Prof. Dietmar Eberle of Bauschlager Eberle Architects was asked to design the Zumtobel Annual Review 2018/19. He invited Sascha Lötscher of Gottschalk+Ash Int'l for a collaboration between the two studios. Each year Zumtobel Group asks a graphic designer, architect, artist… to design their Annual Review. Sagmeister&Walsh, James Turell, Snøhetta, David Chipperfield together with, Anish Kapoor together Brighten the Corners, SAANA, Javier Mariscal, Neville Brody, Italo Lupi… to name a few. An impressive list making this review an iconic task in the world of graphic design, a once in a lifetime experience.

The designers of these annual reviews usually separate the artistic part to the information section, sometimes even in different volumes, sometimes self promotional. We did not want to add something, but to pair something. We wanted to orchestrate everything in one consistent piece of communication, a unity of design and content.

For us, it was all about making light visible through design. Prof. Eberle did not want to promote the work of his studio, instead we wanted to show almost abstract architectural atmospheres through the work of his students, all photos of mock-ups.

Graphically, we used different kinds of gradients to make light visible. It is the connecting element:
1. The cover start from black and ends in white. Inside a subtle greyscale gradient from the beginning to the end.
2. Edge printing, a gradient from black to white. From top to bottom. Putting on a table, the volume looks light source, a flying object.
3. The report starts with a Z for Zumtobel and ends with an A on the back cover. Symbolising the looking back character of an annual review. Inbetween the list of all collaborators as well ordered from Z to A.
4. The students work is shown in black and white and ordered from dark to light. We used a very low resolution for large images. With this effect, light itself becomes a player – light shines through. In contrast, small images in high resolution, light itself that the image becomes visible in small, sharp photos.

So many levels, so much information, so much complex thinking, having in hand, it all feels minimal, effortless and natural.