Bonnefantenmuseum
Academie Beeldende Kunsten
Marres
NAi Maastricht
Jan van Eyck Academie

Because of our involvement with NAi Maastricht (see NAiM / The Edible City 1 and 2, NAiM / Jean Prouvé and NAiM / State Alpha), and Marres (see Artimo/Marres and Stair/Stare), we were asked to design an invitation for a New Year reception collectively organized by five different institutes from Maastricht: the Bonnefantenmuseum, the Academy of Fine Arts Maastricht, Marres, NAi Maastricht and the Jan van Eyck Academy. (The reception would take place on January 30, 2008, at the Wiebengahal in Maastricht).

It was a very last-moment request, so we kept it fairly simple. We designed a A5-sized card, printed on both sides. We gave each of the participating institutes a different heading, a different place on the card. That way, there was no hierarchy between the institutes; the order of the institutes was fully dependent on the way you turned the card by reading it. Shown here the card, front and back.

We like the way you have to turn the card in various directions to be able to read the text. It's a very simple gesture, but it does something quite essential: it transforms the card into an actual object, emphasizing its physical dimensions.

We did something quite similar in 1998, for the graphic identity we designed for the architects Giljam, Sillem, Plaisier and Jacobs. There, we also gave each name its own header, its own corner of the sheet.

Invitation printed by Drukkerij robstolk (r).