Hero — Designbolaget: Identity for the Haim Steinbach exhibition, National Gallery of Denmark (detail)

Graphic Design: Designbolaget’s fantastic identity for the National Gallery of Denmark

Words by Maisie Skidmore, Wednesday 26 March 2014

We’ve sung the praises of Danish studio Designbolaget before, and I’m sure that our enthusiastic reception of their stunning body of work back in 2012 more than warrants an update on what they’ve been working on since then. Which brings us to the visual identity they’ve designed for the National Gallery of Denmark’s new exhibition of Haim Steinbach’s work, and a fantastic demonstration of what this spectacularly able studio does best.

The concept is focused around a malleable “X” which changes in shape and composition depending on how it’s used. The playful shape adapts to blank gallery walls as easily as it does the pale pink exhibition catalogue, without ever losing an ounce of familiarity. It’s pared back and fun, just as Haim’s artwork is, and it’s prepared to stand back and allow the exhibition to speak for itself while remaining a reassuring presence, in a way that only the most confident design studios have mastered.

That cheeky ever-changing “X” is just as happy in the limelight, too, making clever use of parallel diagonal lines on staircases and in book-holders, and even with its very own GIF! It’s a brilliant example of when design treads the narrow line between commanding attention and creating a sense of quiet continuity, and it’s another excellent example of why Designbolaget continue to deserve the praise we lavish upon them. So we’re going to continue lavishing, if you don’t mind.

Designbolaget: Identity for the Haim Steinbach exhibition, National Gallery of Denmark

Gif — Designbolaget: Identity for the Haim Steinbach exhibition, National Gallery of Denmark

Most Recent

More like this:

Work / Graphic Design “Animation is now a must for posters”: Sunny Studio on design for the digital age

For the Seoul-based graphic design studio, animated posters are the future of the graphic design. Sunny Studio tells It’s Nice That: “The screen as a platform is essential and there is a need to make the graphics on screen move."

Jyni Ong — 11 October 2019
Work / Graphic Design Greta Grotesk is a typeface in homage to the teenage activist’s handwriting

Tal Shub is a designer based in New York who co-founded Uno, a company with a mission to eradicate single-use plastic bottles by offering a reusable alternative. Alongside the team with which he runs this venture, he has also produced an ode Greta Thunberg in the form of a typeface called Greta Grotesk, inspired by and emulating the teenage activist’s handwriting.

Ruby Boddington — 11 October 2019
Work / Graphic Design Graphic designer Karolina Pietrzyk works exclusively through collaborations

“For the past couple of years, I practically stopped working alone,” the Berlin-based designer tells us, a practice that has prevented her from taking shortcuts or returning to familiar and comfortable techniques.

Alif Ibrahim — 10 October 2019
Opinion / World Mental Health Day Graphic Design is Mental: Tips for looking after your state of mind as a designer

In an extract from his recently completed book, which he calls “a sort of self-help guide to being a graphic designer”, Ben Longden, digital design director at The Guardian, offers up some hard-won nuggets of wisdom.

Ben Longden — 10 October 2019
Work / Graphic Design Amateur(dot)rocks on the power of graphic design to incite political, social and cultural changes

Comprising Jose Bessega and Ivo Pallucchini, both originally from San Juan, the studio has been undertaking commercial and experimental projects since its inception in 2013. While its outputs change – Amateur(dot)rocks works on campaigns, visual identities, packaging, publications and more – underpinning all of the studio’s work is a belief in the inherent relationship between design and words, placing typography at the heart of everything.

Ruby Boddington — 09 October 2019
Work / Graphic Design A glimpse at the 226 Japanese posters on display at Stedelijk Museum

To honour the late Shigeru Watano, who was a crucial link between the Stedelijk and many Japanese designers, the museum is exhibiting some of its most exciting designs from Japan.

Daphne Milner — 09 October 2019

Work / Animation Daniel Britt’s hilariously surreal animations makes the nonsensical appear logical

In Space Man, the London-based animator depicts a surreal encounter with a clueless alien. “I want to make people laugh but also hopefully to feel something else, uncomfortable, relaxed, confused, peaceful perhaps too,” he tells It’s Nice That

Alif Ibrahim — 11 October 2019
Regulars / Nicer Tuesdays Ben Cullen Williams on investigating how a computer would dance

The last to take to the stage at September’s Nicer Tuesdays was Ben Cullen Williams to discuss his recent collaboration with Google Arts and Culture and renowned choreographer Wayne McGregor, titled The Living Archive.

It's Nice That — 11 October 2019
Work / Illustration From The New York Times to a comic on sex, illustrator Kati Szilágyi discusses her recent work

The Berlin-based illustrator has progressed in leaps and bounds since we last wrote about her two years. Amidst commissions for the likes of The New York Times, The New Yorker, Zeit and Google, Kati talks us through what she has learned from her last two years in industry.

Jyni Ong — 11 October 2019
Work / Digital Alan Warburton explores CGI production, toxic masculinity and vision through his hybrid practice

Working through an artistic-commercial-critical hybrid practice, the London-based artist finds his superpower by getting deep in 3D software. “How else are you going to get insight into a world mediated by software unless you’re implicated within it, getting your hands dirty with plugins, code or hardware?”

Alif Ibrahim — 11 October 2019
Work / Graphic Design “Animation is now a must for posters”: Sunny Studio on design for the digital age

For the Seoul-based graphic design studio, animated posters are the future of the graphic design. Sunny Studio tells It’s Nice That: “The screen as a platform is essential and there is a need to make the graphics on screen move."

Jyni Ong — 11 October 2019
Work / Graphic Design Greta Grotesk is a typeface in homage to the teenage activist’s handwriting

Tal Shub is a designer based in New York who co-founded Uno, a company with a mission to eradicate single-use plastic bottles by offering a reusable alternative. Alongside the team with which he runs this venture, he has also produced an ode Greta Thunberg in the form of a typeface called Greta Grotesk, inspired by and emulating the teenage activist’s handwriting.

Ruby Boddington — 11 October 2019

Work / Photography With rawness and honesty, Izzy de Wattripont captures New Forest’s young Sea Scouts

As a documentation of the current cohort of the ninth Lymington Sea Scouts, the Last Dog Watch project initially kicked off as a portrait series in 2017 and has since grown into an ongoing series that captures adventure at its purest.

Ayla Angelos — 11 October 2019
Work / Photography Rita Puig-Serra Costa and Dani Pujalte’s Good Luck with the Future is a cosmic project turned intensely personal

Having met when they were four in primary school, the Barcelona-based photographers organically started collaborating after a relationship bloomed. Dealing with looming questions about the future, the two ventured on a journey to question the idea of time.

Alif Ibrahim — 10 October 2019
Work / World Mental Health Day “A huge support system”: Meet India’s group of low-caste female vigilantes

In recent years, the small rural town of Tirwa in India has generated a significant amount of buzz. But not for its tales of torture, corruption or misogyny – an angle common to the Western gaze – but because of a group of low-caste women, banding together in vigilante spirit forcing the patriarchy to be held accountable for its actions.

Jyni Ong — 10 October 2019
Regulars / Nicer Tuesdays Pitch Studios investigates the implications of digital tools on our ability to connect

Through the studio’s work and research, the team keeps coming back to the same questions or ideas, Christie told us at September’s Nicer Tuesdays: “In this digital world, the possibilities are endless but we don’t really understand the implications of how we use these tools and how they might affect the way we understand and communicate with each other.”

It's Nice That — 10 October 2019
Work / Graphic Design Graphic designer Karolina Pietrzyk works exclusively through collaborations

“For the past couple of years, I practically stopped working alone,” the Berlin-based designer tells us, a practice that has prevented her from taking shortcuts or returning to familiar and comfortable techniques.

Alif Ibrahim — 10 October 2019
Partnership / Coal Drops Yard: Double Take Coal warehouses, a crane and five curious characters: The making of Double Take

This autumn, Coal Drops Yard in King’s Cross has some colourful new residents. Created by It’s Nice That, Double Take is designed to get visitors to look twice and discover something new about the area. We chat to the team behind the project to find out how they created an installation to stop shoppers in their tracks.

It's Nice That — 10 October 2019

Opinion / World Mental Health Day Graphic Design is Mental: Tips for looking after your state of mind as a designer

In an extract from his recently completed book, which he calls “a sort of self-help guide to being a graphic designer”, Ben Longden, digital design director at The Guardian, offers up some hard-won nuggets of wisdom.

Ben Longden — 10 October 2019
Work / World Mental Health Day Anna Ginsburg on the mental impact of a gruelling creative process, and her mission to rebalance

In a candid conversation about her mental state when in the depths of a gruelling animation process, Anna Ginsburg shares the “sadistic” side of creativity, her struggle to have a life when deep in “proj life” and how sometimes, the only thing that gets her through is many, many digestive biscuits.

Lucy Bourton — 10 October 2019
Work / Animation Foals’ Into the Surf video by Steve Warne is a melancholic journey across worlds

The animator, who worked on Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs, collaborated with Will Anderson to combine stop motion and digital compositing, creating an ethereal quality to paint a picture of loss and separation.

Jenny Brewer — 09 October 2019
Sponsored / Illustration Freddy Carrasco and Ace & Tate present a new comic on the importance of self-acceptance

In the lead up to World Mental Health Day, Ace & Tate have commissioned Japan-based illustrator Freddy Carrasco to create a new comic around mental health.

It's Nice That — 09 October 2019
Work / Illustration The prolific Anthony Russo on working in editorial illustration for the last 40 years

We speak to the Rhode Island-based illustrator on his route into the medium, his signature style and keeping up with the news from a creative perspective.

Lucy Bourton — 09 October 2019
Work / Digital In Feel My Metaverse, Keiken wants us to unlearn our reality to form new kinship

Working with VR, AR, performance and world-building, the London and Berlin-based collective is in a constant state of “merging the physical and digital in a seamless way.”

Alif Ibrahim — 09 October 2019

Regulars / Nicer Tuesdays Illustrator Alec Doherty on constantly finding inspiration in his teenage years

Originally hailing from Darlington, during his Nicer Tuesdays talk, the London-based creative recounted stories about growing up dancing in working men’s clubs, unrequited love, and having the courage to share his personal projects.

It's Nice That — 09 October 2019
Work / Graphic Design Amateur(dot)rocks on the power of graphic design to incite political, social and cultural changes

Comprising Jose Bessega and Ivo Pallucchini, both originally from San Juan, the studio has been undertaking commercial and experimental projects since its inception in 2013. While its outputs change – Amateur(dot)rocks works on campaigns, visual identities, packaging, publications and more – underpinning all of the studio’s work is a belief in the inherent relationship between design and words, placing typography at the heart of everything.

Ruby Boddington — 09 October 2019
Work / Graphic Design A glimpse at the 226 Japanese posters on display at Stedelijk Museum

To honour the late Shigeru Watano, who was a crucial link between the Stedelijk and many Japanese designers, the museum is exhibiting some of its most exciting designs from Japan.

Daphne Milner — 09 October 2019
Features / Photography Koichi and Takeko: A tale of two grandparents and Japan through the 20th Century

When photographer Kentaro Takahashi lost his maternal grandfather, he decided to start documenting his paternal grandparents who he had never kept in regular contact with. Delving into his family’s history and, in turn, that of Japan throughout the 20th Century, the resulting work is a shining example of the value of family photography.

Jyni Ong — 09 October 2019
Features / In Conversation “The signs were completely radical”: Margaret Calvert looks back on her illustrious career

The legendary graphic designer, who co-created the UK road signing system, sits down with It’s Nice That over a cup of tea and discusses her best work, the importance of education, and why she doesn’t want to be “hived off in a women’s group”.

Matt Alagiah — 08 October 2019
Regulars / Nicer Tuesdays Turkina Faso on the ability to use photography as a "friendship tool"

Up first at September’s Nicer Tuesdays was the London-based, Russian-born photographer, whose work spans from editorials and commercials to regularly photographing her younger sister, Alice.

It's Nice That — 08 October 2019

Work / Photography John Angerson's photographic journey sheds light on modern England and its social issues

John Angerson creates a modern version of JB Priestley’s seminal book English Journey through an extensive photographic journey, revealing insights into England’s contemporary culture today and how its changed since Priestley’s depiction of the 1930s.

Jyni Ong — 08 October 2019
Work / Photography Michiyo Yanagihara imbues her post-human photography with Japanese mythology

In the aftermath of Japan’s largest earthquake, the London-based photographer wanted to leave something for the world, finding her home in both fashion editorials and a mythology-laden personal project.

Alif Ibrahim — 08 October 2019
Work / Graphic Design Marc Armand translates the atmosphere of the French summer coast into graphic design

The French graphic designer talks us through his latest projects including the visual identity for Festival International de Mode in Hyères and the latest revamp of Please! magazine.

Jyni Ong — 08 October 2019
Work / Illustration Derek Zheng’s absurdist humour shines through in his poetic illustrations

Derek’s illustrations are often trying to capture the ephemeral. But instead of trying to hold down large conceptual ideas, which are usually more suited for his films, his ideas come in smaller, bite-sized pieces.

Alif Ibrahim — 08 October 2019
Work / Publication Arcades Magazine honestly reflects the culture and lifestyle of the suburbs

A magazine started by London-based photographer Wendy Huynh when she was studying at Central Saint Martins, Arcades has since focussed on Paris, London and Berlin, telling the stories of locals to each city’s suburbs through documentary photography, interview-led pieces and several fashion editorials.

Ruby Boddington — 08 October 2019
Work / Graphic Design Friends since kindergarten, Sucuk and Bratwurst discusses its collective creativity

Having met in kindergarten, the Berlin-based creative collective has a uniquely intimate relationship which feeds into its intuitive process today. Here, co-founder Lukas Olgac talks about the benefits to this closeness and the studio’s multi-sensory creative approach.

Jyni Ong — 07 October 2019