To mark the 50th anniversary of the social institution FoyerBasel, Studio von Aarburg was commissioned to design a new visual identity that appeals to both referring organisations and young women. This includes a new logo, colour scheme and images. They designed some brochures but the identity is mainly developped over the website, coded by Arteria. They worked exclusively with the combination of BVH BLine and BVH BDot, the dots materializing the connections between people.

FoyerBasel has been in existence since 1973, providing residential care for girls and young women with psychiatric disorders. From the outset, the institution’s working methods have been based on the non-hierarchical interaction of social education, psychology and psychiatry.

Shatter with its splintered letterforms, chosen as a visual metaphor for mental disorder. The fragmentation is echoed in the illustration.

Retreat from Sanity: The Structure of Emerging Psychosis was written by Malcolm B. Bowers, Jr., M.D. (1933–2008). Bowers was a member of the Yale University School of Medicine faculty and became a Professor of Psychiatry in 1976. Published in hardback by Human Sciences Press, this is the paperback edition by Penguin.

The cover design is by Walter Brooks (1922–1987). Born in Glasgow, Brooks came to the United States as an infant, and later studied at Cooper Union. After serving in the army in World War II, he pursued a career as a commercial artist, initially working for King Features Syndicate and various book publishers, before deciding on a career as a freelance artist in the early 1960s. Brooks designed book covers, greeting cards, and a number of postage stamps (incl. the 8-cent San Juan, Puerto Rico; the 9-cent, 10-cent, and 11-cent stamps of the Americana issue; the 3-cent, 5-cent and 5.2-cent stamps of the Transportation issue; and the 13-cent Indian Head Penny). In addition, he helped write, edit and illustrate a series of art instruction books for M. Grumbacher Inc. From 1970 to 1972, he served as president of the Society of Illustrators.

Brand and logo design for the XXXVII Congreso Sopnia, the 37th congress of the Sociedad de Psiquiatría y Neurología de la Infancia y la Adolescencia (SOPNIA), an online symposium focusing on psychiatry and neurology for teens and kids. The overall strategy was to reflect a great energy and develop an appealing identity, without missing the seriousness of the scientific approach. For the logo, I made a common symbol based on the online connection between speakers and viewers. Jorge Cisterna’s Fibra One (Los Andes, 2018) is used throughout.

See more on my Behance page.

“Ever met a normal person? And..., did you like it?”

Between 1973 and 1974, stichting Pandora developed several posters related to psychiatry in which the question of normality was central. Especially the posters and stickers printed on mirror paper with the slogan “Ever met a normal person?”, Taken from Simon Carmiggelt's Kronkels were a real hit.

Most online sources, like Museum van de Geest in the quote above, date this poster in 1973/74 but fail to credit a designer. Delpher (formerly “Het geheugen van Nederland”) has the designer credit – Eric de Vries – and claims 1980 as a publication date. Given that this poster was a popular asset for waiting rooms and class rooms, the poster had many print runs, and both dates could be right.

Judging by the font in use, 1980 may be more likely than 1973 for this poster: it is Neo-Jenson, tightly set and slightly stretched. This slabserif/oldstyle mix was featured in the 1978 Headliners catalog, without naming a typedesigner.

The small type on the bottom translates to “This mirror is held up to you by the Pandora Foundation”.

A worn-off copy photographed by blogger Laila, with different copy at the bottom.

The Sammlung Prinzhorn in Heidelberg is a museum of historical works from psychiatric institutions as well as today's psychiatric experts. The unique special collection is attached to the Clinic for General Psychiatry of the University Hospital Heidelberg.

Since ca. 2015, the identity combines Larish Neue (RP Digital Foundry) and Chapeau (Milieu Grotesque). The text typeface is Korpus (Binnenland).

Fronts of two folded exhibition flyers, 2017/2018.

Interior page. The text typeface is Korpus. Captions are in Chapeau.