The region “Walgau” and its transformation by inserting a syllable to create the adjective “genau” (precise, exact). The logo type deliberately uses lower case lettering in order to convey action, playfulness and lightness. The little green ring augments the brand, is a navigation element, an explanatory graphic symbol and much more. The website appeals to teachers and students, distributes learning units, documents results and lives from its simple functionality and interesting contents, often conveyed by means of videos and animated graphics. Today it is the moving image in particular that shapes digital, visual communication.

Atelier Gassner’s corporate design for Lech municipal council has proved its worth over more than 25 years and is widely used: from the letterhead and all the council’s printed material to the signposts throughout the village. The goal was to create a contemporary image that would, however, be independent of the tourism advertising. Alongside the coat of arms derived from heraldry, the basic element of the corporate design is a family of typefaces known as Trinité, a modern Renaissance Antique by Bram de Does. The set of characters comes in three different versions that are distinguished by their different upper and lower lengths. These variables and other coordinated type styles allow precise typographical differentiation for a variety of applications – from the council’s correspondence to the bibliophile typesetting, from the town’s extensive signposting system to its web design. The digital and analogue design for the “Philosophicum Lech” is based on this typeface culture and is connected with a unique image concept. Using microphotography, the theme of the year is expressed by a different kind of plant each year. In this way the “key visual” is renewed year after year, while still remaining a recognisable events label. The website fulfils several functions. It is an archive, advertising for events and at the same time a commuication platform for the organisers of events. The web design ensures a bright, uncluttered website that responds flexibly to the particular end device used, above all smartphones and tablets.

Architect Roger Boltshauser positioned his design in the “groove” first made by the architecture of the Maison de Verre which is characterised by “bare” materials and transparency of forms. In the new building the way in which the functions are made legible is entirely in accordance with this early modernism. “Troublemakers” that line the internal world, for example elements for the lighting and building services, are intended to be visible. The same applies to the signage. On this account architect Roger Boltshauser involved Atelier Andrea Gassner at an early planning stage. In designing the directional system in this new, nine-storey building the principalfunctional challenges were the diversity of the spatial structure and functions as well as fluctuations in staff and functional demands that were to be expected. In all zones of the central orientation, sub-orientation (storey areas) and detail orientation (room identification) flexibility and changeability in the messages were called for. Already in the first design study Atelier Andrea Gassner placed the emphasis on digital LED display technology and transmission by means of screens. All the screens, including the wall graphics in the outdoor area, can be centrally controlled. Reflecting the nature of the architectural design, the materialisation envisages an archaic technoid idiom – glass, oiled steel, light concrete. The building blocks of the graphic design include a special dot lettering developed for different grain sizes as well as a symbol program that uses the mould material for the sans serif letters “E T H”. This design concept allows pattern sequences and abstract typographical repeats in a horizontal and vertical direction for floors, walls, and single elements. The square provides the basis for the individual symbols and allows seamless use as partial inlays in the architect-specified mood board with glass blocks or tiling. The general concept for uniform signage in all ETH main and ancillary buildings that was introduced in 2019 prevented this individual proposal from being realised.

Dr. Christoph Binder’s core area of competence lies in assisting small and medium-sized businesses aiming to internationalise their business. He communicates his knowledge and intercultural experience through reflective personal mentoring processes for staff and managers who wish to or must prepare themselves for deployment abroad. We placed the rounded, open “C” as a visual anchor at the centre of image. The dotted form symbolises the multi-national network of the business. When used digitally, the rows of dots in the logo are distinguished from each other by different shades of grey and sizes and can be activated by a cursor reaction. Alongside the symbol’s interactive »usability« the effect is a surprisingly three-dimensional development. In the printed form through the sharp-edged blind embossing the logo appears tactile, spatial and at the same time elegant. In typographic terms the logo is framed by type cuts from the typeface family »Scala« – a reinterpreted serif-stressed Renaissance-Antiqua by Dutch typeface designer Martin Majoor.