussion with all attendees
Final Remark by Mediator
About Presenter
Juergen Hefele is an educator and designer living and working in Augsburg, Germany. He is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Design at the Augsburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany, where he teaches typography, visual communication, and conceptual design. Besides teaching, he works as a creative director at the Augsburg Textile and Industry Museum.
Juergen Hefele holds a master’s degree from the Academy of Art and Design in Basel, Switzerland. Since studying Turkish in Istanbul in 1992 he has made the city his second home. In 2004, he established academic collaborations with the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University that continues to this day and includes workshops, artistic projects, and exchange programs. Over the years he has run design workshops at design faculties in Istanbul, Izmir, Eskişehir, Sinop, Prague, Nairobi, and at Yahsibey Design Workshops. When he is not in Istanbul, he lives and works in his native Augsburg, teaching design and running his design studio. Juergen Hefele is Vice-President for Design Practice of United Designs Alliance.
In keeping with the UDA mission of celebrating global awareness and providing both educational and professional opportunities in communication design, UDA offers webinars. These events are one of many activities as we continue to develop our design awareness in society and culture.
