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Portfolio

ENSEMBLE MUSIKFABRIK

Violating the rules

After an agency pitch and a democratic decision by all the Ensemble members, Q was selected to create a new visual image.

After an agency pitch and a democratic decision by all the Ensemble members, Q was selected to create a new visual image.

Musikfabrik Awards, Corporate Design Preis, Annual Multimedia, German Design Award, DDC Award Musikfabrik Awards, Corporate Design Preis, Annual Multimedia, German Design Award, DDC Award

THE TASK

The Ensemble Musikfabrik based in Cologne, is among the world’s best-known and well-established orchestras for contemporary classical music. It has been commissioning new works and performing previously unknown music since 1991. The ensemble’s programmes consist of interdisciplinary projects that can include live electronics, dance, theatre, film, literature, visual arts, and chamber music, plus encounters with open-form and improvisational works. After an agency pitch and a democratic decision by all the Ensemble members, Q was selected to create a new visual image.

THE CONCEPT

Just as New Music questions traditional rules, our design does not adhere to the usual concepts and dares to communicate plurivalent and even surreal content. Our first project for Ensemble Musikfabrik was a brochure for the second half of the 2013 season. The brochure introduced a new logotype whose syllables are distributed in a unique rhythms.

EDITORIAL DESIGN

Twice a year, new tour dates and comprehensive editorial articles are published in a magazine. It not only announces upcoming performances, but also provides important information about the origins of the musical works, interviews with composers, and information about the bandwidth of the Ensemble’s artistic work.

INTERACTIVE DESIGN

The website – a collaboration between Q and our friends at Piccobello in Trier who provided the technical excellence – presents the Ensemble’s comprehensive areas of activity, such as concerts and scenic performances worldwide, workshops, children's programmes, composer commissions and collaborations, publication of classical and modern musical works, etc. Embedded webfonts guarantee a consistent visual appearance; due to its responsive concept, the website automatically adapts itself to the user’s device (desktop, tablet, smartphone). Music can be auditioned and purchased via links to musicload and Amazon.

The website was awarded Gold at the Annual Multimedia Awards.

PACKAGING DESIGN

We also created a packaging concept for an audio CD collection (published by the Wergo label). Each CD case includes a folded poster, displaying an artwork by world-famous painter Gerhard Richter, who is member of the board of trustees of Ensemble Musikfabrik. Together with him, we selected images from his rich portfolio.

PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY

Ensemble Musikfabrik is a group of soloists, combining various characteristics under one name. Together with photographer Jonas Werner (Mainz) we created a unique look, staging the musicians as a group as well as individuals.

PRINT DESIGN

For the concert series Musikfabrik im WDR (West-German Broadcasting) we created a visual principle that lives through its surprising typography; the cover pages enhance the serial character of the medium and communicate a playfulness within a formal rigidity.

MOTION BRANDING

On a regular basis, Ensemble Musikfabrik publishes concert recordings, interviews, and documentaries. For these videos, we created an individual logo jingle that is automatically generated by analyzing the audio track and regulating the parameters of the animation.