nederlands – Trapped in Suburbia

Arita Ceramics Symposium

The Arita Ceramics Symposium was held in November 2016 in Arita in Japan. Arita ware is one of Japans most famous ceramics and rich in tradition. This book is the transcript of the symposium and is a gift for the speakers and organizers. During the 2 days lots of valuable information on ceramics is shared between different cultures and this is not be be lost.

The brief was to design a book that shows the full transcript of the symposium in both English and Japanese and turn this into something special and a collectors item.

The essence of the symposium is Ceramics. Therefore we chose to have a ceramic platter on the cover of the book. On the front cover the is the image of the ceramic platter, this represents the talking about ceramics. And on the back we have a 3D moulded Arita ware platter, which represents the actual making of the ceramics. This also makes the book float when you lay it on the table and keeps the big wiro- spine elevated.

The inside contains different grams of paper from 300 grams on the outsides it slowly transforms from 280, 260, etc into lighter paper 80 grams on the heart of the book. The represents the different possibilities of ceramics. It can be really thick and strong, but also fragile and transparent.

Because of almost 400 pages there was no wire-o available to bind the book and this had to be custom made by hand by the binder. This book is the first of it’s kind with such a big wire-o.
All the above and the run of just 35 copies makes the book a unique design and a collectors item.

Silver | European Design Awards

This is Experience Design

Our monograph This is Experience Design showcases the studio’s work from the past thirteen years and explains the theory behind Experience Design.

With the term Experience Design people often think of digital interaction. But not at Trapped in Suburbia. By embodying our Confucius motto: ”Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I’ll understand.” the monograph becomes an interactive publication.

Two accompanying 10” vinyl records tell the stories behind the projects. The 156 pages show only images of this work. The reader must be involved in both in order to fully experience the book and understand.

With a foreword by Erik Kessels of KesselsKramer.

Published by Coltrane & Dixon.

Listen to a sample from Side 2 – The Medium is the Message.

The Medium is the Message (Sample) - Trapped in Suburbia

This is Experience Design is available to purchase below.

Talking Ceramics 1

The kiln, the ceramicist’s oven, plays a major role in the ceramic process. Ceramicists can spend weeks creating their object yet when it is placed into the kiln all control is taken out of their hands. Even the most proficient ceramicist on opening the kiln after firing cannot predict the outcome – it could be perfection or disaster.

To experience this excitement, anxiety and surprise, the reader must literally bake the white book in an oven – watch and wait – all is revealed as the heat transforms the cover and reveals the design.

Taking Ceramics I discusses the topic of mistakes with several past artists-in-residence from the European Centre of Ceramics’ (EKWC) . Playing with the subject, the book’s layout emphasises fragility, splitting content over pages and positioning it precariously close to the edges.

The special edition furthers this theme with its 1mm thick porcelain cover. Inevitably, whether through the sheer weight of other books or mishandling the cover will crack. The reader, like the ceramicist, learns to accept and appreciate the beauty of mistakes.

Gold | 2017 European Design Awards

Bronze | 2017 European Design Awards

Nomination | 2017 ADCN Awards

Jaap Drupsteen Designer Explorer

Jaap Drupsteen, legendary Dutch designer/video artist was revolutionary in the use of chroma keying, also know as the blue screen effect. This technique allowed him to superimpose actors or elements into totally different environments.

An accompanying app allows the reader to experience chroma keying firsthand. The app contains a library of video clips from Drupsteen’s productions that can be superimposed onto the solid blue book, thus bringing the monograph to life whilst explaining his process.

Video productions form the majority of Drupsteen’s oeuvre meaning every second holds a uniquely beautiful graphic image. Unlike the traditional graphic designer, Drupsteen creates twenty-five incredible images per second.

Consequently, the inside pages present over 400 stills rarely seen as individual frames, revealing their incredible colour and detail, emphasised by the fact many were created before the use of computers.

Download Jaap Drupsteen from the Apple App Store.

This book was part of the exhibition Jaap Drupsteen – Designer | Explorer that we also designed.

Graphic Happiness I

Graphic Happiness consists of a publication, traveling exhibition and educational programme covering 100 years of Dutch graphic design. Travelling through China the exhibition showed work of over 60 designers highlighting their love of design.

Based on the Chinese symbol of ‘double happiness’ and the Dutch flag (red, white and blue) the logo symbolises the two countries uniting in design. The logo is divided and produced as three different straps which hold together the exhibition furniture and bind the publication. The logo is literally and metaphorically the binding factor in the whole design.

The publication consists of 246 loose pages presenting work by Dick Bruna, Wim Crouwel, Theo van Doesburg, Anthon Beeke, Lust, Thonik, Niessen & de Vries, Studio Dumbar, Trapped in Suburbia among others.

Graphic Happiness is available from Museum Hilversum for €32,50 as a bilingual English/Chinese edition.

Silver | 2013 European Design Awards
Bronze | 2013 International Design Awards
Bronze | 2012 Hiiibrand Awards

Graphic Happiness II

The catalogue accompanying Grafisch Geluk (Graphic Happiness), an exhibition of 100 years of graphic design, tells the story of one specific part to Dutch design history. This is de Jong, one of the most famous Dutch printers. They were the first to work really close with designers like Wim Crouwel, Dick Bruna, Anthon Beeke and Otto Treuman and carried out all kinds of experiments that are now considered standard printing techniques.

The cover of the book consists of five loose covers that together form the logo of the printer, de Jong. This symbolises the special collaboration between the printer and the designer, working together they produced their best designs.

Silver | 2012 International Design Awards

Innovation in Dance

Movement and rhythm are central to the identity of Fresh Tracks Europe. Innovation in Dance for Young Audiences presents the philosophy and projects of this youth dance network in a publication that embodies dance.

Six cover variations, showing shapes taken from the identity, are choreographed as a stop motion animation adding motion and rhythm to the usually static printed object.

There is more than one truth

VJ Movement gives journalists and cartoonists around the world the opportunity to share their stories and tell their truths. They reveal subjects and perspectives that aren’t covered in mainstream news.