Astrid Seme, Studio

sound

Contact

Große Neugasse 1/5
1040 Vienna
Austria

+43 677 620 440 05
email
instagram

About

Astrid Seme, Studio is a graphic design studio based in Vienna. Seme holds both a MFA degree from the Werkplaats Typografie, in the Netherlands and a diploma from University for Applied Arts, Vienna. Rooted within the fields of graphic design and typography her studio works in scopes such as visual identities, websites, books and editorial projects. Next to her design practice she has an ongoing research in typography and its vocal dimensions; resulting in sound works such as Urbirds singing the Sonata or A Book for all Readers. In 2019 she published Baroness Elsa’s em dashes, an anthology dedicated to a single punctuation mark—the em dash.
She also co-runs Mark Pezinger Books, a publishing house for artists’ books.

Teaching

  • Lecturer at Institute of Design (Communication Design), University of Applied Arts Vienna
  • Énsad Nancy, workshop, MA Communication Visuelle
  • écal Lausanne, jury, diploma BA Graphic Design
  • ENSBA Lyon, workshop, BA Design Graphique
  • ENSBA Lyon, jury, Diplôme National d’Art, BA Design Graphique
  • Institute of Arts and Society (Cross-Disciplinary Strategies), workshop, University of Applied Arts Vienna
  • Institute of Design (Communication Design), workshop, University of Applied Arts Vienna
  • New Design University, supervision BA thesis, Graphic and Information Design
  • New Design University, guest lecturer, Graphic and Information Design

Talks

  • École nationale supérieure d’art et de design de Nancy
  • Oslo School of Architecture and Design
  • RISD, Rhode Island School of Design
  • University Library, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
  • Camera Austria, Graz
  • Kunsthalle Basel
  • Typogaráž, Bratislava
  • Typografische Gesellschaft, Vienna
  • KASK, Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten, Ghent
  • Typojanchi. Conference at International Typography Biennial, Seoul
  • designhøgskolen, Bergen
  • I never Read, Radio Podcasts. Basel
  • Kunstuniversität Linz
  • Fahrenheit39, Ravenna
  • Print Room, Rotterdam

Acknowledgements, Prizes, Juries, Features

  • Walter Tiemann Honorary Prize (2024)
  • Shortlist – Best Book Design from all over the World, Stiftung Buchkunst (2024)
  • Gold Medal – Best Book Design from all over the World, Stiftung Buchkunst (2023)
  • State Prize / Most Beautiful Books Austria (2022, 2021)
  • Most Beautiful Books Austria (2022)
  • Prize Nominee Work. Tokyo Type Directors Club (2021, 2018)
  • Jury. 100 beste Plakate Deutschland Österreich Schweiz
  • Jury. Schönste Bücher Österreich
  • Fikra Graphic Design Biennial, Sharjah, UAE
  • Winner. 100 beste Plakate Deutschland Österreich Schweiz
  • Weltformat 2021 exhibition “We, Ourselves, and Us”
  • 25th Design Biennial, Brno
  • Typojanchi. International Typography Biennial, Seoul (2013, 2023)
  • idea magazine No. 386 (2019) and 362 (2014), Tokyo
  • GRAPHIC magazine vol. 50 (2023), 30 (2014) and 9 (2009), Seoul
  • LetterSeed8, Korean Society of Typography
  • AIGA Eye on Design: Turns out Graphic Design Should Be Heard as Much as Seen (2019) One Dadaist’s Use of the Em Dash (2019)
  • it’s nice that: elevating an artist’s work by challenging it through the lens of design (2019)
  • Annulet Poetics Journal: How—dashing— (2021/22)

Exhibitions (selection)

  • Typojanchi, International Typography Biennale, Seoul
  • The Baroness, Mimosa House London
  • Figures for dashing (solo), Typogaráž, Bratislava
  • Ziiiiuu ennze ziiiiuu nnzkrrmüüüü?, Kunsthalle Wilhelmshaven
  • Baroness Elsa’s em dashes (solo), BOEKS Ghent
  • She Is The Future, Kunstverein Langenhagen
  • Foresta Urbana, Museo Palazzo Belmonte Riso, Palermo
  • Exposed Exhibitions – Fotoarchiv der Kunsthalle Basel. icw Doris Lasch; Kunsthalle Basel
  • Hotel Charleroi. Charleroi
  • 9 to 5. Mark Pezinger at WIELS Contemporary Art Center
  • Mark Pezinger works both ways – From Performance to Publication. FRAC Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Marseille
  • Mark Pezinger at Pioneer Works. NYC
  • I fail good. Beursschouwburg. Brussels
  • Museo del arte contemporaneo, Santiago de Chile
  • Mark Pezinger at Kunsthalle Sankt Gallen
  • Electric Eclectics. Festival of experimental music and sound art, Ontario
  • TONSPUR #41 (solo) Berlin

Clients (selection)

Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Artistic Research Center / mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, Belvedere Museum, De Gruyter, dpr-barcelona, Expanded Design, Galerie nächst St. Stephan Rosemarie Schwarzwälder, Goethe Institut, HDA Graz, Kerber Verlag, Kontakt Collection / Erste Foundation, Kulturakademie Tarabya, Kunsthaus Baselland, mumok Wien, Sperling Galerie, Stephanie Hirschvogel Architekten, TONSPUR Kunstverein Wien, University of Applied Arts Vienna, Verbund Collection, Vienna Insurance Group Art Collection

Publications

“Work? It’s just serious play.” —Saul Bass
© Astrid Seme, 2024; Development: Ezekiel Aquino

1 of 9

Schule Oswald Oberhuber

Bridging the academic and the artistic worlds of Oswald Oberhuber.

“Schule Oberhuber” unfolds the multifaceted artistic practice of Oswald Oberhuber (1931–2020) as well as his critique of Austria’s conservative postwar canon. Questioning as a teacher and rector of the University of Applied Arts Vienna the hierarchical separation of fine and applied arts was central to the university’s program and formed the institution we know today.

Softcover, thread sewn, 16.5 × 22 cm, 224 pp.
Editors: Cosima Rainer, Eva Maria Stadler (University of Applied Arts Vienna)
Texts: Thomas D. Trummer, Julienne Lorz, Bazon Brock, Robert Müller
Publisher: de Gruyter
ISBN: 9783111061603
With assistance of Martin Klaffensteiner

Schule Oswald Oberhuber
Schule Oswald Oberhuber
Schule Oswald Oberhuber
Schule Oswald Oberhuber
Schule Oswald Oberhuber
Schule Oswald Oberhuber
Schule Oswald Oberhuber
Schule Oswald Oberhuber
Schule Oswald Oberhuber
Schule Oswald Oberhuber
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Stanislava Kovalcikova, Belvedere Wien

Creating an atmosphere around Kovalcikova’s elegiac canvases.

The first monograph “Grotto” by Stanislava Kovalcikova creates an atmosphere around her dreamlike and bizarre scenarios, inhabited by human and animal characters. The paintings’ protagonists defy categorization, are gender-fluid, fantasy beings with ambiguous social origins, timeless age, and indeterminable skin color, as well as inscrutable intentions. Kovalcikova’s figurative painting draws on the canon of art history, often quoting from great masters, such as Titian, Goya, Gauguin, Van Gogh or Manet.

Hardcover, thread sewn, 24 × 31.8 cm, 134 pp.
Texts: Stella Rollig (ed.), Anke Kempkes, Nick Koenigsknecht
Publisher: Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther und Franz König
ISBN: 978-3-903327-22-1
With assistance of Liza Borovskaya-Brodskaya

Stanislava Kovalcikova, Belvedere Wien
Stanislava Kovalcikova, Belvedere Wien
Stanislava Kovalcikova, Belvedere Wien
Stanislava Kovalcikova, Belvedere Wien
Stanislava Kovalcikova, Belvedere Wien
Stanislava Kovalcikova, Belvedere Wien
Stanislava Kovalcikova, Belvedere Wien
Stanislava Kovalcikova, Belvedere Wien
Stanislava Kovalcikova, Belvedere Wien
Stanislava Kovalcikova, Belvedere Wien
Stanislava Kovalcikova, Belvedere Wien
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Axel Koschier, a monograph

A speculative catalog that shatters the classic genre of artist monographs.

“Axel Koschier” is a speculative catalog that shatters the classic genre of artist monographs and embraces interpretation and fiction as an elemental part of an artist’s biography. The multilingual tome has contributions in 6 languages (English, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, French) and is a delight for all polyglot readers.

For many years, the artist Axel Koschier has been collecting fill-in forms that became an autonomous part of his artistic work. Although still in use, these forms almost seem like historical artifacts of the way our personal information was collected in a pre-digital era. Axel Koschier filled out a large number of the forms and gave this personal information to six authors (Ayami Awazuhara, Beatrice Forchini, Sophie Lapalu, Julia Moebus, Cristina Ramirez and Victoria Wigzell) – none of whom knew the artist. Inspired by this data, the authors have written 6 autonomous texts in their native languages. A fictional portrait emerges, ranging from the artists's early childhood to his psyche. At the end there is not one artist Axel Koschier, but many of them.

Awards:
State Prize / Most Beautiful Books Austria

Softcover, thread sewn, 21 × 28 cm, 368 pp.
Texts: Ayami Awazuhara, Beatrice Forchini, Sophie Lapalu, Julia Moebus, Cristina Ramirez and Victoria Wigzell
Publisher: Mark Pezinger Books
ISBN: 978-3-903353-11-4

Axel Koschier, a monograph
Axel Koschier, a monograph
Axel Koschier, a monograph
Axel Koschier, a monograph
Axel Koschier, a monograph
Axel Koschier, a monograph
Axel Koschier, a monograph
Axel Koschier, a monograph
Axel Koschier, a monograph
Axel Koschier, a monograph
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Galerie Sperling

Visual identity and an online magazine for Sperling gallery.

The visual identity for Sperling, a Munich-based art gallery, deals with both the online and social media profile as well as the design of printed matter, stationery and the gallery space itself. The website features also side by side an online magazine giving contextual information and creating a platform for curators and artists.
Keeping the design elements to a minimum was decisive as printed matter is designed both by external designers and the in-house gallery staff. For this, a wide variety of colours were defined in addition to a new custom typeface, Sperling, with two weights and has been designed for use across the gallery’s communications.

With its grid based simplicity the design is a nod to modernist design principles yet with a forceful and reckless attitude. The interplay of expressive artworks, strong colour palette and bold yet classic typography gives enough variety to react on the individual character of the different artists and exhibitions. On Sperling’s website the interaction between the gallery and its audience—often neglected by a too “neutral” design approach—is honored in a very playful way: users are cherished by a screensaver on the index page when being idle for more than three minutes.

sperling-munich.com
Development: Ezekiel Aquino
Custom type design: Ellmer Stefan (The Pyte Foundry)

Galerie Sperling
Galerie Sperling
Galerie Sperling
Galerie Sperling
Galerie Sperling
Galerie Sperling
Galerie Sperling
Galerie Sperling
Galerie Sperling
Galerie Sperling
Galerie Sperling
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Photography as Motif

“An intriguing book, somewhere between art and theory.”

“An intriguing book, somewhere between art and theory, inviting us to question the prevalent patriarchal understanding of the photographic term. A book to be recommended to all design students. Theoretical background as well as practical exercises and instructions. Space for personal experimentation.

A necessary book, a new approach: rereading the history of photography, so far mostly formulated by men. Boiling down a complex topic with the help of many good design decisions.

The result of four women – three artists and one curator – joining forces in 2019 to bring together their shared interest in photography as an artistic motif in exhibitions, symposiums, and publications. They want to reflect on their craft, their qualifications, the technical and theoretical knowledge.”
(Jury statement Stiftung Buchkunst, Leipzig, 2023)

Awards:
Gold Medal “Best Book Design from all over the World” by Stiftung Buchkunst
State Prize / Most Beautiful Books Austria


Hardcover, thread sewn, 23 × 32 cm, 200 pp.
Editors: Caroline Heider, Ruth Horak, Lisa Rastl, Claudia Rohrauer
Texts: Ruth Horak, Ulrike Matzer, Andreas Spiegl, Franz Thalmair
Publisher: Mark Pezinger Books
ISBN: 978-3-903353-06-0
Photo book stack: Claudia Rohrauer

Photography as Motif
Photography as Motif
Photography as Motif
Photography as Motif
Photography as Motif
Photography as Motif
Photography as Motif
Photography as Motif
Photography as Motif
Photography as Motif
Photography as Motif
Photography as Motif
Photography as Motif
Photography as Motif
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Boris Rebetez, Photo Collages

Rebetez’ collages pinnacling in chapters of color.

Since more than two decades Rebetez’ oeuvre serves him as a technique to explore our perception of landscape and composition. Based on found imagery from e.g. advertising and other printed media footage, the artist’s collages dissect with simple free-hand cuts our viewing habits. In collaboration with graphic designer Astrid Seme, a book has been created that not only reproduces Rebetez’s works, but also continues the principle of collaging in the layout, creating new collages.

Softcover, thread sewn, 23 × 30.5 cm, 176 pp.
Text: Raphaël Pirenne (French + English)
Publisher: Mark Pezinger Books
ISBN: 978-3-903353-07-7

Boris Rebetez, Photo Collages
Boris Rebetez, Photo Collages
Boris Rebetez, Photo Collages
Boris Rebetez, Photo Collages
Boris Rebetez, Photo Collages
Boris Rebetez, Photo Collages
Boris Rebetez, Photo Collages
Boris Rebetez, Photo Collages
Boris Rebetez, Photo Collages
Boris Rebetez, Photo Collages
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Hirschvogel Architekten, visual identity

Visual identity for Hirschvogel Architekten.

The website’s fluid text- and image-slideshow creates a spatial notion of the architect’s practice simply by alignment. While the top menu fades with the natural scrolling behaviour the hiding ‘base’ offers an in depth overview of Hirschvogel’s projects and essays. Special focus is put on a high degree of legibility of Hirschvogel’s research texts with sticky images to their respective text sections.
The design of various stationery templates allows in-house printing with a high degree of flexibility.

stephaniehirschvogel.com
scope of work: website, stationery and portfolio

Hirschvogel Architekten, visual identity
Hirschvogel Architekten, visual identity
Hirschvogel Architekten, visual identity
Hirschvogel Architekten, visual identity
Hirschvogel Architekten, visual identity
Hirschvogel Architekten, visual identity
1 of 12

Lois Weinberger, Belvedere Wien

Monograph for Lois Weinberger.

Lois Weinberger (1947–2020) was an early and visionary critic of the dislocations of the Anthropocene and has been hailed as a pioneer of a different, artistic ecology. Beginning in the 1990s, he was a leading voice in the discourse around the relationship between nature and culture. Between ironic shamanism and a conceptual yet poetic austerity, his works illustrate the limitations of human agency and let us experience that our dominance over the natural environment is an illusion.

Hardcover, thread sewn, 24 × 31 cm, 232 pp.
Texts: Pierre Bal-Blanc, Philippe Van Cauteren, Catherine David, Severin Dünser, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Stella Rollig (eds.)
Publisher: Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther und Franz König
ISBN: 978-3-903327-22-1

Lois Weinberger, Belvedere Wien
Lois Weinberger, Belvedere Wien
Lois Weinberger, Belvedere Wien
Lois Weinberger, Belvedere Wien
Lois Weinberger, Belvedere Wien
Lois Weinberger, Belvedere Wien
Lois Weinberger, Belvedere Wien
Lois Weinberger, Belvedere Wien
Lois Weinberger, Belvedere Wien
Lois Weinberger, Belvedere Wien
Lois Weinberger, Belvedere Wien
Lois Weinberger, Belvedere Wien
Lois Weinberger, Belvedere Wien
1 of 9

Silvia Bächli, Kunsthalle Karlsruhe

Spanning across four decades of drawings.

In reference to the monograph’s title “shift” the layout correlates with four decades of drawings by Swiss artist Silvia Bächli in a formal manner.
Published on occasion of the artist’s solo show at Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Germany.

Hardcover, thread sewn, 24.5 × 31 cm, 112 pp.
Texts: Pia Müller-Tamm, Ilma Rakusa, Kirsten Claudia Voigt (ed.)
Publisher: Kerber Verlag
ISBN: 978-3-7356-0575-7

Silvia Bächli, Kunsthalle Karlsruhe
Silvia Bächli, Kunsthalle Karlsruhe
Silvia Bächli, Kunsthalle Karlsruhe
Silvia Bächli, Kunsthalle Karlsruhe
Silvia Bächli, Kunsthalle Karlsruhe
Silvia Bächli, Kunsthalle Karlsruhe
Silvia Bächli, Kunsthalle Karlsruhe
Silvia Bächli, Kunsthalle Karlsruhe
Silvia Bächli, Kunsthalle Karlsruhe
Silvia Bächli, Kunsthalle Karlsruhe
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Martín La Roche Contreras website

An artists’ website established in the relationship between imagery and words.

This single-page website, designed for Chilean artist Martín La Roche Contreras, is established within the fertile space between two parallel worlds: Imagery and Words. While a one-pager might initially appear to be finite in its possibilities, this website utilises the potential infinity of digital material to push associations between word and image beyond a simple 1:1 relationship. A single passage runs throughout the page, and hover states are used to activate specific images to lure the user in to explore further and discover major slide shows featuring Martín’s works. What results is not simply a series of binary associations, but instead constellations intended to illustrate important movements within Contreras’ work.

martinlaroche.nl
Awarded by Tokyo Type Directors Club
Development: Ezekiel Aquino

Martín La Roche Contreras website
Martín La Roche Contreras website
Martín La Roche Contreras website
Martín La Roche Contreras website
1 of 14

halfway

Visual identity for halfway, an architectural research program.

Visual identity for halfway, an architectural research program by Christian Teckert, Christina Nägele and Heidi Pretterhofer in Vienna. halfway manifests as a three-part series of case studies, which build up a consecutive discourse and platform to debate contemporary urban questions.

halfway.at
scope of work: logo, publication, stationery, signage, webdesign consultation; development: in-house
Images: Wolfgang Thaler

halfway
halfway
halfway
halfway
halfway
halfway
halfway
halfway
halfway
halfway
halfway
halfway
halfway
halfway
halfway
1 of 10

Kulturakademie Tarabya Website

Visual identity for Tarabya Cultural Academy, İstanbul.

The Tarabya Cultural Academy in Turkey is an artist residency programme initiated by the Federal Government of Germany. Tarabya itself is a magical place located on the shoreline of the Bosphorus strait near Istanbul. In an attempt to capture and communicate the atmosphere of its location, the website opens with randomised configured imagery of Tarabya that melts away with the loading of the site’s opening page. Furthermore, subtle animations and transitions on each page reflect the color shades of the Bosphorus as it changes, allowing the website to subtly shift its appearance from visit to visit. Fluidity and user-specific navigations are at the center of this website’s design. This is achieved through expanding menus as well as headers that are either visible or hidden, depending on the user’s device.
The visual identity and its manual includes a wide range of templates allowing in-house teams and local Turkish graphic designers to design communications with a high degree of flexibility. The consultancy is still ongoing.

icw German Embassy in Ankara and Goethe-Institut
kulturakademie-tarabya.de
Development: Ezekiel Aquino
Scope of work: posters, invitations, stationery, merchandising materials, animations, responsive website

Kulturakademie Tarabya Website
Kulturakademie Tarabya Website
Kulturakademie Tarabya Website
Kulturakademie Tarabya Website
Kulturakademie Tarabya Website
Kulturakademie Tarabya Website
Kulturakademie Tarabya Website
Kulturakademie Tarabya Website
Kulturakademie Tarabya Website
Kulturakademie Tarabya Website
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Kulturakademie Tarabya Buch

Kulturakademie Tarabya Yearbook

As part of the ongoing collaboration with the artist residency program Kulturakademie Tarabya, I’ve worked on their bilingual annual book [eighteen/nineteen]. Divided into three sections the book opens with essays on the German Turkish cultural relations followed by 24 artist contributions spanning across different genres including literature, visual arts, music and performance printed in full color with two spot colours. The book closes with a record of events printed on a bright blue paper stock.
The cover follows the graphic identity I’ve created for Kulturakademie Tarabya with bitmapped imagery of shoreline of the Bosphorus capturing four different cover versions.

16 × 24 cm, 312 pp, thread sewn
Publisher: Kulturakademie Tarabya, Goethe Institut
Related to: graphic identity Kulturakademie Tarabya

Kulturakademie Tarabya Buch
Kulturakademie Tarabya Buch
Kulturakademie Tarabya Buch
Kulturakademie Tarabya Buch
Kulturakademie Tarabya Buch
Kulturakademie Tarabya Buch
1 of 3

record Kunstverein Baden

A partying record celebrating 100 years of Kunstverein Baden.

“Past forward” is a record created by the artist duo kozek hörlonski (Peter Kozek + Thomas Hörl) in order to mark the celebration of 100 years of the Kunstverein Baden and its members. The vinyl’s jacket is produced from the same card stock used in the Kunstverein’s archives, stemming from the notion that the record will itself go on to form a part of the museum’s long history. I was intrigued by the thought that when the record is filed within the archive, it would blend in effortlessly with the rest of the objects, artefacts or texts that represent the previous 100 years of the museum’s work. This is, in material form, an acknowledgement of the past that has come to inform the record’s creation. The cover makes use of the typeface Akzidenz Grotesk—in reminiscence of its progressive past, which at the same time pointed to a neutral future. This seemed to be an ideal fit for the record’s title, in mirroring its own unique position in relation to posterity.

10-inch vinyl, edition: 300 (numbered)
Tracks: Alexander Martinz, kozek hörlonski, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Martin Kolber
discogs

record Kunstverein Baden
record Kunstverein Baden
record Kunstverein Baden
record Kunstverein Baden
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In the Library, poster series

Posters for Library of Bergen University.

The Fine Art and Design Library of Bergen University holds a monthly series of public one-evening events. It serves as a platform that encourages ideas and discussions around concepts of ‘library’, ‘archive’ and ‘book’ as well as on the conventions of the presentation, reception and discussion of art.

Format: 594 × 841 mm
Organised by Johanna Lettmayer

In the Library, poster series
In the Library, poster series
In the Library, poster series
In the Library, poster series
In the Library, poster series
In the Library, poster series