Gestalten

Dutch graphic designer Joost Grootens is an expert at filtering and translating complex data into visually compelling atlases with a narrative. Gestalten.tv met Grootens, who is program leader of the Master of Information Design at the Design Academy Eindhoven, during his recent two-day workshop at Gestalten Space.

In our interview he offers some insight on how books—and atlases in particular—let us reach a better understanding of the changing world we live in by stemming the flood of images and data. Very much rooted in design devoted to clarity yet not shy of taking an unconventional approach, Grootens and his team are dedicated to creating contemporary objects that offer their audience the ultimate in information experience. Watch the video.

Map enthusiasts might also be interested in our recent book The Map Design Toolbox by Alexander Tibelius: http://shop.gestalten.com/map-design-toolbox.html

Gestalten.tv interviews the editor Gestalten's new publication, Original Man, to find out more about the inspiration and work behind the book. Very much an original man himself, the multitalented and charismatic menswear designer traces the fascination for stories of great men back to his early teens, explains how the sheer volume of reporting in the digital era has come to obscure the stories of the genuinely interesting, and stresses the value of the right photograph to accurately convey the essence of a man’s character.

Gestalten's new book “The Map Design Toolbox” by Alexander Tibelius takes care of the hard work in map making. The book provides inspiration and a DVD with 640 ready-to-go vector files of not only continents, countries, and cities, but also compass roses, landmark buildings, place names, rivers, trees, and much more. This lets users concentrate on the fun part of maps, i.e. style and content, and worry less about technical execution.

From Argentina to Zimbabwe, romantic Bretagne to Munich's Oktoberfest, landmarks to delicacies: the essential tools in the book will help you create your own illustrative maps and are also available as digital files on the included DVD.

In an interview with Gestalten.tv, editors of Berlin Wonderland: Wild Years Revisited 1990-1996, Anke Fesel and Chris Keller, set the scene and share some of the stories behind the rare images of a city that no longer exists in this form. Berlin then was a place of total freedom, but also of lawlessness and hooligans. A time when MiG 21 jets were re-appropriated for artistic purposes and squatted buildings secured with welded barricades. The video also provides a preview of the material from the book and exhibition: firsthand accounts and pictures that will be new to the public eye.

With “Captain America”, the custom Harley Davidson from Easy Rider, up for auction on October 18th, the renaissance of the iconic chopper is well and truly here. Gestalten.tv meets with vintage motorcycle expert Paul d’Orléans aka the Vintagent, author of The Chopper: The True Story released by Gestalten this week, to provide foretaste of what to expect from this bound showcase of the quintessentially American invention. Providing insight into the origins of the chopper and the start of the custom movement, he gives a shout-out to legendary builders and dispels a few myths surrounding this icon of counterculture on the way. Lean back and take a short ride into the American Dream.

“Brew it yourself” is more than a trend; individual breweries are going back to basics and using meticulous craftsmanship to create beers with rich taste. These beers represent a new authenticity and way of life.

Gestalten.tv met with beer sommelier and founder of the Berlin Beer Academy Sylvia Kopp, who authored the texts in our new book Barley & Hops (also published in German as Das Craft-Bier Buch), and paid a visit to Berlin-based American craft beer brewery Vagabund Brauerei to offer you the most authentic insight and visual taste into this international craft beer movement. Here’s to you, cheers!

The Monocle Guide to Good Business is a book for would-be business leaders, start-ups and established companies that feel it’s time for some new ideas. It’s a book to be used—write in the margins and turn over the corners of the pages.

But don’t expect management speak, nor miracles for untold riches. It’s not a book about staging a revolution. It’s a book about doing things well (from how you run the show to the pens you buy). And even taking your dog to work. The 300-page book features original photography and illustrations printed on a selection of the highest-quality papers; it’s a handbook for those who want to make a company that will last.

To be released in September 2014, The Monocle Guide to Good Business is an ultimate reference for doing a job you love. Available to pre-order now at shop.gestalten.com/monocle-business.html

Erik Spiekermann is one of the best-known typographers and graphic designers in the world. Not only does he represent German typeface and corporate design like no other, but his work and companies he founded—MetaDesign, FontShop, and EdenSpiekermann—have also had an unparalleled influence on contemporary graphic design around the globe.

At his newly opened workshop P98A Gallery, Gestalten.tv meets with this master, who has been “suffering from typomania” all his life. We learn about the beauty of constraints, the heritage of letterpress printing, and his unusual entrepreneurship principles. This video also gives you a sneak peak into his upcoming Gestalten book “Hello, I am Erik,” the first-ever visual biography of Erik Spiekermann's life and work.

Riding back from Biarritz, Gestalten.tv is thrilled to serve you the first visual appetizer from this year’s Wheels & Waves festival. We just experienced an exclusive weekend full of speed, adrenaline, style, and freedom at the racetracks and amid the roaring waves.

As a feast for your eyes, we are gearing up to present an extensive video on the customized machines and classic choppers showcased there. This video will also include some exhilarating rides and interviews with bikers and surfers who are featured in The Ride and The Outsiders. So stay tuned for more!

Let's face it—the golden age of 3D printing has now begun. In all likelihood, this development represents the largest technical upheaval in manufacturing since the invention of the lathe. Sharing a love of technology and experimentation, young designers like Claire Warnier and Dries Verbruggen of Belgian design studio Unfold continue to expand the possibilities of 3D printing and digital production. Recently, the duo transferred their ideas into “Printing Things”, a new book by Gestalten that presents the newest technologies and outstanding projects, testifying the paradigm-shifting topic of 3D printing.

Gestalten.tv meet with Warnier and Verbruggen to catch a glimpse into the 3D printing world and its background of what some have hailed as the third industrial revolution.