02-01-12 // THE PREDICTED DEATH OF PRINT MEDIA – INTERVIEW WITH BERND UPMEYER

The cover of Oldschool’s #3

The Prague-based magazine “Oldschool” interviewed Bernd Upmeyer for their 3. issue. Oldschool is a group project of the three designers Hana Vanátková, Adam Uchytil, and Pavel Brejcha, who are working in the field of visual communication, graphic design and fashion.

Oldschool: What does teamwork look like in your studio/publishing house?
Bernd Upmeyer: At my studio in Rotterdam every team member or collaborator is not only asked to, but also expected to, continuously express and share his own opinions and propose new directions, whether he is an intern or an experienced designer or a theorist.

O: What does “music of the future” mean to you?
BU: Contemplating on a possible future does not mean much to me, as history has shown that eventually most of these predictions fail. Just consider the predicted death of the print media, which turns out not to be disappearing any time soon.

O: How do you meditate?
BU: I don’t.

O: What has shaped and continues to influence your style?
BU: My work as an editor of a special interest publication such as MONU magazine is very much influenced and inspired by daily newspapers or weekly news and international affairs publications. I actually try to avoid looking at publications that are active in the same field as MONU. I believe this keeps MONU interesting.

O: What important things have you realized recently?
BU: That today, more than ever, we are living in a post-ideological age, in which redemptive, all-encompassing ideologies have failed. That is why we are currently working on a new issue that is entirely dedicated to that topic.

Title: The Predicted Death of the Print Media
Project: Interview with Bernd Upmeyer
Date: January 2012
Type: Commissioned interview
Topic: Special interest publications
Organizer: Oldschool
Status: Published
Publications: Oldschool #3
Interviewer: Adam Uchytil