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on February 3
Harald Geisler and Elizabeth Waterhouse
Posted project update #7Golden Pretzels, Silver Award and a band.
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Dear Backers,
The "Typographic Wall Calendar" won a prize at the "International Gregor Calendar Award" in Stuttgart! The Gregor Award is the biggest Calendar show world wide with an exhibition displaying over 1.000 international calendars.
I posted this 'Report' with images and video of the event some days ago in an update for the 2012 Kickstarter Campaign; just now it came to my mind that you as backers of the 2011 Version might be interested in that too.
Well, I had a good time in Stuttgart and I wanted to share that with you. I hope you enjoy the update.
(for more info on the Award and how the project got invited, you might want to read →this.)
Report:
When I entered the König-Karl-Halle (Hall of King Karl) in the Haus der Wirtschaft, I was quite surprised by the amount of people that actually showed up on an event purely to honor calendars. And the setting itself was very impressive. I expected something more "improvised".
The sixhoundred seats were filled by over 70%. A band was playing in the background some all time favorites like "Killling me softly with his songs" and "I can see clearly now". Played in a way that give you the relaxed feeling of riding an escalator. I almost wanted to ask if they would play a version of "Heart of Gold", but the evening started.
…started with another surprise, the moderator(yes→ they had a locally famous radio chat show host) introduced a video message by the minister of Baden Württemberg. I think it wasn't the minister himself but the minister of finance. Next to me sat a guy in a red hoodie, reading comics throughout the whole event (see video.)
Then everybody involved in the organisation got introduced…ffwd… and I got really excited and even a little gold rush when the jury was introduced by Friedrich Müller (he initially invited me to enter the contest). Mr. Müller introduced the jury with a picture in which two of the jury members were holding the "Typographic Wall Calendar" in the first row! While every other member of the jury would just hold one Calendar, I had every reason to be excited and imagined that maybe there would be a platinum prize!
The next minutes were a torture to my nerves. Beginning with 20 bronze followed by 10 silver and 5 gold prizes the nomination procedure would end with the super prize. Every winner would have to get up out of the audience on stage - followed by a few words about your project and a photo taken with a person on stage while you're holding a document in the camera.
Well every prize is great, but the reverse order kind of messed me up and I had a hard time sitting in the audience wishing to not be the next one. Well bottom line: the "Typographic Wall Calendar" was the last one to get called on silver.
I was so overexcited I can't remember anything that happened on stage. A few days later I got the official press picture of me on stage. I am holding a huge piece of paper with an elderly man next to me and the collar of my shirt sticks out. I don't know what that person was there for, but I think he could have told me about that.
The rest of the show went by very quickly and ended with a "Where is Waldo?" -like- group picture. Can you find me in the picture? Post your finds in the comments - the first right answer gets a free Typographic Wall Calendar 2013 :)
Wow - what a show - all about calendars. The calendar with the red circle next to the "Typographic Wall Calendar" on the jury picture won the grand prize (smitten with surprize after the show the creator of that one approached me and ordered a print :)
What about the buffet?
Well Stuttgart is known for Mercedes and being "economic". The buffet was more on the economic side, but I have to say in a charming way. Good wine, nice sparkling wine and very good pretzels in two variations: with or without butter. A very sure, charming and economic way to get the audience drunk. I had about ten pretzels.
Unfortunately the band didn't continue after the show, otherwise I'm sure the snack would have turned into a rocking party.
After the show also the exhibition was opened displaying over 1200 calendars… of course the "Typographic Wall Calendar" had a great position and soon found two new admirers:
Franziska Strantz on the left and Jule Schubert on the right were so nice to help me to reconstructed the event of handing out the documents on stage (see 3rd photo). Unfortunatly the collar of my shirt still sticks out. Both do not only look but also talk in the warm and charming tone of Stuttgart. Franziska I think has such a Stuttgarty smile, she totally would fit into a movie about the life of Albert Einstein or Heidegger (both were from Baden Würtemberg). Half a decade ago I studied with Jule a semester typography in Offenbach. She just returned to her birth town to found the design studio WEandME with Franziska. Have a look at their website: http://www.weandme.com. (I love their Studio portrait - Very nice hair - I would totally not fit in that studio-picture.)
Well I hope that somehow with my report, pictures and video could share that joyful event with you :)
Enjoy,
Harald
PS.: If you're now too into pretzels you'll sure enjoy to compare the picture in the beginning with this video for "golden" pretzels. (although the background music is indeed very Stuttgart)
(Photocredits for me on stage with Michael Hüffner, CEO Verband Druck und Medien in Baden-Württemberg and the group photo: Udo W. Beier.)
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on January 31
Harald Geisler and Elizabeth Waterhouse
commented on a project update@ Marja :) thanks!
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on January 31
Harald Geisler and Elizabeth Waterhouse
commented on a project update:) Congrats to you! Six minutes online… and you're the first one to get a copy of the 2013 edition ;-)
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on January 31
Harald Geisler and Elizabeth Waterhouse
Posted project update #15Golden Pretzels, Silver Award and a band.
Dear Backers,
Technically I wasn't allowed to announce that the "Typographic Wall Calendar" won at the "International Gregor Calendar Award". That's why I didn't post any update after the brief note about the ministries phone call. Sorry that I didn't let you know immediately after the event in Stuttgart on the 26th what had happened there.
Well, I had a good time and it was very different from what I expected. Now, not only because you are all involved in the success of that project, but even more because some of you vividly encouraged me (in the comments and mails after Update #5) to enter that contest, I wanted to share that evening-event and prize with you in some pictures and a 2 minute long video.
Enjoy.
When I entered the König-Karl-Halle (Hall of King Karl) in the Haus der Wirtschaft, I was quite surprised by the amount of people that actually showed up on an event purely to honor calendars. And the setting itself was very impressive. I expected something more "improvised".
The sixhoundred seats were filled by over 70%. A band was playing in the background some all time favorites like "Killling me softly with his songs" and "I can see clearly now". Played in a way that give you the relaxed feeling of riding an escalator. I almost wanted to ask if they would play a version of "Heart of Gold", but the evening started.
…started with another surprise, the moderator(yes→ they had a locally famous radio chat show host) introduced a video message by the minister of Baden Württemberg. I think it wasn't the minister himself but the minister of finance. Next to me sat a guy in a red hoodie, reading comics throughout the whole event (see video.)
Then everybody involved in the organisation got introduced…ffwd… and I got really excited and even a little gold rush when the jury was introduced by Friedrich Müller (he initially invited me to enter the contest). Mr. Müller introduced the jury with a picture in which two of the jury members were holding the "Typographic Wall Calendar" in the first row! While every other member of the jury would just hold one Calendar, I had every reason to be excited and imagined that maybe there would be a platinum prize!
The next minutes were a torture to my nerves. Beginning with 20 bronze followed by 10 silver and 5 gold prizes the nomination procedure would end with the super prize. Every winner would have to get up out of the audience on stage - followed by a few words about your project and a photo taken with a person on stage while you're holding a document in the camera.
Well every prize is great, but the reverse order kind of messed me up and I had a hard time sitting in the audience wishing to not be the next one. Well bottom line: the "Typographic Wall Calendar" was the last one to get called on silver.
I was so overexcited I can't remember anything that happened on stage. A few days later I got the official press picture of me on stage. I am holding a huge piece of paper with an elderly man next to me and the collar of my shirt sticks out. I don't know what that person was there for, but I think he could have told me about that.
The rest of the show went by very quickly and ended with a "Where is Waldo?" -like- group picture. Can you find me in the picture? Post your finds in the comments - the first right answer gets a free Typographic Wall Calendar 2013 :)
Wow - what a show - all about calendars. The calendar with the red circle next to the "Typographic Wall Calendar" on the jury picture won the grand prize (smitten with surprize after the show the creator of that one approached me and ordered a print :)
What about the buffet?
Well Stuttgart is known for Mercedes and being "economic". The buffet was more on the economic side, but I have to say in a charming way. Good wine, nice sparkling wine and very good pretzels in two variations: with or without butter. A very sure, charming and economic way to get the audience drunk. I had about ten pretzels.
Unfortunately the band didn't continue after the show, otherwise I'm sure the snack would have turned into a rocking party.
After the show also the exhibition was opened displaying over 1200 calendars… of course the "Typographic Wall Calendar" had a great position and soon found two new admirers:
Franziska Strantz on the left and Jule Schubert on the right were so nice to help me to reconstructed the event of handing out the documents on stage (see 3rd photo). Unfortunatly the collar of my shirt still sticks out. Both do not only look but also talk in the warm and charming tone of Stuttgart. Franziska I think has such a Stuttgarty smile, she totally would fit into a movie about the life of Albert Einstein or Heidegger (both were from Baden Würtemberg). Half a decade ago I studied with Jule a semester typography in Offenbach. She just returned to her birth town to found the design studio WEandME with Franziska. Have a look at their website: http://www.weandme.com. (I love their Studio portrait - Very nice hair - I would totally not fit in that studio-picture.)
Well I hope that somehow with my report, pictures and video could share that joyful event with you :)
Enjoy,
Harald
PS.: If you're now too into pretzels you'll sure enjoy to compare the picture in the beginning with this video for "golden" pretzels. (although the background music is indeed very Stuttgart)
(Photocredits for me on stage with Michael Hüffner, CEO Verband Druck und Medien in Baden-Württemberg and the group photo: Udo W. Beier.)
Post Comment -
on January 30
Harald Geisler and Elizabeth Waterhouse
commented on a project@Benjamin Munro - Thanks for the nice words!
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on January 19
Harald Geisler and Elizabeth Waterhouse
commented on a project@Callan Campbell - Sorry that your reward arrived damaged. Send me some pictures of the damage and the insurance will send out a replacement asap.
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on January 14
Harald Geisler and Elizabeth Waterhouse
Posted project update #14A phonecall from the Ministry of Finance Baden Württemberg
Dear Backers,Post Comment
Last Thursday I got a brief phonecall from Mr. Y at the Ministry of Finance Baden Württemberg. Baden Württemberg was the last kingdom in Germany, Albert Einstein (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_einstein)was born there, Mercedes is built there and they also claim to have the finest Bretzeln(Pretzels) in Stuttgart.
Well my first thought was not Pretzels but -Tax Report 2010- and that something must have gone really wrong. Really really wrong because I live in Frankfurt, which is in a different state (Hessen); furthermore tax reports are handled by the Bureau of Finance and not the Ministry. Did my report cause an interstate tax law conflict?
Well I got even more confused when Mr. Y very happily and confident told me that I have won. And then he started talking about the 'Typographic Wall Calendar'. I remembered --the Gregor Calendar Award-- !! As state and culture are very intertwined in Germany the contest is held by a private club but partly organized with the help of the ministry of finance.
As misterious as the phonecall began, the story ends as he couldn't tell what I have won (from the online description I know that there are no prizes like money, cars, or a holiday trip). Mr. Y just wanted to know if it would be possible to send more posters for the exhibition. About the actuall award I will get a second phonecall on Monday or Tuesday.
So, that's the news I wanted to share. More details, hopefully on Monday-Tuesday.
(I hope it's a holiday.)
Harald -
on December 31
Harald Geisler and Elizabeth Waterhouse
Posted project update #13Typographic Wall Calendar featured in Israel!
Post CommentDear Backers,
I received surprising news about the project that I wanted to share with you.
I was really happy when I found a mail from Shua Ben-Ari an Editor/Writer at Haaretz in my Inbox. Haaretz is an english daily newspaper in Israel. They contacted me around March this year about featuring an article about the "Typographic Wall Calendar". Well after that reqeust everything became a bit quiet and I thought that feature won't happen.
But in that mail I found out that the "Typographic Wall Calendar" was just published in the actual issue of "DESIGNER", which is a magazine owned by Haaretz and can be bought everywhere throughout Israel for 50 Shekel! Unfortunatly everything is written in Hebrew which I can't read. The short article goes like this:
)Harald Geisler( הראלד גייסלר עיצב לוח שנה טיפוגרפי המתייחס לתאריכים כטקסט חי. הוא בחר להמשיך את התפיסה הקדומה של לוחות השנה של העת העתיקה, שהיו רשימות של חגים ואירועים קדושים. הוא חשב כיצד לארגן את הזמן באופן נהיר ובה בעת לסמן אותו באופן רלוונטי לזמננו. זו הסיבה שבחר להשתמש במקשי מחשב, ולוח השנה נוצר כהקלדה רציפה של כל התאריכים. במובן זה אפשר לדמות איש היושב במשרדו ומקליד ללא הרף, מחשבה מטרידה ללא
ספק, כשמבינים מה הפעילות המרכזית המרכיבה את שגרת יומו של רבים מא
יתנו.
An Anecdote about Harald Geisler in Israel
I do have a special relationship with Israel in my history. Through a random incident I celebrated my eighteenth birthday near Tel Aviv. That was in 1998 and I was walking around town with an analog camera and photographed everything that seemed interesting to me. Particular interesting were run down or abandoned architecture. One of these objects was a half torn down building with a door in the middle. You can't imagine how surprised I was when (while photographing) that door was opened from the inside by a shy old man.
That man then posed for me in front that door and I could take that nice picture above. We started talking and he asked me to come in and have a look. Behind that door was his atelier and he gave me a brief introduction to his work. I can't remember what I felt inside nor what he told me, not even his name. Through the pictures I see a dusty, overloaded, overwhelming and very charming place. When I left he gave me a little picture: a bird painted on a sponge.
Even though I don't remember what I felt while I was in that place, I do remember that while being there or shortly after leaving I made the decision to not study programming but become an artist.
Since all my relations to this country are rather random than given or chosen, but in most cases intense, you can imagine how ex tremely flattered and happy I am to be mentioned and even printed with a work in that far away place. (at least far away from Frankfurt)
That's what I wanted to share :)
Happy New Year,
Harald
PS.: I'm hoping that by chance one of you might know that artist. If so - let me know!
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on December 27
Harald Geisler and Elizabeth Waterhouse
Posted project update #12Shipping, Speech Pianos, Holidays and a Night out of Time
Dear Backers,
sorry again that not all shipments arrived in time for the holidays. It's great to hear when you receive your package - so keep posting in the comments when your reward arrives! ;) The latest report today came in from Wisconsin.
In the last update I included the Shipping codes for rewards outside the US and Canada. As soon as I get the codes for the Canada and the US I will post them in the same way. If you're missing something you can contact me through Kickstarter or through my website: haraldgeisler.com/contact
Speech Piano - iPad App
You might have noticed that I mentioned on the project site a free iPad/iPhone App about the Typographic Wall Calendar. Unfortunately I couldn't finish that in time for the holidays.
But another typographic/language project of mine, the Speech Piano got finished just in time. It's about English and German and how the languages relate to each… but before I bore you with conceptional details: it's a fun piece - a draft full of ideas - and it's free!
http://itunes.apple.com/app/id490506333
For those of you who know someone with an iPad, or even got one for yourself in the holidays - Check it out and let me know your thoughts:
Holidays and a Night out of Time
"Just one day out of life"
Some of you might wonder how the holidays are celebrated in Frankfurt.
In the description that came with the calendar I wrote that "Early Western calendars were holiday calendars that marked holy days. They were not a vehicle for measuring time, but rather a medium for arranging religious actions. " One can easily imagine that these holidays in ancient times (for example when the month August was introduced over 2000 years ago) have been celebrated with excessive dances. And while most people when they think of "happy holidays" would think of gift-wrapping-paper - in Frankfurt some think of a special holiday dance!
The important holiday in Germany is the 24th not the 25th! - it's celebrated with a festive dinner. Till now I believed that the holidays were a time to contemplate and not necessary to dance. This year was in many ways different for me - so I decided to try out something and went there to see what everybody was talking about:
But let me introduce my train of thought from holiday to dance on the work of an female artist that worked specifically and continuously on the topic "holy - days and dance" for almost 30 years!! Her successful work "Holidays" was published in 1983. The lyrics ponder and even explain the concept of holy-days:
Just one day out of life
(…)
All across the world
In every nation
It's time for the good times
Forget about the bad times
One day to come together
To release the pressure
We need a holiday
(…)
Put your trouble down
It's time to celebrateIn the following video you can see nearly 30 years of a continuously developed choreography and outstanding performance. You'll find signs of nationality (dancers wearing the american and british flag) or religious signs projected on the topic of holidays. (and of course you can find much more…)
So away from Madonnas fancy footwork, back to Frankfurt. There is this evening every year on the 24th and a lot of people go there every year since decades. If a lot of people do something over and over again - it becomes a tradition. If a tradition is kept for decades on and on… and longer it might become a holiday in the calendar.
The celebration is happening from the late evening of the 24th to the early morning hours of the 25th. I arrived shortly past midnight and a few hundred people already gathered around the location.
It is a very lively atmosphere with a lot of talking. Hot spiced wine was sold out of a window. To my surprise I found nobody outside ever went inside this place! The usual thing seems to be to stand outside and talk until it's to cold and then go home.
Well I came to dance and stayed on course → on the dance floor at one o'clock. What a unexpected night: I danced all night, smoked a cigarette, almost got in a fight, danced this male dance(pogo or moshing), got insulted, had a conversation about Heine and Goethe and got kissed. While Madonna sings for "Just one day out of life" I felt like I had a night out of time.
To conclude the thought about holidays and dance, I tried to draw a line from holy-days to dance and celebration. While Madonna seriously works on the topic, I spend my holidays dancing but who knows- maybe that changes? Now that most of you have your calendars I'd like to encourage you to mark some holi-dance-days for next Year! (here some work that inspires me to move)
Before I forget: here is the place→ Maybachstr. 24. The traditional celebration is every year at the 24th of December at 22h - if you're in Frankfurt at that time - you should stop by and get a hot spiced wine & maybe dance?
Last but not least→ a short video form the holiday-dancing-scene inside (25th of December recorded between 03:23 and 04:00 a.m.):
Post Comment -
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on December 26
Harald Geisler and Elizabeth Waterhouse
commented on a project update@ Eavan Warfel: I'm a bit confused- who charged you for international shipping? Shipping for backers is free. Hope your reward arrived in time. @ Adam McLane: The sheet is a B1 format. In Europe it is a standard size for frames that can be bought everywhere at very low prices - in the US and all countries that don't use ISO 216 it is difficult or expensive to get a matching frame. If you like to know more about Paper sizes - it's exciting (kind of): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_size So the frame from the swedish company should fit exactly and there will be no need for a passepartout. If you don't like the swedish company you'd have to buy a bigger frame and then get a custom made mat. If you like to buy at ikea, I would recommend you, to get an aluminum frame. In Germany they are about $20. The "wooden" frames are MDF with a plastic print of wood texture glued on it. Which is extremely well done - but If you hit the frame once it will get ugly. The best is to check them out if yourself if you're living near a swedish store ;) (MDF - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium-density_fibreboard) For people in Germany I can recommend: http://www.max-aab.de - the quality is not best you can get, but I never found a cheaper one in that quality - prices for 70x100 start at 35€. They also send out free wood samples.
Harald Geisler and Elizabeth Waterhouse
Frankfurt, Germany
Harald Geisler is a typographer based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Though trained technically in typography, his projects range from font design, to book and app publishing, still life flower prints, and calendars. His American collaborator for this project is Elizabeth Waterhouse, a dramaturge, writer, and dancer working between the US and Germany.
Well done, Harald! I'm a big fan - not only the Typographic Wall Calendar but also your updates!
@ Marja :) thanks!
Congratulations, Harald, a well deserved award. And the collar just adds a charming touch of informality!