Briefs rarely get as intimidating as designing the iconic Bauhaus-Archiv’s first corporate identity. We catch up with L2M3’s Sascha Lobe to talk about having Herbert Bayer as an imaginary creative director.
The new identity was developed by Professor Sascha Lobe and his team at the Stuttgart agency L2M3 Kommunikationsdesign GmbH, and included stationery, printed materials, a Berlin-wide poster campaign, exhibition catalogues and a semi-annual programme magazine. The design of the museum’s website was also fundamentally revised by L2M3, as was its signposting systems. L2M3 also created a polymorphic typeface, named Bayer Next, with a suite of more than 500 characters and glyphs.
How did the project originally come about?
My studio L2M3 was invited to pitch for a project where the Bauhaus-Archiv was involved too. We did not make it to the final round but apparently they kept us on their books. Later we were commissioned to work on the corporate identity and design of the museum because the board of directors remembered our work. It actually was not a surprise to us, as we knew that there was a special bond right from the beginning.
What was the original brief and did it change at all?
The briefing was the classic one: “Hey, we need a corporate identity and design. What are your thoughts?”
Did this project present any particular challenges, and if so how were these overcome?
All our projects are challenges of their own and that’s simply due to having smart clients who seek bespoke multidisciplinary solutions and not a ‘one size fits all’ approach. The Bauhaus-Archiv assignment challenged us to go beyond the frontiers that luminary Herbert Bayer already explored without loosing his spirit and vision. We saw him as a kind of ‘imaginary creative director’. Our intention was to stir memories of the Bauhaus legacy and to make use of already available resources. We developed a concept that communicates the essence of the Bauhaus and, through its technical and aesthetic innovations, is simultaneously suited for a cultural institution’s self-presentation in a manner that is up-to-date and effective in terms of publicity. A globally active institution like the Bauhaus-Archiv requires internationally comprehensible communication, which we have developed within the framework of a unified, but simultaneously flexible system.
What do you think has worked particularly well?
Does it sound odd if I said that everything has worked pretty well? Seriously, we are quite aware of the impact of this project and that we are merely dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants, blessed to be able to work on a heritage as huge as it is. We have a skeptical board of directors who gave us the much-needed freedom to create a coherent system that will serve for the next decade if not longer.
Did this project involve sourcing any new materials or using any new processes?
Definitely. We did not use any new materials, per se, but we did lots of meticulous archival research and unearthed unseen gems. I think Mr. Bayer would be delighted to see how his visions are now a polymorphic typeset that can be applied on any possible canvas – digital or analogue. The Bauhaus-Archiv hived away loads of archival resources over years which allowed us to create a contemporary corporate identity. The Bauhaus-Archiv did not have an official logo until now.
What was the client's feedback?
An institution such as the Bauhaus-Archiv needs tools of communication which we have delivered within a coherent branding system including the logo, a multiversity of a typeset, numerous and endless adaption possibilities for both printed matter and digital media. Both our branding concept and our 555 glyphs have the potential to be applied on a card, a poster, 3D signage and even on merchandise. Our very first exhibition adaptations are on over 500 billboards in and around Berlin and other hubs in Germany. I think this proves we have delivered a solid fundament to an über-happy board of directors.
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