It goes without saying Forward Festival is one of the best design festivals to ever grace this planet, flooded with influential designers, creators, and artists you’re sure to leave feeling inspired and pumped to take on the world.
Not to mention the best goodie bags you will ever receive, they beat every party bag you received as a kid! We’re talking two different snacks, notepads, a whole design mag, pencils, stickers, the lot.
Before we begin, we must mention we are only going to talk about our highlights, because if we write about everything we saw, heard, and experienced we would definitely be here for the next three months still writing blog posts! (YES, it’s that good).
DAY ONE – After arriving two hours early for check-in, clearly too eager –
We couldn’t wait to get in and get started, our brains ready to absorb all the information and design they could take. This year, the Vienna dates 6-7 Oct were hosted inside the gorgeous Gartenbaukino; a venue exuding retro ambiance.
Once inside, wristbands on and goodie bags in hand, we made our way down to the main stage, not before grabbing a quick Austrian drink to take in with us.
Kicking off the show was this year’s host, Stefan Sagmeister — a legend in the design world, we felt honoured to be in the same room as him. Talking us through his perfectly balanced infographics he reminded us to take a look at the bigger picture, it’s not all that bad after all.
“My pieces have to be in the home as a reminder that what you just read on Twitter doesn’t mean that the world is coming to an end.” It was calming and reassuring to hear his facts and perspective, given mainstream media’s take on the news and portrayal of development over the last 50 years.
He even gave us a glimpse into his new clothing line, something you have to be truly cool to wear. Sagmeister explains, “It’s actually a really lazy name. It’s called Sagmeister123, you know the kind of shit you have to choose when your Gmail name is taken”… it’s this kind of brilliance that keeps us in awe of Sagmeister and all he has achieved.
@STEFANSAGMEISTER
HEY STUDIO
It’s always a pleasure being in conversation with Veronica, owner, and founder of Hey Studio, so when we heard that she would be talking at Vienna Forward Festival, we couldn’t miss it!
Giving us first-hand insight into her studio and what happens behind the scenes, she explains “I’m an ego manager” when talking about her own place within the company. Veronica goes on to explain her manual and simple processes to create stunning digital visuals. “I love to test, test, test. Maybe the first idea is okay, but I need to explore 1000 more.” We couldn’t agree more, this insightful perspective is a great reminder to play and have fun with your designs, you might like the first one but by taking the time to play around you might find something new that you like more.
Jim Stoten
Jim never fails to impress, amuse and captivate his audience. Giving us a show as lively as his artwork we couldn’t take our eyes away from the stage, even to make notes.
Jim explains his difficult relationship with his work, a feeling we think every artist reaches after a while, “it’s a form of solace for me” he says. We can understand finding comfort in what you know or even better, what you’re good at, but when the slide with his new paintings lit up the theatre screen, we saw a side of Jim we haven’t before. “It’s scratching some sort of weird itch” he explains. It’s certainly this kind of encouragement a lot of us need to see, especially when artists on Instagram are well known for their style, it becomes their online personality, but there is no shame and there should be nothing holding you back to try something new. Experiment a little, scratch that weird itch.
A Workshop with ZetaFonts
We couldn’t come to Forward Festival and not take part in the “Fontastic” workshop with letterform pros ZetaFonts — a two-hour jam-packed event discussing typefaces, the perspective of feminine and masculine letterforms, and designing our own typeface.
“Disclaimer, we are going to talk about the addiction that is typography” they begin. It certainly is an easily addictive profession to get into. Rolling through examples of how fluid type can be, challenging us to see how our perception of a typeface changes with what the font is advertising or placed over.
“Typography is the visible form of language” we are quickly reminded of how important typography is, how it is everywhere and often overlooked in the mundane.
We were blown away by the extensive knowledge and the sheer skill of ZetaFonts, after asking us all to draw a letter they whipped up a custom typeface right in front of us. Taking no longer than 30 minutes! Truly impressive, we could feel ourselves getting more and more addicted to the art of typography by the minute.
Erik Kessels
To finish off the perfect first day, Erik gave us a deep dive into his past and how he got to where he is now, a journey that we definitely would have loved to be a part of or at least a bug on the wall being able to take it all in. We picked up his new book at the kiosk before meeting him in the theatre for his talk. ‘Complete Amateur’ he tells us is a book about shaking off what you have learnt and becoming an amateur. “You need to break up with yourself. Constantly reinvent yourself, step outside yourself.” A quote that resonates with his artwork, known for taking and collecting amateur photography he often re-appropriates and recontextualises them to give new meaning, a new personality.
To top it off we met his son Sjeng, who gave us even greater insights into the life as a Kessels, and also an artistic legend himself, carving his own path in the creative world. Proving this is a great place to meet like-minded people in the vast design and creative world.
DAY TWO – We were siked to get back into the theatre, there was so much to do and so much to see.
We explored the Hennessey Hidden Gallery and ended up in a deep conversation with Vienna-based artist, Ruin. Talking us through his process which had us fooled, looking like a screenprint, it is actually spray painted using a mask with a hand-drawn illustration in black pen ink. There were other stalls and mini-exhibits around the venue, including Fritz Kola, Toilet Paper Magazine (conveniently placed by the toilet), and Gmund paper, amongst other wonderful exhibits that resonated with those who are interested in design, paper, print, and creativity.
Kelly Anna
“Today I’m going to talk about how my career is ending because of (having my son),” Kelly Anna got personal with us, bringing us to tears discussing something that resonates with us as new parents ourselves.
She reminds us not to listen to the narratives, “I was told, nope! You won’t be able to do it. You’ll be too tired. WELL, I DID IT!” Showing us, she is as strong and bold as the powerful figures she paints. Kelly Anna charged us with a positive energy we couldn’t contain, raising goosebumps on our arms. We realise we are all the same, as new parents and self-employed artists/freelancers — it slowly starts to feel less lonely and like you’re not the only one feeling that way. “The idea I couldn’t do everything myself was kind of a downer. But instead of being a Debby downer, I asked for help. It’s ok to ask for help”, Kelly explains how motherhood has taught her to lean into the uncomfortable. We even got a closer look at the new stroller designed for on-the-go mums. “It’s the first time on a project where me as a mum and an artist wasn’t battling each other”.
Eike König
Making a mystical entrance, Eike reminds us why he and his work is so iconic. Giving us real brutal honesty, he explained how Covid-19 screwed him and showed us how he changed his work and practice to benefit his new family and studio.
“The moment I became a father was kind of like an earthquake in my life” he starts, Eike is a no-bullshit talking kind of guy and he is done with the brand campaigns and the fake friendships….because when disaster strikes, where are the brands then? They pull contracts and plans leaving you with no revenue. So, he switched it up, designed a space around the people that matter and invested in people rather than success and money. “The problem with commercial work, is after working with a few brands it becomes a bit repetitive. It doesn’t really feel like it makes me happy at all, it doesn’t push me anymore.” He didn’t come to mess around, and we were hearing loud and clear! “We all come up with the same things. This idea of making something very special and unique is an illusion.” There seems to be this battle we go through about wanting to be original, but maybe we should all accept the fact that nothing is original anymore. All that matters is you’re happy creating and doing what you love with people you love, “being independent with my private work respects some aspect of my life…. I never felt so happy in my life than where I am right now.”
We are still high from the buzz of the event and enjoyed networking with all the wonderful people. Vienna is a beautiful city and Othmar Handl was so accommodating and definitely knows how to put on a design festival! BRING ON 2023! X
marcroy@peopleofprint.com
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