Nominee | Communication | 2017
Manifesta 11 – What People Do For Money
Manifesta is a European biennial for contemporary art. It has been held at different places since 1996. Manifesta 11 was held in Zurich in 2016, under the title “What People Do For Money”. A customised visual identity was developed for the event, which includes references to the social and political aspects of the theme represented. The result was a flexible and multifaceted communication system which features in print and web presentations, the exhibition itself and the signage, based on a visual idiom consisting of three characteristic components: an expressive title typography, a consistently maintained reduction to black and white, and figured graphic pictograms which deliberately hark back to the work of Otto Neurath and Gerd Arntz dating from the 1930s. The logo is designed as a typogram and based on the number one. Together with its mirror image, the figure can be read as an “11” – at the same time it can also be seen as an “M” for Manifesta.
Comments of the nominators
The visual idiom developed for Manifesta 11 is consistent and courageous in its expressive minimalism. Carefully worked out in keeping with a radical approach, the graphic design has appeal and can easily be understood. The system is an exemplary illustration of the way in which a series of signs and visual codes can generate meaning, so constituting the basis for interaction with the public.
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