Edenspiekermann
Encyclopedia
Edenspiekermann is an agency for strategy, design and communication with offices in Amsterdam, Berlin, Stuttgart. The design agency is the result of a merger in 2009 between Eden design & communication Amsterdam and SpiekermannPartners Berlin, founded by German typographer Erik Spiekermann
.
Edenspiekermann has its cultural roots in Northwestern Europe. It is their background for shaping brands, identities and interactions. The design agency is a partnership with six partners. There are around 60 employees worldwide.
and experience design
.
When Premsela left De Bijenkorf, the studio became a partnership and the two designers moved to a property at Oudezijds Achterburgwal in Amsterdam. In the 60s there were hardly any interior architecture firms in The Netherlands and so the Premsela Vonk studio was able to develop at its own pace.
In the early 70s, the Premsela Vonk firm became a limited company employing around twenty staff, with a growing client base from industry and the cultural sector. The firm moved to Herengracht and shared a property with Total Design (currently named Total Identity), founded by Wim Crouwel
. Two units were formed: a large one for architecture and interior design led by Vonk and a smaller unit for product design, led by Premsela.
in Berlin (founded by Erik Spiekermann), King & Miranda Associati in Milan, 11 Danes Design in Copenhagen and BRS Premsela Vonk in Amsterdam. The associated firms exchanged knowledge and expertise and aimed to acquire international clients together.
left MetaDesign
in 2001 to run his own projects, forming the United Designers network in 2002-3. He rebranded UDN as Spiekermann Associates (also known as SpiekermannPartners) in 2007.
Edenspiekermann San Francisco
Pangea, Stockholm, Sweden
Applied Information Group, London, UK
Geomarketing, Bolzano, Italy
Eureka Moment, Mumbai, India
Erik Spiekermann
Erik Spiekermann is a German typographer and designer. He is a professor at the University of the Arts Bremen....
.
Edenspiekermann has its cultural roots in Northwestern Europe. It is their background for shaping brands, identities and interactions. The design agency is a partnership with six partners. There are around 60 employees worldwide.
Operations
Edenspiekermann specialises in brand development, service designService design
Service design is the activity of planning and organizing people, infrastructure, communication and material components of a service in order to improve its quality and the interaction between service provider and customers....
and experience design
Experience design
Experience design is the practice of designing products, processes, services, events, and environments with a focus placed on the quality of the user experience and culturally relevant solutions, with less emphasis placed on increasing and improving functionality of the design...
.
History
Edenspiekermann is the result of several mergers and collaborations between design and architectural firms over the past decades.Premsela Vonk: 1956 - 1986
In 1956 Benno Premsela and Jan Vonk started a collaboration. Premsela worked at De Bijenkorf where he remained Head of Publicity and Shop Windows until 1963. Jan Vonk, interior architect who was trained at the Amsterdam Institute for Applied/Industrial Art and the Kunstgewerbeschule in Zurich, was mainly involved in architecture and interior design. In those early years, Premsela Vonk was based in Jan Vonk’s house along the Amstel river in Amsterdam. Until the late 60s, the Premsela Vonk duo operated more like a studio of two independent designers than a true design firm.When Premsela left De Bijenkorf, the studio became a partnership and the two designers moved to a property at Oudezijds Achterburgwal in Amsterdam. In the 60s there were hardly any interior architecture firms in The Netherlands and so the Premsela Vonk studio was able to develop at its own pace.
In the early 70s, the Premsela Vonk firm became a limited company employing around twenty staff, with a growing client base from industry and the cultural sector. The firm moved to Herengracht and shared a property with Total Design (currently named Total Identity), founded by Wim Crouwel
Wim Crouwel
Willem Hendrik Crouwel is a Dutch graphic designer and typographer.Between 1947 and 1949 he studied Fine Arts at Academie Minerva in Groningen, The Netherlands...
. Two units were formed: a large one for architecture and interior design led by Vonk and a smaller unit for product design, led by Premsela.
BRS Premsela Vonk: 1986 - 1999
In 1986, Premsela Vonk merged with BRS. BRS was founded in 1969 when graphic designers Jan Brinkman and Niko Spelbrink started a collaboration. They had their work space in the loft of the Premsela Vonk firm. In 1972 they were joined by Guus Ros. In 1975 Spelbrink left the firm to work in London and Edo Smitshuijzen joined the partnership. The three men succeeded in forming a successful and very solid firm with large and complex clients such as the Open University, the Royal Library, the ministries of Justice, Economic Affairs, Transport, Public Works and Water Management and the Tax Authorities.E.D.E.N. European Designers Network: 1989
In 1989 the European Designers Network E.D.E.N. was formed. This network included MetaDesignMetaDesign
MetaDesign is an influential global design consultancy founded by Erik Spiekermann, Uli Mayer-Johanssen and Hans Ch. Krüger. The business has offices in Berlin, Beijing, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Zurich and San Francisco and more than 330 employees....
in Berlin (founded by Erik Spiekermann), King & Miranda Associati in Milan, 11 Danes Design in Copenhagen and BRS Premsela Vonk in Amsterdam. The associated firms exchanged knowledge and expertise and aimed to acquire international clients together.
Eden: 1999 - 2009
In 1999 BRS Premsela Vonk merged with Linea, specialised in information design and form design, and DC3, specialised in interaction design. BRS Premsela Vonk, Linea and DC3 joined forces to further shape the new combination of design and communication disciplines under the name of Eden Design & Communication.United Designers Network and SpiekermannPartners: 2002–2009
Erik SpiekermannErik Spiekermann
Erik Spiekermann is a German typographer and designer. He is a professor at the University of the Arts Bremen....
left MetaDesign
MetaDesign
MetaDesign is an influential global design consultancy founded by Erik Spiekermann, Uli Mayer-Johanssen and Hans Ch. Krüger. The business has offices in Berlin, Beijing, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Zurich and San Francisco and more than 330 employees....
in 2001 to run his own projects, forming the United Designers network in 2002-3. He rebranded UDN as Spiekermann Associates (also known as SpiekermannPartners) in 2007.
Edenspiekermann: 2009 – present
In 2009 SpiekermannPartners and Eden became Edenspiekermann.Alliance partners
Edenspiekermann work for local, national and international clients. Outside the offices in Amsterdam, Berlin and Stuttgart, the network includes partners across the globe.Edenspiekermann San Francisco
Pangea, Stockholm, Sweden
Applied Information Group, London, UK
Geomarketing, Bolzano, Italy
Eureka Moment, Mumbai, India
Further reading
Listed by date- Swesinger, B. (2010). The Form Book: Best Practice in Creating Forms for Printed and Online Use.. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 978-0-500-51508-2
- Shaoqiang, W. (Eds.). (2009). 100% European Graphic Design Portfolio.. HangZhou: Page One. ISBN 978-981-245-731-8
- Peeters, R. (2008). Merkdesign. Een ruwe diamant in merkenland. Amsterdam: Stichting Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Communicatie. ISBN 978-90-76802-46-6
- Ruyssenaars, B. (Eds.). (2008). European Business Design 1: Top creative solutions for today's business challenges. Amsterdam: BIS Publishers. ISBN 978-90-6369-172-1
- Capsule. (2007). Design Matters: Logos 01: an essential primer for today's competitive market. Gloucester: Rockport Publishers. ISBN 978-1-59253-341-1 ISBN 1-59253-341-8
- Swesinger, B. (2007). Formulare Gestalten: Das Handbuch. Verlag Hermann Schmidt Mainz. ISBN 978-0-500-51508-2 Formulare Gestalten
- Gianotten, H. (2004, maart/april). Huisstijl Amsterdam. Items, 78-82.
- Spijkerman, P. (Eds.). (2003). De vorm van de overheid. Nuth: Drukkerij Rosbeek.
- Smitshuijzen, E., de Waard, J. (1995). Bewegwijzering in Nederland: Dutch Sign Design. Amsterdam: BIS Publishers. ISBN 90-72007-34-4