Design Commissions
Hans Gremmen created the graphic design for the exhibition WORK, BODY, LEISURE in the Dutch pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2018.
WORK, BODY, LEISURE
The exhibition _WORK, BODY, LEISURE_ was the official contribution of the Netherlands, by Het Nieuwe Instituut, to the 16th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venetian Biennale in 2018. The exhibition in the Dutch pavilion was curated by Marina Otero Verzier (head of Research & Development at Het Nieuwe Instituut) and included contributions by a group of architects, artists, designers, historians, musicians and theoreticians selected by the curator and by a number of open calls. WORK, BODY, LEISURE explores not only changing ideas about the human body, but also spatial configurations and environmental conditions that are the result of current shifts in the field of work ethos and working conditions. Against the background of emerging automation technologies, the project is intended to stimulate new forms of creativity and involvement.
"I often use isolated elements that are reticent and modest, and that function in a certain context," says Hans Gremmen, who calls his way of working both calculated and intuitive. "Those separate elements are connected with one another in such a way that a strong cohesion results. You could call it an identity." Gremmen was first approached to design the publication for the exhibition WORK, BODY, LEISURE and had already started on that when he was invited to provide the graphic layer of the exhibition, so the graphic design of the publication set the tone for that of the exhibition."
In the book, we decided to retain the traces of the mechanical printing process that are normally cut off," he says. "For instance, the colour strip that the printer uses to the check the colour quality remained visible. That colour strip recurs in the captions in the exhibition and in the design of the linen bag." An extremely enlarged detail of the colour strip was printed on this bag, which was supplied by the manufacturer with a shoulder strap in the primary colours of red, blue and yellow. By using these straps in combination with the colour strip, Gremmen managed to design an unusual series of bags on a minimal budget.
As a font he chose the freely available San Francisco (SF Pro). "It's a font that is not really pronounced but is at the same time highly advanced. Apple uses it for all its platforms. All the variants are easily recognisable." The choice was the result of the theme of the exhibition, which explores the border between nature and technology and how that shifting boundary influences the way we live and work. "The font is used, for example, on the keyboards of Apple computers," he explains. "It's what people use to put their ideas into a computer. It's situated at the transition point between analogue to digital."
The design elements selected for the book fell easily into place when they were also applied to the spatial presentation, says Gremmen: "The graphic layer of the exhibition has become functional. That's a part of my nature, but it also felt illogical to add an extra visual layer to an already complex whole. I saw it as my role to guide visitors through the space and to present the content in a layered way. That's why I limited myself to markings on the doors of the lockers, captions and texts on the walls of the pavilion. The graphic layer shows visitors the way and enables them to analyse the exhibition in a simple way."
Hans Gremmen
Graphic designer Hans Gremmen is the founder of publishing house Fw:Books. He works mainly in the areas of photography, architecture and the visual arts, for clients including Office for Contemporary Art Norway, Aperture Foundation, Roma Publications, Darat al Funun, and TU Delft. He has designed over 200 books and won various prizes for his experimental work, including a gold medal in the Best Book Design from all over the World competition. He gives lectures and workshops in Asia, Europe and the USA.