I’m Bodil, a book and identity designer from Trondheim, Norway, holding a PhD in Typography & Graphic Communication from the University of Reading. My research interest concentrates on the verbal and visual presentation of health messages on food labels dating from 1850 to 1970. Please read my blog and have a look at my work. Feel free to get in touch if you think there is something I can do for you.
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WORK | A new identity for Rissa is developed. The main idea is to show that Rissa is an active municipality – and a good place to stay. The work is a collaboration with Ingrid Baadnes from ablemagic. Colours, typography and design elements are based on strong values; engaged, lush and welcoming, and the aim has been to show an overall impression based on nature, experiences, participation, diversity and proximity to the sea. See more from Rissa here.
With 5 pages in Adresseavisen, Veronika Sørum has written a great story about how I live and work in my lovely apartment at Port Arthur. Great pictures taken by the photographer Lena Knutli shows my sofas in the kitchen, my furnitures I inherited from my mother and my grandmother and the view towards the Dome and the area Bakklandet.
There is no doubt, I love the place I live and work.
PERSONAL PROJECTS | To look back at 2012 feels a bit like having settled. Not with all of me but with a toe or two. I love to work with books – the medium that takes us from the beginning to the end, that inspires, informs, challenges, irritates, excites and provides endless adventures. The joy of being a part of the process, see the results and still have the desire to start again.
But the book is changing. The annual report 2012 is about what a book is. Four famous people in Norway have commented on what they think a book is. They expand the perspective, puts me in the mood and challenge me to define what a book is by myself. In 2013 I might settle with four toes…
PERSONAL PROJECT, WORK | The starting point for my trip to Japan related to the support from The Scandinavia – Japan Sasakawa Foundation, was to gain an insight into Japanese visual communication.
I visited both Tokyo and Kyoto and documented in the first place the Japanese visual language using the camera. I started wide with many different directions; architecture, pattern, manhole covers, signs, clothing, food, stores, packaging design and posters. The result has been nearly 1000 images. In addition, I visited various galleries, and had specifically benefit from an exhibition at the Ginza Graphic Gallery, where the award-winning graphic designer Rikako Nagashima showed various works. In addition, I worked on making contacts. I had a meeting with the Art Director Kaoru Matsuno at Hara Design Institute/Nippon Design Center. She works closely with Kenya Hara who is also the Art Director for Muji. In addition, I worked two days with Mr. Yamamzaki Yo, where I was trained in ancient Japanese bookbinding techniques. Mr. Yamazaki Yo is a renowned bookbinder in Tokyo.
Given the goal of the trip, it’s been an interesting journey. With the imagery I now hold, it will be interesting to go more in depth of Japanese design in order to relate it to Western design. The contact with Mr. Yamazaki Yo gave me not only a concrete introduction into Japanese bookbinding techniques, but there was also a fundamental insight into the Japanese way of life, aesthetics and accuracy. Kaoru Matsuno gave an insight into how Hara Design Institute works in various design processes.
The journey and the process has given me inspiration to convey impressions through both lectures and a book. The lectures are intended as a process description based on the experiences I have gained. The idea about the book is to create inspiration for both Japanese and Western designers.
An alternative, or as an addition, it is also possible to think of an exhibition. I have been in contact with Hagiso, a small, newly renovated Japanese house in Yanaka, north of Tokyo, that is a venue for art and other events. They are open to offer an exhibition space for the project. The idea of the exhibition is to introduce Japanese and Western design in a possible artistic context with the book and the bookbinding techniques as a starting point.
WORK | A new book has been designed and printed. The book is a tool to explore Trondheim. 26 themed walks are accompanied by maps and tips on places to stop. It has been an exciting and extensive process, both finding good typography and to allocate a lot of text and photographs on a comparatively small size. Using the font Proxima Nova and a distinct color palette that structures the chapters, makes the book readable and clear. The book is published by Museumsforlaget. See more from the book here.
WORK | Sluppen is a district in Trondheim. The identity is developed to show a city in transition. The idea is to show that the site is constantly evolving, things are changing, new architectural forms emerge, rooms open and close. I have developed a symbol inspired by the new buildings in the area. To emphasize the continuous change, the logo consists of about 28 different symbols that are almost equal but at the same time different. Colors are selected on the basis that the area has a clear environmental profile. See more from Sluppen here.
WORK | Inspired by the quote from Dick Bruna: “If you put a very few things on the page, you leave lots of room for the imagination” the new visual identity for Edith was developed. Edith Lundebrekke is a visual artist and works with art and architectural installations. Her work is based on the repetition of simple geometric shapes. She has received particular attention for her works with wooden reliefs, where the experience of colour and shape changes according to the spectator’s movement. The identity developed is based on simplicity and how to challenge the viewer. There has been no desire to recreate something of her art in profile, but rather develop a strong logo with typography and colors which become elements in a clear and strong profile. The work is a collaboration with web designer Eirik Backer, www.kirie.no. See more from EDITH here.
TRAVEL | Even though this was a vacation trip, I spent time looking at details, colors, typography, architecture, food, exhibitions, walls, posters, illustrations, decor, cars, furnitures and magazines.
Rome is a lovely city.
WORK, PERSONAL PROJECTS | Having just received wonderful news; I have been granted a scholarship from The Scandinavia – Japan Sasakawa foundation in connection with a new and exciting project that is under development. In October I will go to Japan where the purpose of the journey is to get an insight into Japanese visual communication seen through western eyes. Exploring the differences and similarities with focus on crossing points. In addition I will learn Japanese bookbinding from Mr. Yo Yamazaki who is a Japanese bookbinder in Tokyo.
The tour will provide a basis to give lectures to students in Scandinavia and possibly Japan, where I can pass on impressions and give an analytical representation of differences and similarities.
There’s more to come.
TRAVEL | Followed up my trip to Beijing in 2011. Eight days of researching galleries and museums in connection with a possible exhibition and book. Many meetings, dinners, coffees, great art, exhibitions, pollution, millions of cars, high speed train from Beijing to Shanghai, large contrasts, exciting architecture and nice people.