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A white book cover features a red, spiky sunburst shape in the centre. A black square frame over the burst contains the text “Impulse Theater Biennale 2013”.

Graphic Design: More tremendous work from Fons Hickmann for theatre event

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Date
14 August 2013

It’s only been a few months since we last mentioned the striking work to come out of the Fons Hickmann M23 studio in Berlin but they’ve done it again, this time working for the Impulse Theater Biennale 2013 where radical theatre meets radical design.

Beautiful photography meets 1940s style newsprint typography, collaged and then fed through a riso printer. Fons Hickmann indulge us with bold images, camera-filled hands and inverted feet playing across double-page spreads. And the monochromatic style is punctuated by the occasional burst of red print – wonderfully simple but constantly bringing the attention back to the text.

Even before the Biennale has happened the design alone is making us nostalgic. But worry not, Fons Hickmann have kindly designed matching Impulse Theater Biennale 2013 stationery including headed paper, envelopes, thank you cards and even wooden ink stamps so you can be fully equipped.

A black and white photograph of a person is overlaid with a large, red jagged starburst. Inside the starburst, a black box contains the text “IMPULSE THEATER BIENNALE 2013”. Below this, a list of German cities includes “BOCHUM”, “DÜSSELDORF”, “KÖLN” and “MÜLHEIM AN DER RUHR”. The dates “27. JUNI” and “06. JULI” are framed in white boxes at the bottom.
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Fons Hickmann M23: Impulse Theater Biennale Poster 2013

A poster for the “Impulse Theater Biennale 2013” features a red starburst shape over a grainy black and white photograph. The image shows a person in a dress, though they are partially obscured by the red graphic. Text at the bottom lists the host cities as “Bochum”, “Düsseldorf”, “Köln” and “Mülheim an der Ruhr”. The event dates are listed as “27. Juni” to “06. Juli”.
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Fons Hickmann M23: Impulse Theater Biennale Poster 2013

A black and white photograph of a person riding a galloping horse, overlaid with a large red sunburst. A black square in the centre reads “Impulse Theater Biennale 2013”. Text at the bottom lists the cities of Bochum, Düsseldorf, Köln and Mülheim an der Ruhr. The dates “27. Juni” and “06. Juli” are shown alongside the website “www.festivalimpulse.de”.
Above

Fons Hickmann M23: Impulse Theater Biennale Poster 2013

A poster for the “Impulse Theater Biennale 2013” featuring a red, jagged starburst shape over a grainy black and white photograph. Text below lists the locations “Bochum”, “Düsseldorf”, “Köln” and “Mülheim an der Ruhr”, with dates from “27. Juni” to “06. Juli”.
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Fons Hickmann M23: Impulse Theater Biennale Poster 2013

An open brochure shows a programme of events. The right page features bold, black typography that reads “04. JULI — 06. JULI IN DÜSSEL-DORF UND BOCHUM” and “IMPULSE THEATER BIENNALE 2013”.
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Fons Hickmann M23: Impulse Theater Biennale Programme 2013

A black and white photograph across two pages of an open book. Multiple people hold up smartphones and a camera to capture a scene from a crowd.
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Fons Hickmann M23: Impulse Theater Biennale Programme 2013

An open brochure showing a programme for “Chez Icke”, a performance and festival centre. The left page features a red title and a small photograph of people gathered in a red-lit room.
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Fons Hickmann M23: Impulse Theater Biennale Programme 2013

A black and white photograph across two pages of an open book. A group of people stand and walk in a candid, grainy scene, wearing dark, eclectic clothing.
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Fons Hickmann M23: Impulse Theater Biennale Programme 2013

An open magazine spread. The left page features a black and white photograph of a person in a suit, seen from the side. The right page is a table of contents titled “INHALT”, with page numbers and section titles listed in columns.
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Fons Hickmann M23: Impulse Theater Biennale Programme 2013

An open book showing a page of German text and a black and white photograph. The photo depicts rows of empty, modern theatre seats with small attached writing tablets.
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Fons Hickmann M23: Impulse Theater Biennale Programme 2013

An open magazine spread featuring a layout of text and a photograph. The left page displays a bold, large-scale headline that reads “SOMETHING FOR THE FANS”.
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Fons Hickmann M23: Impulse Theater Biennale Programme 2013

A black and white open book featuring a grid of four cropped photographs. The top images show a person laughing and a hand holding a glass of water.
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Fons Hickmann M23: Impulse Theater Biennale Programme 2013

An open brochure showing two pages of a programme. The left page features a bold headline “Nebenschauplätze Nr.1: Das 20. Jahrhundert” and a red graphic illustration.
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Fons Hickmann M23: Impulse Theater Biennale Programme 2013

An open book shows a grainy, black and white photograph of a person’s feet and ankles. They are wearing white socks and dark shoes, resting on a textured ground.
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Fons Hickmann M23: Impulse Theater Biennale Programme 2013

A high-contrast, black and white image of a hand held up, palm facing forward. The background is a blurred, grainy pattern of lights and electronic equipment.
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Fons Hickmann M23: Impulse Theater Biennale Programme 2013

A notebook cover featuring a black and white weather map of Europe. Stylised clouds, suns and rain icons are scattered across the map, with city names including “London”, “Paris” and “Berlin”.
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Fons Hickmann M23: Impulse Theater Biennale Programme 2013

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About the Author

Emily Beber

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