Maximage
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Maximage is an award-winning design studio based in Switzerland.
It offers a large area of expertise including visual identities, digital solutions, books, posters, typefaces, artworks and consultancy. In its practice, tools and technology are constantly challenged, introducing a reflection on contemporary production processes. Over the years the studio has collaborated with institutions and clients in Switzerland and abroad. Long-term collaborations include art direction for the Zurich-based publishing house Edition Patrick Frey and the development of campaigns for Arsenic–Contemporary Peforming Arts Center.

Parallel to its work, Maximage offers numerous workshops and lectures at Swiss and international universities. Members of the studio regularly teach at HEAD in Geneva, ZHDK in Zurich, as well as ECAL in Lausanne, where they conducted a research project on printing technologies, which resulted in the creation of Color Library. Maximage also manages the type design platform Maxitype that offers retail and bespoke typefaces and encourages research and development in typography.

The work of Maximage received several awards from the Swiss Federal Office of Culture in recognition to their commitment to the field. In 2020, the studio was honoured the Jan Tschichold Award.

Contact us

Maximage | Maxitype Sàrl
Rue Fendt 10
1201 Genève
Switzerland

Team

David Keshavjee (Co-Founder)
Julien Tavelli (Co-Founder)
Daniel Haettenschwiller
Guy Meldem

Awards

2024

1st Prize, International Poster Competition (INTL)

2024

International Typographic Awards (ISTD)

2022

100 Beste Plakate

2022

INTL, International Poster Competition

2021

100 Beste Plakate

2021

The Most Beautiful Swiss Books

2020

100 Beste Plakate

2020

Jan Tschichold Award

2019

100 Beste Plakate

2018

The Most Beautiful Swiss Books

2016

The Most Beautiful Swiss Books

2014

Swiss Design Awards

2013

The Most Beautiful Swiss Books

2013

Swiss Design Awards

2011

The Most Beautiful Swiss Books

2011

Swiss Design Awards

2009

Swiss Design Awards

Exhibitions

2022

Ravisius Textor, Nevers

2020

Helmhaus, Zurich

2018

Moravká Galerie, Brno

2017

Museum für Gestaltung, Zurich

2017

Tallin Art Hall, Tallinn

2016

Cooper Union, New York

2016

Umlaut, London

2015

Museum für Gestaltung, Zurich

2014

Archiv, Zurich

2014

Samson Paper Gallery, Seoul

2014

Station, Beirut

2014

Weltformat 14 Plakatfestival, Lucern

2014

Istituto svizzero di Roma, Rome

2013

Marbriers 4, Geneva

2013

Galerie Kamm, Berlin

2013

G/P Gallery, Tokyo

2012

Museum für Gestaltung, Zurich

2011

Festival international de l’affiche, Chaumont

2011

Centre d’art contemporain, Geneva

2010

Milieu Galerie, Bern

2010

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston

2009

China International Poster Biennal, Shanghai

2009

EPFL/École polytechnique fédérale, Lausanne

2008

Designhuis, Eindhoven

Lectures

2023

Princeton University, New Jersey

2023

REDO, Prishtina

2023

Further Reading, Fachhochschule Potsdam

2022

Master Type Design ECAL, Lausanne

2022

Université Paris 8 Vincennes – Saint-Denis, Paris

2019

Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, Dundee

2018

International Biennal of Graphic Design, Brno

2018

Museum für Gestaltung, Zurich

2017

La Cambre, Brussels

2017

Fahrenheit 39, Ravenna

2016

Centre Culturel Suisse, Paris

2015

Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam

2014

Sitterwerk Kunstbibliothek, St. Gallen

2014

Grafill, Oslo

2014

Zürcher Hochschule der Künste, Zurich

2014

Station, Beirut

2013

Museum Angewandte Kunst, Frankfurt am Main

2013

Festival international de l’affiche, Chaumont

2012

École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts, Lyon

2011

Amsterdam Art Book Fair, Amsterdam

2009

École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne

Workshops

2021

Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam

2019

Haute école d’art et de design, Genève

2018

Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst, Leipzig

2018

École européenne supérieure d’art de Bretagne, Rennes

2018

Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam

2017

La Cambre, Brussels

2017

Fahrenheit 39, Ravenna

2016

Istituto Svizzero di Roma, Milan

2015

Zürcher Hochschule der Künste, Zurich

2015

Station, Beirut

2014

Power Station of Arts, Shanghai

2012

Swissnex, San Francisco

2010

Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung, Karlsruhe

Research Projects

2017

Workflow: Research Project on Printed Matter
ECAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne

2014

Studio Roma: Transdisciplinary Research Program
Istituto Svizzero di Roma

2009

Typographer: New Technologies and Type Design
ECAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne

Employment

There are currently no vacancies for interns or freelancers.
Unfortunately we are not able to respond to emails regarding internships.
Any open position will be communicated here and/or on social networks.

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Coding by Tristan Bagot. Photographic reproductions by Daniel Aires.
Typeface by Alexis Hominal. © 2020–2023, All rights reserved by Maxitype Sàrl and the authors.

Maximage is an award-winning design studio based in Switzerland.
We create visual identities, books, posters, typefaces, digital solutions, and artworks.
Our recent commissions include books for Louis Vuitton, Palace Skateboards, Nike and Kunsthalle Basel. Discover our new typefaces on Maxitype.com.

Get in touch

Asian Eyez – Apocalyptic Fantasies - © Maximage
Asian Eyez – Apocalyptic Fantasies - © Maximage
Asian Eyez – Apocalyptic Fantasies - © Maximage
Asian Eyez – Apocalyptic Fantasies - © Maximage
Asian Eyez – Apocalyptic Fantasies - © Maximage
Asian Eyez – Apocalyptic Fantasies - © Maximage
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Club culture and border-smashing strategies

Lhaga Koondhor, a cultural provocateur, curates the Apocalyptic Fantasies club nights in China and around the world, combining different social worlds and sub-cultures under one roof with an emphasis on amazing music. Maximage designed various custom typefaces alongside flyers and videos to promote the events.

Project

Asian Eyez – Apocalyptic Fantasies

Type

Identities, Digital, Typefaces

Client

Lhaga Koondhor

Year

2016, 2017

Location

Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Vladivostok, Moscow

Maximage Color Combinations - © Maximage
Maximage Color Combinations - © Maximage
Maximage Color Combinations - © Maximage
Maximage Color Combinations - © Maximage
Maximage Color Combinations - © Maximage
Maximage Color Combinations - © Maximage
Maximage Color Combinations - © Maximage
Maximage Color Combinations - © Maximage
Maximage Color Combinations - © Maximage
Maximage Color Combinations - © Maximage
Maximage Color Combinations - © Maximage
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The interaction of colors

Maximage Color Combinations explores how different colors and hues can interact together, and how they can merge from one to another. Without any chapters or formulas, colors travel from shiny to matte, blue to celadon, frozen to boiling, reflective to absorbent, dark light to brain grey, spectral to metameric, sunshine to neon, from Atlanta to Albertville, or from Leipzig to Juba via Napoli and back again, in an attempt to tell infinite stories. The reader will not find here this year’s hot color nor the trends for next season. Rather, each page tells a different story that each user can relate to, reinterpret or reappropriate in their own way.
This book is a tool for designers, artists and printers who are interested in personalized and unique color palettes. Created using between 2 and 5 spot colors, over 120 combinations were generated directly in the offset press by interfering with the ink unit. This unorthodox color-mixing technique helped to create more than 450 spot colors evolving over the 500 different books, turning each one into a set of totally unique combinations.
This publication follows Maximage Formula Guide and Maximage Raster Guide, and is part of the Workflow Research Project (R&D). It was conceived and printed during a workshop at ECAL held by Maximage and the printer Thomi Wolfensberger, Zurich. Workflow is a research project at ECAL led by Maximage and is supported by the HES-SO/University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland.

Project

Maximage Color Combinations

Type

Books

Clients

ECAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne

Director

Alexis Georgacopoulos

Editors

Guy Meldem, David Keshavjee, Julien Tavelli, Thomi Wolfensberger

Year

2017

Location

Lausanne

Maximage Formula Guide - © Maximage
Maximage Formula Guide - © Maximage
Maximage Formula Guide - © Maximage
Maximage Formula Guide - © Maximage
Maximage Formula Guide - © Maximage
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Special Colors for Offset Printing

The Maximage Formula Guide Special Colors for Offset Printing is an 80-page book of colors developed by 1CVdg students during a workshop held by Körner Union and Maximage, with the kind help of Carole Courtillé and Violène Pont. Papers printed on include: Uncoated – Amber Graphic 200g/m², Coated – INAPA Imagine gloss 200g/m², Color – Pop’set Colors 120g/m². Printed at ECAL by Benjamin Plantier in an edition of 1000.

Project

Maximage Formula Guide – Special Colors for Offset Printing

Type

Books

Client

ECAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne

Director

Alexis Georgacopoulos

Editors

Maximage, Körner Union assisted by Violène Pont and Carole Courtillé

Year

2011

Location

Lausanne

Maximage Raster Guide - © Maximage
Maximage Raster Guide - © Maximage
Maximage Raster Guide - © Maximage
Maximage Raster Guide - © Maximage
Maximage Raster Guide - © Maximage
Maximage Raster Guide - © Maximage
Maximage Raster Guide - © Maximage
Maximage Raster Guide - © Maximage
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Special Haftones for Offset Printing

This publication follows the “Maximage Formula Guide” and is part of the “Workflow” Research Project. It was designed and printed during a workshop held at ECAL by David Keshavjee, Guy Meldem and Julien Tavelli (Maximage).

The book contains a photographic sequence edited by Marietta Eugster, representing the Thai box fighter Pong, Pansak Sor. Tanikul between 1977–1996 (Thailand/Switzerland) printed with various halftones. The same halftones are then applied on greyscale and colour gradients.

“Workflow” is a research project at ECAL on printing technologies, funded by HES-SO.

Project

Maximage Raster Guide – Special Haftones for Offset Printing

Type

Books

Client

ECAL/University of Art and Design

Director

Alexis Georgacopoulos

Editors

Marietta Eugster, David Keshavjee, Guy Meldem, Tatiana Rihs, Julien Tavelli

Year

2016

Location

Lausanne

The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2013 - © Maximage
The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2013 - © Maximage
The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2013 - © Maximage
The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2013 - © Maximage
The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2013 - © Maximage
The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2013 - © Maximage
The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2013 - © Maximage
The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2013 - © Maximage
The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2013 - © Maximage
The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2013 - © Maximage
The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2013 - © Maximage
The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2013 - © Maximage
The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2013 - © Maximage
The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2013 - © Maximage
The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2013 - © Maximage
The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2013 - © Maximage
The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2013 - © Maximage
The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2013 - © Maximage
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For the annual roundup of the crème de la crème of books published in Switzerland, Maximage took the idea of the test print to its extreme by subjecting various pages of the book to continuously changing parameters. The result is highly varied—for example, using CMYK and Sixplex printing, matte varnish or no varnish, etc. The various treatments and methods are intermixed with different screening criterions. Particularly attractive to those in the industry, such as designers, printers and lithographers, it will also appeal to students and anyone who appreciates visually strong books that are conceptually sophisticated at the same time.

Project

The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2013

Type

Books

Clients

Federal Office of Culture

Editor

Anisha Imhasly

Authors

Tan Wälchli, Manuel Krebs, David Bennewith, Sara De Bondt, Kurt Eckert, Markus Schmutz

Collaborator

Andreas Koller

Color Separation

Maximage and Franz Sigg

Printing

Druckerei Odermatt AG, Dallenwill

Year

2014

Location

Bern

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