Confident, minimal designs from Berlin studio Neubau prove less is more

Looking back through Berlin studio Neubau’s body of work you’ll notice everything is monochrome, set in sans-serif typefaces and all made up of decidedly clean lines. You could call this safe, but you could also call it confident and surprisingly restrained. There is something to be said for design that can’t hide behind itself, and for all its plainness, the work also packs a quiet punch. That Neubau can make use of the absolute bare minimum and still produce strong, refined work is a triumph in itself.

Founded by Stefan Gandl back in 2001, the studio has been behind two design publications, Neubau Welt and Neubau Modul and has exhibited with Wim Crouwel. Recent work includes a brand new typeface, NB-National Std. which stays true to Neubau’s understated aesthetic, as well as reworking the identity and communication design for German contemporary dance collective Laborgas as part of an ongoing collaboration running all the way back to 2004.