German Design

In one respect Germany is similar to eating cheese with jam – it provokes many different, and often contradictory feelings. In my experience you can get bullied for being German and in the same breath be told how nice it would be to own a BMW. Double standard aside however, let’s focus on the positive, as there are certain things that people seem to universally enjoy about Germany. Its engineering, detergents, sweets and beer, and its citizen’s conscientiousness and adherence to plans among them. I have to admit that this is an admiration I share, particularly when it comes to German design. But I don’t mean design in terms of cars or fashion necessarily, but in a broader sense, the way I was taught at university.

The way it was explained to me, namely, and still the way it stands out the most in my memory is this: it was a lecture about I don’t remember what but there was a presentation and we were asked questions about specific items – which of those were products of design? On one side there was some fancy chair that looked ridiculous, and on the other a paper clip. And most of us, untrained yet in the ways of the great communicologists and designers, pointed to the chair as the ‘designer object’ when, in fact, it was the paper clip.

Because the humble paper clip, you see, is the solution to a problem. It is the result of a process the point of which is to engage with an issue – in this case, binding papers without combining them forever – in order to produce an applicable, functioning outcome – a small, bent wire. The history of paper clips is actually quite interesting, with the first patent for one existing as early as 1867, but that’s a story for another day. Today I want to focus on design in terms of the cool things it can bring about, more so than specific high-end items typically associated with the term.

Two quick definitions of design to finish up this introductory part and then I’ll move on to the actual things. To start off, whenever I get interested in any topic the dictionary is usually the first place I go to to check it out, and here it’ll be no different. Design is “the way in which something is planned and made”, says the Cambridge English Dictionary, and I’d agree. There are more descriptions than that but this one seems quite fitting. Another one I found in a design handbook called Design Basics reads “Design is essentially the opposite of chance.”, which I think is a very pretty soundbite and also captions the essence of the process very well.

Designing, then, is sort of everything; the concept, process and result of planning certain things. And in this context, with that idea in mind, I’d like to introduce three German projects that I think are pretty well-designed. Why did I pick only German ones? Well, if I’m honest, it just so happened that I found those three interesting, and they were all German, so it made sense to put them all into the same text. Neither warranted its own article but I wanted to share my thoughts on them anyway, that sort of thing. So here they are, without further ado, three cool examples of German design.

Funk

Anyone who knows me longer than a month has heard me talk about this because it’s a project I really like and care about. Not only because it’s actually made for my demographic but also because it’s simply well-made. It’s the “content-network for people aged 14-29 from ARD and ZDF”, the German public broadcasting companies. Basically it’s a bunch of content in different places on the Internet chaperoned by those very media entities.

Before I go any further, what needs to be established is that the German media landscape is a specific one, for one very good reason – it’s mostly trustworthy. The publicly-owned media anyway, which can’t be said for many equivalent institutions in other countries. Of course Germany also has their shit papers, and hyenas lurking around every famous person’s corner to get the latest scoop, but still. The public media services are pretty good. They have their mandates set at education, information and entertainment and they seem to stick to them rather successfully. They try to stay balanced, at least as far as I can tell, and ultimately they provide ad-free, qualitatively respectable content. Some people take that for granted however, which I came to learn in a journalism class in Germany once, when a friend from Croatia and I (in the role of Polish exchange student) told the others ‘hey, guys, public broadcasting isn’t always true and unbiased in every country, even in Europe’ or something along those lines, and they were shocked by it. And not because they were uneducated, quite the opposite; I suppose it’s simply easy to stop appreciating good things, and I don’t blame ‘em.

Another aspect to add here is that given their particular mandates the German public broadcasting companies do tend to produce content that is rather… specific. German, in the non-fun way. Documentaries, political or philosophical debates, family movies, vintage TV shows, boatloads of news, that sort of thing. Add to that Web 2.0 and you end up with a tax-funded public broadcasting service that a major part of the public doesn’t consume – young people. Millennials, zoomers, whatever you want to call them – they don’t watch public broadcasting, they barely watch linear TV anymore. Which isn’t a problem per se, well, unless you’re a national broadcasting company (or two) the mission of which is to offer unbiased, ad-free, educational and entertaining content to every citizen.

And here the genius of design comes in. In a ‘If the Mountain won’t go to Mohammed, then Mohammed must go to the Mountain’-sort of twist the public broadcasting companies decided to create content for young people, but in a way that would appeal to them. With pressure to do so starting as early as 2011/12, with many hoops to jump through, finally on October 1st, 2016 the content network funk was launched. Gauging by its structure, functioning and right down to its name it was seemingly really created with young people in mind. The entirety of it is also exclusively online and non-linear. They have a website, sure, but basically it’s just a list of their formats and a few FAQs. All of their content from over 100 programming options is hosted on other websites, YouTube, Instagram, what have you. They produce or simply sign various formats, creators, shows, and even a scripted Snapchat-show (which is the first ever of its kind, if I’m not mistaken), which in the meantime made it to its 16th season, which I guess, but also wow.

funk provides a variety of content for their target audience, really covering all their bases. I personally am more into the YouTube creator side of things, and the odd reportage, but they offer almost everything from cooking and sex-ed, international issues, science, sketch comedy, documentaries, talkshows and daily shows to singers, photographers and actual shows that win awards and stuff. Instead of bemoaning the fact that ‘youth these days’ the producers of funk simply went and did something about it. It’s exactly the way it’s supposed to be for their chosen demographic. From young people for young people. It’s dynamic, and adaptable, and it’s a great way to ensure that there’s space for every citizen to benefit from the mandates promised by the public broadcasting network. I know this sounds weirdly over-enthusiastic, but shouldn’t everyone have a right to access ad-free, quality content? Especially when the people making it actually seem to know what they’re doing?

Not everything is as perfect as it seems, of course, but that’s to be expected. The network itself, as well as individual content creators, have to face criticism from time to time. Not only because they’re on the internet, and they make stuff for people, and it’s the sign of the times and all, but also because of money. The production teams have to get funding somewhere, which they do via taxes, and that seems to be a pretty big pain point for a lot of people. And I can understand why, it’s no small tax, you can’t really avoid it (even if you don’t want to consume public media) and a serious amount of it goes to the network. And then of course people will complain, question the validity and necessity of content like the one overseen by funk. Presenters making unsavory jokes, creators making dubious sketches, informative Instagram posts containing mistakes or being considered to be too opinionated; it’s all there, and some of it is probably justified. There’s certainly always room for improvement, but for me personally, it’s still worth it anyway.

What a lot of people seem to forget is that funk’s target group is a very specific one. Most taxpayers probably won’t understand why a self-deprecating sketch about ‘weird teenage slang’ is funny, and part of the Zeitgeist, and why it’s good that it’s contained within the public broadcasting network. And that’s okay – it’s not for them. Whatever you want to say about funk, they successfully facilitate the creation of content that is free from advertising and fits certain mandates for a group of people that have the same right to get media made more for them as anyone else. Funk doesn’t really push their agenda, you don’t necessarily know you’re watching stuff made under their helm, and in the end it’s just fun and good content – in most cases anyway. And from a design perspective it’s a brilliant example of how integral empathy is to the process, and how understanding your goal and audience works towards the success of your product. All in all, a damn cool thing and the embodiment of the maxim which I picked as the motto of this very blog – when life gives you lemons, well, you know what to do.

Hannover’s Red Thread

Another cool thing, though probably explained way faster than an entire media network, is Hannover’s Red Thread. What it is is basically a sightseeing aid in the form of a red thread running through the center of Hannover, which is, well, just a big German city. I came to learn about this peculiarity by accident, when I visited my brother there on his business trip. I’m that type of traveller who doesn’t really know where they’re going, sort of finding out what’s there when I get there. I’d also never been to the capital of Lower Saxony before, and so I didn’t know what to expect – except you know, big German city. And not to be unjust toward its uniqueness and beauty, but to me it seemed rather familiar, in that it was just a bunch of old and new buildings, a river (which is called ‘leash’, of all things), some parks, cute cafés, expensive restaurants, the whole nine yards.

And then they went and hit me in the face with their ingenious urban accessory. I’d never seen anything like it before, though I technically could’ve, because the idea is modeled after the Freedom Trail in Boston, which is also a painted thread running through the city. In any case, the way Hannover implemented it is by sketching a 4.2 km long, crimson ribbon on the asphalt, passing 36 sightseeing stops in the center of the city. It was established in 1970, and after 50 years it’s still looking fresh (though they’ve probably repainted it once or twice in the meantime). To make use of it is also laughably simple; of course you can just start walking along, or you can pick up a small, paper guide in the tourist center for a measly euro or two and have it take you along the stops, which is how I experienced it.

What I enjoy about this project is not only how simple and easy it is, but also how memorable. Again, not to throw shade at Hannover, but if it wasn’t for that one element I wouldn’t remember what the city looked like at all. It’s just such a remarkable thing to have on the pavement, like breaking the rules a little, because that’s not a line you usually see on the streets. The whole affair also has a sort of scavenger hunt feel to it, and the information provided in the booklet is very succinct, which makes it pleasant to read and share. Which doesn’t mean that I remember any of it, of course, but at the time it was great fun, and a very productive and self-determined way to spend an afternoon.

I get that people prefer to be led through cities, and told what happened where and when, but then you’re always bound to your guide and your group. This way you can totally do your own thing, while still being cradled in the safety of a specific route and specific information. So you get the benefit of being on your own and the benefit of not having to think about where to go next, all combined into a visually stimulating and functionally interesting experience. That’s some pretty good service, user experience and urban design in my book, and to top it all off the entire route is barrier-free. So: fun, simple, easy, accessible and quirky in a way – what else can a tourist wish for in a city that they stay in for a day or two?

I think about this project sometimes if I’m honest, and I try to imagine what it’d be like if every city had it. On the one hand it’d be kinda nice, because a thread like that is a very helpful tool when it comes to sightseeing and engaging tourists, but on the other hand it wouldn’t be unique at all anymore. As it stands, Hannover is special to me as a curiosity enthusiast, because you get to be taken around a remarkably regular European city in a very irregular way. And though it may be a small thing, and nothing all too exciting, at the end of the day it’s a fucking brilliant idea.

Trink-Genosse

As far as this last thing goes, I don’t really know much about it, but the idea already seems so great to me, that I think it’s worth mentioning. Trink-Genosse, or drinking buddy in English, is a bar co-op in Cologne that aims to create a space for an alternative economy that centers around democratic values and cooperation. Sounds lofty at first but what it really is is simply a bunch of people having an idea and turning it into something that works. They opened a bar in which you’re owner, keeper and guest at the same time and you get to talk to people and exchange ideas. As far as I understand the root idea was to create a cooperative space for people who’s dream it is to run a bar but they can’t, due to financial limitations. Now they can go to Trink-Genosse instead and become part of the association and live out their dream that way.

But, as these things sometimes go, the idea is sort of bigger than the product itself. Trink-Genosse is more of a community than just a time-shared bar, and perhaps I’m too ignorant to know better, but I’d throw the term ‘movement’ around as well. Apart from being well-designed graphically the co-op also seems to be well-designed functionally. They’re an open space for all sorts of activities, on all levels of seriousness, as far as I can tell. The community also had to prove their adaptability, as shown by the 2020 pandemic, which forced them to postpone their plans of opening their physical bar in Cologne (which they were able to do by now however) and instead open a virtual one. I haven’t participated there yet, because turns out going to a virtual bar is the same as going to a physical one, at least for me – I was always reluctant and nervous to go to a new place in town, and when that place is a map drawn on a website and a bunch of chat rooms called fun names like ‘counter’ and ‘queue to the loo’, well apparently the same rules still apply – but hey, the concept itself. How cool is that?

What I particularly like about this project is that they’re very open about their processes and that they have constructed a list of ‘Practices of Success’, which I think can be applied to more than just bar co-ops. It’s a list of communication best practices that, if everyone adheres to, can produce constructive and effective dialogue. Of course, those aren’t new ideas, and the list has been composed based on rules provided by similarly oriented organizations, but still. The way the folks at Trink-Genosse have rephrased those rules into a simple and manageable form is deserving of acknowledgement in my eyes. Among principles such as ‘active listening’ and ‘no devices’, there are some that I think are just as important but not necessarily talked about as often. Things like ‘shared responsibility’ and ‘assuming good intentions’ are pretty valuable, and also ‘everyone does their best’ and ‘asking for what you need’. Of course I’m just mentioning the overall practices, without going into too much detail, though such is provided in succinct sentences on their website (which I’d be happy to translate one day and share in full). But just the approach itself, to design a space, which shows its values in every aspect, from the graphics to the mechanics – that’s a cool project.

With that, here we are, at the end of the list. All three of the projects I described I feel like wouldn’t fit into a layman’s definition of ‘design’, and yet they’re three projects very well deserving of that description. I know they’re not grand or particularly world-changing, but in their respective spaces they do one thing – they work. And that’s more than many can say about their ideas.

And, of course, I find them totally interesting, which is ultimately the point I’m trying to make here – to share interesting things. I may not be a designer, but with any such design curiosities, apart from the product or service being admirable in its own right, I find the sheer possibility and perseverance to create something in the first place wonderful, and truly inspiring.

Which is a bit melodramatic a conclusion, granted, but isn’t that what finding interesting things is supposed to be about? To be inspired, to have emotions and passions evoked and to feel better about the world for a while? In any case that’s what learning about these projects did to me and all I can hope for is to pass the torch of inspiration on to you.

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