Studio Tillack Knöll, Design Practice

Studio Tillack Knöll, Multicreative Practice

Studio Tillack Knöll, Exhibition Practice

Studio Tillack Knöll, Collaborative Practice

Studio Tillack Knöll, Spatial Practice

Studio Tillack Knöll, Publishing Practice

Studio Tillack Knöll, Editorial Practice

Studio Tillack Knöll, Political Practice

Studio Tillack Knöll, Community Practice

Introduction

Studio Tillack Knöll is a design practice that concerns itself with the visual and spatial aspects of communication. We design exhibitions, wayfinding systems, books, visual identities and digital experiences for a variety of clients involved in architecture, art, science and commerce to cultural institutions and NGOs.
The driving force behind our work is the interaction and collaboration with and for other human beings. Besides creating our visual output we enhance our design practice with editing, writing and coding.

Approach

The day to day work is the starting point from which we confidently emerge with holistic design concepts for the production of identities and atmospheres that have long-lasting effects. Even though most our work manifests itself through its visual and haptic surface, the goal of our practice is to reach new depths and dive all in – clearly distinctive, tangibly and intellectually.

We regard each project as a challenge. A challenge to attain a visual endurance that surpasses this fast paced world and its economy of quick and cheap satisfaction. A challenge that develops new solutions and ways of seeing things. Ultimately, an inclusive design that expands and changes perceptions.

Since 2018 Sven and Steffen have been invited to teach numerous classes and courses at Stuttgart State Academy of Fine Arts, Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts as well as Erfurt University of Applied Sciences in the fields of architecture, fine arts, product design, visual communication and programming. They are members of 100 Beste Plakate e.V.

Founders

Sven Tillack

Sven is the studio’s driving force behind all digital endeavours (coded and animated). As creative director and a passionate book designer, his keen eye for detail and production not only comes in handy when completing projects, but also when assembling the studio’s daily playlists as well. He holds a diploma from the Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design and has a background in photography, advertising and corporate campaigns and—as author and editor of “Exploriso: Low-tech Fine Art”—he is also the studios very own print specialist and risography-connaisseur.

Steffen Knöll

The fact that Steffen almost enrolled into architecture school probably accounts for the studio’s interest in exhibition-making and spatial design. The other one probably being the fascination for the vastness of space which lead to the publishing of “Apollo 11—Man on the Moon—The Visual Archive”. After finishing his diploma at the State Academy of Art and Design Stuttgart, Steffen expanded his knowledge and also holds the position of creative director as well as chief studio accountant and master of the studio’s vast library.

Team

Johannes Hucht

As a HfG Karlsruhe trained communication- and type designer with a background in spatial and product design, Johannes is the latest addition to our team. With his extraordinary perseverance in fine-tuning curves and spacing, Johannes is not only highly equipped in creating bespoke typefaces but also persevering enough to hang between/in/on/under rocks—as he’s a passionate climber.

Currently we are greatly supported by our two interns Sarah Schlecht and Paul Daubenspeck. Thank you very much for your support!

Past team members include Niklas Berlec, Janis Czapka, Mia Götze, Vincent Herbet, Lilli Klein, Marius Rother and Lea Wellern.

Contact

General Inquiries

+49 (0) 711.80695760

info@studiotillackknoell.com

Social Media

@studiotillackknoell

New Business

Steffen Knöll

+49 (0) 160.91454825

newbusiness@studiotillackknoell.com

Collaboration

In order to reach a project’s unique outcome we often like to enlarge our team to include specialists and like-minded designers, friends and colleagues:

asphalt kollektiv, HuM Base, Parat.cc, Studio Terhedebrügge, Mark Bohle, Mark Julien Hahn, Nam Huynh, Nolan Paparelli, Hans-Jörg Seidler, Levin Stadler, Natalie Weinmann, Carola Wille, Jonas Zieher.

Community

Design should not be confined to a distinct bubble. One of our goals as a studio is to give back to communities that we cherish and value. We achieve this either through nonprofit work, design coaching or other means. If you have a project that is in need of support please get in contact with us!

Publishing

Throughout our studies and parallel to our design practice we like to reflect areas of interest through writing, editing and publishing. 
Up until now we have written and edited two books that deal with different visual topics. »Exploriso: Low-Tech Fine Art« serves as a holistic compendium for the art of risograph printing and offers an in-depth analysis of this printing-medium and a comprehensive guide on how to use it. Furthermore, we have developed unique color profiles and have made them available for free through the Exploriso website»Apollo 11: Man on the Moon — The Visual Archive« analyses the impact of the visual and photographical documentation during the first landing on the moon. Both publication were generously supported through the DISCOVERED series (a close collaboration between the Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design, the University of Fine Arts Hamburg, the Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig and their affiliated book institutes) and were published by Spector Books in Leipzig. Besides these two endeavours we are deeply invested in the production of artists’ books for artists such as Ann-Kathrin Müller, Prof. Ricarda Roggan and Dirk Reimes. We serve as creative directors for Klub Books and work in close collaboration with its editors Sabine Kastner and Facundo Fernández who publish books about architecture and architectural theory.

Clients

Architecture & Urban Planning

'asp' architekten Birk Heilmeyer und Frenzel Gesellschaft von Architekten mbH Bund Deutscher Architektinnen und Architekten BDA Hochbauamt der Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart Schmutz & Partner Freie Architekten Studio Cross Scale Studio Urbane Strategien Städtebau-Institut der Universität Stuttgart Vermögen und Bau Baden-Württemberg Zweiheit Innenarchitekten

Artists & Art Institutions

Ann-Kathrin Müller Deutsche Akademie Rom Villa Massimo Kunstmuseum Stuttgart Literaturhaus Stuttgart Meisterschüler:innen im Weißenhof-Programm der ABK Stuttgart Erik Sturm Staatsgalerie Stuttgart Städtische Galerie Villingen-Schwenningen

Bars, Clubs & Restaurants

Gian Paolo e Marco, Café & Bar Tatti Stay & See Zum Ochsen — Restaurant und Landmetzgerei

Cinematography & Motion

Arte Cedric Retzmann

Coaching

Traffo.io

Commerce & Finance

Apple Inc. ALH Gruppe (Alte Leipziger — Hallesche) Nike, Inc.

Community / NGO

Bürgerrat Klima FF*GZ — Feministisches Frauen*gesundheitszentrum Stuttgart e. V. Hotel Central e. V. / Lobby Radio Kunstverein Wagenhalle e. V. SDG Places

Culture

Bundesgartenschau 2019 GmbH Deutsches Bauernkriegsmuseum Böblingen in.Stuttgart GmbH Kultur- und Kongresszentrum Liederhalle Stuttgart-Marketing GmbH The Opéra Magazine for Contemporary Nude Photography

Education

KIT — Karlsruher Institut für Technologie RWTH Aachen Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart Universität Stuttgart

Engineering, Construction & Energy

Godel Beton GmbH

Food & Drink

Mozzafiato PNEVMA

Lifestyle & Fashion

Servizio Magari — The finest in fashion, furniture and services. The Rice Society

Publishing

Kerber Verlag Klub Books Jovis Verlag Ruby Press Spector Books Vexer Verlag

Awards

Awards

Landeshauptstadt Kiel, Referat Kieler Woche, 3rd place at Kieler Woche 2024 design competition

Tokyo TDC Annual Awards 2023 Prize Nominee

Stiftung Buchkunst, Die Schönsten Deutschen Bücher 2023 [The Best German Book Design 2023]. 1 × Longlist, 1 × Shortlist
Stiftung Buchkunst, Förderpreis für junge Buchkunst 2023 [sponsorship prize for young book design, 2023]. 1 × Shortlist

Stiftung Buchkunst, Die Schönsten Deutschen Bücher 2021 [The Best German Book Design 2021]. 2 × Shortlist

Discovered, cooperation of the art academies and art schools Leipzig, Hamburg and Stuttgart with the publishing house Spector Books

The 3rd Shenzen International Poster Festival SIPF 2018, Silver Medal

11th Macau Design Biennial, Bronze Award in Category Book, Jury & Distinction Award in Category Book

Taipei International Design Award 2015, Silver Award

The 2nd Shenzhen International Poster Festival SIPF2016, Silver Award

Stiftung Buchkunst, Die schönste deutschen Bücher 2016 [The Best German Book Design 2016], Longlist

Stiftung Buchkunst, Förderpreis für junge Buchgestaltung 2016, Shortlist

Global Biennale of Graphic Design Golden Bee, All Gold of the World 2014 – 2016, 2018, Golden Fix Award

27th Brno Biennial International Exhibition 2016, Selected Work

Taipei International Design Award 2015, Taipei Mayor Award, Gold Award, Judges’ Award

2015 Graphic Design Festival Scotland, International Poster Competition, 2nd Place

Italian Poster Biennial 2015, 2nd Place

Collections

Musée Des Arts Décoratifs Paris

100 Beste Plakate e. V.

Permanent collection of Hong Kong Heritage Museum

Talks

2023

»Fast Forward! Graphic design in the age of technocapitalism: cultivating ideas in the midst of acceleration«, talk supervised by Prof. Wim Westerveld, Weißensee Kunsthochschule Berlin »Wer wir sind«, Talk at Deutsches Bauernkriegsmuseum Böblingen [German Peasants’ War Museum Boeblingen] about the Studio and its work on the museums’ new visual identity. »INT’L Workshop«, Talk during the INT’L Workshops »Talking Thursdays«, talk with TwoTimesElliott

2022

»Exploriso: Low-tech Fine Art? — Risographie als künstlerisches Druckverfahren [Risography as an artistic printing method]«, Landesarbeitsgemeinschaft Medien e.V., bundesweiter Verbund von Lehrerinnen und Lehrern im Bereich Druck- und Medientechnik [nationwide association of teachers in the field of printing and media technology] »Celebrating The Opéra«, presenting The Opéra Anniverary Edition with editor Matthias Straub, Galerie Kernweine

2021

»Mix & Match! Colormanagement am Risographen«, talk within the Start Art Week in cooperation with RISO Deutschland, Metapaper and Drucken3000, University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf »Make Them Seen, Make Them Heard«, talk within the module »Das hat mich schon immer interessiert – Eine Publikation« supervised by Jonas Beuchert and Tilman Schlevogt, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar Lecture in the design department supervised by Prof. Ilka Helmig und Prof. Eva Kubinyi, FH Aachen

2019

Algorithm.Camp, HfG Karlrsuhe × ABK Stuttgart; Karlsruhe & Stuttgart [with Sascia Reibel and Grischa Erbe]

2018

aed Stuttgart »3 × Type«, Württembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart Macau Design Biennal. Expo Center Shanghai Macau Design Biennal. Sanda University, Shanghai IDUGS #51 [InDesign User Group Stuttgart Meet-Up]. Hochschule der Medien Stuttgart

2017

Macau Design Biennial. Macau »Exploriso: Low-tech Fine Art?«, Adobe Creative Jam. Im Wizemann, Stuttgart »Exploriso: Low-tech Fine Art?«, Metapaper Breakfast of Inspiration. Café Netzer, Stuttgart

2015

Lecture during the Taipei International Design Award ceremony, Taipei City Government Department of Economic Development, Taipei, Taiwan

Exhibitions

2024

Hong Kong International Poster Triennal 2024, Commercial & Advertising; Animated Poster

Luga Poster Biennale 2024, »Selected« in Cultural Posters & as well as Animated Posters

The International Poster Competition 2024, INT’L, (×2)

Ecuador Poster Biennal 2024, Category B

2023

Bienal del Cartel Bolivia BICeBé 2023

Weltformat Graphic Design Festival 2023, exhibition “Kieler Woche Plakate”, Kunsthalle, Bourbaki, Lucerne

Weltformat Graphic Design Festival 2023, exhibition “Lost Pitches”, Kunsthalle (Cabinet), Bourbaki, Lucerne

Exhibition of the participating designs for Kieler Woche 2024 [Kiel Week of Sailing 2024], Rathaus Kiel, Germany

»Der Klang des Papiers – Materialreflexionen im Plakat« [The sound of Paper— Material reflections in the poster], Brandenburgisches Landesmuseum für Moderne Kunst, Cottbus, Germany

100 Beste Plakate Deutschland, Österreich, Schweiz [100 Best Posters Germany, Austria, Switzerland] 2022

Tokyo TDC Annual Awards 2023

2022

INTL, International Assembly, Poster Competition 2022

Parralel-Parralel, ÖFF, Zürich

2021

INTL, International Assembly, Poster Competition 2021

100 Beste Plakate Deutschland, Österreich, Schweiz [100 Best Posters Germany, Austria, Switzerland] 2020

29e Concours international d’affiches

Bienal del Cartel Bolivia BICeBé 2021

Hong Kong International Poster Triennial 2021 »Still & Motion«

2020

100 Beste Plakate 2019

2020 taipei international design award

2019

Bienal del Cartel Bolivia BICeBé 2029

GDFS 2019, Graphic Design Festival Scotland

2019–2014

100 Beste Plakate Deutschland, Österreich, Schweiz [100 Best Posters Germany, Austria, Switzerland] 2018–2013

2018

»Der Mond — Eine szenografische Reise zum Erdtrabanten in drei Akten«, Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany

Ecuador Poster Bienal 2018

3rd Shenzhen International Poster Festival 2018

2017

»Rundumschlag – rund um Architektur«, ehemaliger Projektraum Lotte, Stuttgart, Germany

Tokyo Type Directors Club TDC 2017 Annual Award

Workshops

2023

INTL, 2-day Workshop, »Community Characters—Collaborative Type Design«

2018

Workshop as part of the traveling exhibition of the 11th Macau Design Biennial in Shanghai, China

Jury & Consulting

2022–2023

Consultation on the tendering and procurement procedure for the new website of Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design

2019

Jury member for »Mut zur Wut 2019«, together with Julia Kahl (Germany), Ariane Spanier (Germany), Verena Panholzer (Austria), and Eduardo B. Arambarri (Mexico)

2017

Jury member for the 11th Macau Design Biennial, together with Guang Yu and Céline Lamée

Press

2022

Sindelfinger Zeitung, »Stuttgart hat im Neckarpark ein neues Architektur-Highlight«

2021

Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart, »Weltgeister«

GUESTBOOK MAGAZINE, »NASA Apollo 11 von Steffen Knöll«

Süddeutsche Zeitung, »Zwei neue Bücher über die neue Faszination des Weltraums — 1,5 Zentimeter zum tödlichen Vakuum«

Page 05.21, »Publikationen: Exploriso«

PAGE Online, »Exploriso: Handbuch fürs Riso-Printing«

étapes, 259 — Featureartikel »Stuttgart«

Comm Arts, »Fresh: Studio Tillack Knöll«

Comm Arts, Design Annual #62, September 2021, »Fresh: Studio Tillack Knöll (The designers at this Stuttgart-based studio use their work to create a visual dialogue with their community.)«

Deutscher Drucker 11/56, »Schönsten Deutsche Bücher: Was die Jury aus 633 Einsendungen herausfilterte«

2020

It’s Nice That, »Designing the identity for an art institution that contradicts the all-too-familiar capitalist narrative«

A Book On Books, viction:ary, ISBN 978-988-79726-3-1

2019

Paul Theisen, »Revolution im Großformat«

2018

étapes 243, »Tendances: Jaune«

Printed Pages, Spring/Summer 2018

It’s Nice That, »Studio Tillack Knöll’s ultimate goal is to communicate, rather than just design for design’s sake«

It’s Nice That, »Steffen Knöll’s mammoth 496-page tribute to an amazing, world-changing mission«

2017

AIGA Eye On Design, »Why Graphic Designer Sven Tillack Likes to Work Very, Very Slowly«

Deutscher Drucker 25–26, Themenschwerpunkt Risographie

Positions

Internships

Studio Tillack Knöll offers internship positions three times a year for a period of three to six months. Design interns will become part of our design team and work closely with us on a wide range of projects ranging from culture, business and architecture to art and NGOs.

Internships at Studio Tillack Knöll focus on learning through hands-on and real-life experiences. We share responsibility, design proposals are discussed, and work is executed collectively. Interns will be involved in the Studio’s everyday business. They are in close contact with clients and partners but will still be given the time and resources to develop additional skills — all while being guided supportively through demanding tasks.

Studio Tillack Knöll considers internships to be an integral part of the design curriculum and therefore should be affordable by everyone — not just the privileged few. The in-house, full-time internships that we offer are paid a salary that makes living in Stuttgart affordable without the help of one’s parents, a second job or depending on student-loans. Interns will never be considered cheap labour in our office!

The interns we look for are those close to completing an undergraduate studies in graphic design, architecture or comparable fields of studies, and who are currently enrolled in a MA/diploma programme. Selected applicants are expected to commit to at least three full months, with a probation period of four weeks.

Applications are generally accepted during the following periods:

February – April
May – July
September – November

To apply please submit a one page CV, a portfolio of your most intriguing design projects and the period for which you are applying within your e-mail to positions@studiotillackknoell.com.

Please name each CV or portfolio file with your name as well as an abbreviated version of your considered starting point: e.g. NameSurname_CV_2023-03 (for a start in March of 2023). Please keep the mb sizes as low as possible and do not exceed 10 Megabytes. Links to Instagram accounts and websites will only be considered if a CV and portfolio is included. We try to get back to everyone, selected or not, within two weeks (depending on our current workload).

Mental Health

In Germany, roughly about every 18th employee is unable to work due to mental health issues, an alarming number that we don’t want to contribute to! This is why we value eye-to-eye communication and take our team’s opinions and feedback seriously — just as we do their and our mental health. We’ve therefore set robust boundaries not only between employee and employer, but also between our team and our clients. Our design positions are paid accordingly. We offer space to grow personally and professionally. We do not tolerate sexism, racism or any other form of misuse of power.

Sustainability

Since climate change is already altering the way we live and impacting our collective future. We try to minimise the footprint of our practice and the products that our job produces. We therefore work closely with companies that value sustainability and the health of our planet in the same way that we attempt to do day to day.