15 years ago Jan Wilker from Germany and Hjalti Karlsson from Iceland conveniently located their HQ just above Dunkin’ Donuts on 6th Avenue. Ever since then karlssonwilker inc. has been busy working on branding, identity, packaging, design, motion graphics and editorial. Their European Atlantic union gained added charming US support from native New Yorker Megan Elevado.
The agency caught GoSee’s eye thanks to ‘Mexico’, their animated music video for successful Icelandic band GUSGUS. We have already shown you the GUSGUS video here on GoSee and we also presented their showreel at the UPDATE in Berlin as visuals. Now we visited the design agency in New York and met up with Hjalti, Jan, Sandra and Megan in their office, where the scent of freshly brewed coffee and oven hot donuts filled the air.
How did you end up working with GUSGUS? "We started our relationship with GusGus in 2013 when we spent a long weekend with them photographing and filming for their music video. Over the past two decades, GusGus has done mostly photo-based artwork and promotions for their albums. We were excited to offer them something in a very different direction. As we worked on the video, we developed a new logo for the band, designed the CDs and Vinyl albums, and tour merchandise. The graphic elements and vignettes that evolved from the process of making the video for “Mexico” influenced the artwork for all album single releases and remixes as well as the tour graphics. Working on the “Mexico” video was a valued growing and learning process for the studio. We pushed ourselves to experiment and explore. It was wonderful that with this process, if we did it all again, the outcome could be very different and that is very exciting to us."
And what can we expect from the design agency? "We are offering clients a new, unexpected perspective, something they haven’t done before, and reviving .. refreshing .. renewing a current image. This can be subtle, like with Brennivin, or dramatic like the sculptures for Wolf-Gordon," Hjalti tells GoSee. All projects are available on their brand new must-see website. Several appetisers available here on GoSee, for the full works visit karlssonwilker.com.
"For MINI’s launch of the Coupé, we conceived of and initiated a collaboration with UK’s Dazed & Confused magazine to develop a 12-page fashion story. Six up-and-coming fashion designers were asked to share their contemporary visions. We then melded the fashion shots with the MINI Coupé’s original 3D CAD files, blurring the lines between real and virtual."
"Wolf-Gordon is an American wallcovering and upholstery firm founded in 1967. We started our collaboration with them in 2012 and since then have re-designed their corporate identity, their new website (launched this August wolfgordon.com), and design their annual marketing campaigns.
The annual campaigns are centered around a custom temporary sculpture installation for NeoCon (North America’s largest trade show for commercial interior design and architecture) each June at the Chicago’s Merchandise Mart. The first advertisement of the campaign shows a very loose depiction of the sculpture’s concept and over the next few months the ads become more structured slowly teasing out what the finished sculpture will look like. Following NeoCon, the advertisements feature photography of the sculpture, highlighting different product-types offered by Wolf-Gordon."
Brennivin has gained legendary status in Iceland. It translates to ‘burning wine’, its etymology is rooted in the Northern European language words for brandy such as brandewijn (Danish) and Branntwein (German). Here’s what karlssonwilker inc. told us and we asked them about the job: "We were approached by Brennivin, the iconic Icelandic schnapps, to refresh their branding for expansion into the American market. Keeping true to the original branding we made subtle differences to strengthen Brennivin’s graphic impact, including filling in the silhouette and adding the southwestern island of Heimaey. In addition to the label, we advocated for the distillery to re-introduce their original clear glass bottle, and designed merchandise. After seeing the brand refresh done for America, the distillery, Ölgerðin Egill Skallagrímsson, has implemented the new design on all of their products worldwide." Skál!
About - Brennivín (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈprÉ›nËɪvin]) is a clear, unsweetened schnapps that is considered to be Iceland's signature distilled beverage. It is a popular Icelandic liquor and special-occasion alcohol shot, and the traditional drink for the mid-winter feast of Þorrablót. It is made from fermented grain or potato mash and flavored with caraway, cumin, angelica, and other botanical ingredients. The steeping of herbs in alcohol to create schnapps is a long-held folk tradition in Scandinavian countries. Brennivín has a unique and distinctive taste similar to vodka or Scandinavian akvavit. It is typically bottled at 80 proof. Export of Brennivín from Iceland to the United States began in early 2014 by Brennivin America. brennivin.com
Four highly motivated sales pros from Gilford Fabrics set up Wolf-Gordon in 1967. Mel Wolf, Bernie Gordon, Tony Prota and Frank Carr knew one thing for sure: vinyl wallpaper was the market of the moment. And they were right. The second generation is now at the helm. At the turn of the 21st century the company focused on high-end design. The licensed design collections by the likes of Laurinda Spear, Karim Rashid and Petra Blaisse. Let’s look at Patty Madden’s 'micro-engraved Textures', they are both full depth and luxury. Wolf-Gordon’s design identity, paired with their stalls at various auf trade fairs, their advertising and sales promotion .... all these speak a clear language – that of an unconditional love of design.
In 2012 Wolf-Gordon initiated a sculpture project at Merchandise Mart, Chicago, during NeoCon®. "That year, and in each subsequent year, the Company has designed, fabricated, and installed diverse, product-clad structures that celebrate the building’s civic space, during the NeoCon trade show." says Wolf-Gordon. And karlssonwilker inc. have been supporting them since the get go.
Hjalti Karlson elaborates: "Following the precedent set in 2012, Wolf-Gordon’s 2013 campaign was based on the sculpture that would appear mid-year at the NeoCon Design Fair. From January until June, all advertisements hinted at what would soon be revealed at NeoCon. The July to December ads featured playful recompositions of the sculpture. Referred to as “Force of Nature,” the sculpture was a dynamic, twisting skeletal form composed of 75 eight-foot panels that measured 30-feet long and 14-feet wide."We have pictures for everyone who missed Chicago.
In 2011 karlssonwilker inc. and architects office Leeser Architecture won the 'Excellence in Design Award' from New York City Design Commission for the renovation and development of MoMI (Museum of the Moving Image). Hjalti Karlsson talked to GoSee about the honour and the job : "The new identity for the Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) was developed over a three-year period in tandem with construction of the museum’s new extension. We adapted the façade’s triangular grid, designed by Leeser Architecture, to create three typefaces used for MoMI’s new identity system, store items, digital interfaces, and permanent exhibitions." See pictures here on GoSee.
