Robot Creative - Design and Marketing Weblog

Berlin

by Lara August

I just got back from a week in Berlin, and I am still completely overwhelmed by the amazing design that I was surrounded by. From an architectural tour to the museums to the endless public art to the colors of the furnishings at the hotel we stayed in to the random subway murals - it's simply not something that is easily summarized. I felt like I'd been living in a sensory deprivation tank for 5 years, only to wake in the center of a WalMart during back to school sales. It was THAT overwhelming (but in a good way). I'm still processing it.

The last time I was in Berlin was 10 years ago. I studied at the University of Hamburg while completing my undergrad degree in German. I was there during a time of very interesting political change. It was during the formation of the EU, at the height of Germany's own reunification struggles and right when the capital of Germany was moving back to Berlin after having been located in Bonn since WWII.

I was required to take a preparatory class to prove that my language skills were up to snuff before I was permitted to enroll directly in classes at the university. The culmination of that class was a paper in the German language on a subject of my choosing. I elected to write about the city planning and architecture surrounding two specific areas in Berlin. The first was the government district, including the renovation of the Reichstag Building (pictured here with my little robot friend). The second was Potsdamer Platz - where the removal of the Berlin wall opened up one of the largest pieces of real estate ever to be developed in the center of a major city.

Upon completion of my paper, I went to Berlin to see the before. Last week, I was able to see the after. I scheduled a private architectural tour for the first morning. It was the only sunny day we were to have. We visited all of the sites and our guide gave us a great introduction to many more remarkable pieces of modern and historic architecture along the way.

I'll be posting photos from the architectural tour as I get them processed in the next few weeks, as well as some random samples of design, some design book reviews of books that I purchased only available in the german language, and additional photos that I took along the way. 10 years was a long wait for me, and I'll be going back again much sooner the next time. Don't wait for my posts... book your flight now and call me on the way for a few pointers!

German Design Books Hit Robot Shelves

by Lara August

One of the most exciting things about my trip to Berlin was the design section in their bookstores. (Yes, I am that big a nerd.) German artists and designers are arguably the forefathers of what we now call graphic design, and that would make Germany the birthplace. It's no wonder the bookstores contain precious gems of knowledge, offered only in the German language.

Typography is one of my personal interests. Guttenberg invented the printing press and Germans have had the leg up on type ever since. I about fell over when I found the design section of the bookstore and found a typography section next to it. That's right... an entire section... floor to ceiling. Theory, creativity, how to, award winning, for advertising, for information graphics, for sign usage, for internet use - there was a book on every subject. I could only carry a couple back with me, but I've discovered how to order them through amazon internationally. Type nerds - check out amazon.de and eat your heart out.

Another book that was an equally great find in the design section was a book on forms. That's right. A theoretical book on how to design forms. Could anything be more German than forms, stamps and bureaucracy? This book takes forms REALLY seriously. I am actually going to read it cover to cover, not just to learn to design sweet forms, but also for a good cultural laugh.

So I guess I'm going to have a lot of translating to do in the office to share these books with the rest of the staff. This is a reason that I look for study abroad experience and international travel in the staff members that we hire. We tend to think we have everything in this wonderful country, but here's a reminder that there is more out there.

Small-town Europe

by Laura Glaess

In August, my husband Mike and I spent a semi-working holiday in Europe, where it is stupidly beautiful. I call it stupidly beautiful because there is absolutely no reason or function motivating everything's gorgeousness. It just is because it feels like it. Stupid!

I taught for a week at a dance workshop in Estonia on the island of Vormsi. Estonia is trying hard to get into the EU, so, in spite of the fact that there was no store anywhere on the island that sold underwear, everyone had perfect cell phone and wi-fi access. We ate boiled potatoes every day and I killed more mosquitos than I care to mention. I don't think I will be able to go back because the entire mosquito population will remember me and try to eat me while I sleep.

After the camp, we had one night to spend in Tallin, the capital of Estonia. Old Tallin (there is an old and a new section now) is a beautiful medieval city. Make a point of visiting. There is a huge cobblestone town center that is aucoustically fitted so a caller can make announcements to the whole city. There is a huge wall with towers all around the city to defend it's occupants against ancient invaders back when countries would steal land from one another (weird). There is a pharmacy down an ally that is older than the USA. Just Amazing!

It's funny to see how the old city has adapted to modern desires. For example, down the street from the school of classical ballet is an exotic strip club. Thankfully, Old Tallin has very strict codes about signage and architecture. The sign of the strip club is in the same style as that of the ballet school.

The next morning, we had to travel immediately to my next teaching gig in France, the culinary opposite of Estonia. After teaching for a week in a small town outside Toulouse we stayed in the south of France because we wanted to be closer to nature and away from the bustling Paris.

In small towns and the countryside, everything is splendidly undesigned. Many of the signs are hand painted unless the town has a tourist attraction. In a residential area, for example, we followed a series of hand painted white arrows promising us mini golf for what seemed like miles. We finally arrived at a field with a blues sandwichboard informing us of the times, fees, etc.

Contrast that with Padirac, where there is a huge cave complete with an underground river and gondola ride! The cave alone has a myriad of advertising material, including documentation of old Victorian advertisements. Back then, it was famed to be the mouth of hell, so there were all of these interesting parallels between stalagmites and fire.

After gallivanting around France, it was time to come back home for our next dance workshop. There are too many stories to tell and too many pictures we should have taken! Hopefully we'll be back next year. In the meantime, book your tickets now!