bauhaus museum weimar
visual identity
invited competition, 1st prize
weimar 2015

contemporary witnesses 

the term ‘visual identity’ captures the core of the matter very neatly: it’s all about conveying – or rather translating – by graphic means the essence of a company or in this case a major museum and its collections. but what exactly makes up that essence? is it the principal actors? the architecture? the heritage? the location? the exhibits? in all probability it is a blend of all these factors. but the core of the whole thing – the identity per se – is the idea on which bauhaus was founded. this, we recall, is where the originals took shape that are etched on our cultural consciousness as ‘bauhaus’. these iconic items, like the lamp, the chair, the door handle, were all designed and manufactured in weimar. the new design concept was manifested in architecture, in furniture and in a multitude of objects. clearly, then, these items don’t just bear witness to the bauhaus style and philosophy, as it took shape in weimar, they actually form a key part of its visual identity. these contemporary witnesses are drawn by hand to emphasise the craftsmanship they embody; craftsmanship that was assigned such high priority in the bauhaus ethos. in this corporate design, it is the objects and their creators that take centre stage.