Demian Conrad

Demian Conrad (born 1974) is a Swiss designer whose work ranges from graphic design to visual arts. Conrad is an author of books on design, and also the creative director of cultural institutions and firms, such as the Center for Future Publishing and DADADUM. He is also known for having invented a process named Water Random Offset Printer (WROP).

Biography Conrad was born in 1974 in Locarno. During this period, he was a pupil of designer Bruno Monguzzi and artist Reto Rigassi. Later, he studied Lateral Thinking with Edward De Bono at the University of Malta. In 2003, he moved to Lausanne and in 2007 he founded the Demian Conrad Design Studio. Under Conrad's creative direction, DADADUM won several awards, including the ED Awards European Design. From 2014 to the present, Conrad has taught editorial design and has been a researcher at Haute Ecole d'Art et Design (HEAD) in Geneva,

Design Conrad has developed several visual communication strategies. From 2007 to 2015, he applied an experimental approach to graphic design, inspired by the masters of the Swiss School such as Max Bill as well as others such as Bruno Munari. In those years, he also approached participatory design, DIY ethics, design hacking, and algorithmic and parametric typography, experimenting with new ways of designing and producing works. In 2017, he elaborated a new approach aimed at reducing complexity and highlighting meaning, inspired by minimal art and some Japanese philosophies and close to the poetics of emptiness.

Research Through his research Conrad develops visual and design grammars using new media and digital methods, such as generative typographic processes and digital visualizations based on algorithms and creative coding. In 2010, he developed a method, called Water Random Offset Printer (WROP), based on offset printing. This technique is borrowed from printers who wash up their machine after a job by squirting alcohol into the plates, to remove residual ink as the press is running. WROP allows the designer to interfere with the hydro and chemical settings of the machine while it is printing, altering standardized production through manual interventions which dilute the ink on the plates with water. Other techniques employed by Conrad in graphic design are based on his research on algorithmic and parametric typography. He also uses generative algorithms and artificial intelligence for the autonomous design of editorial and multimedia works, analyzing and interpreting, also in real-time, textual and visual data. The visual syntax chosen by Conrad was intended to celebrate the Swiss code. He focused on the concept of good faith, which regulates and encourages citizens to use their freedom responsibly. This central concept of the SCC is expressed in Art. 2(1). Through a minimalist image, Conrad linked the contemporary film and music universe to the concept of randomness.

Art Basel In 2014, Conrad was commissioned to design the campaign for Art Basel contemporary art fair. This explored the relationship between artists and artificial intelligence. Together with the curator Jérôme Neutres and co-curator and artist Miguel Chevalier, Conrad designed the graphic communication of the exhibition, including the event identity, infographics, catalog, and communication campaign. and designed by Conrad welcomed the visitor through a dialogue with an algorithm. This human-machine dialogue takes place through the manipulation, in real time, of the characters of the words Artistes & Robots. Characters were displayed on a LED screen connected to a PC, which received signals about the visitors' positioning from an Xbox Kinect 360.

Collections Conrad's works can be found in private and important museum collections, including the Museum of Design in Zürich, the Musée de Design et d'Arts Appliqués Contemporains in Lausanne, the National Library in Bern, and the Cantonal Library of Canton Vaud. 2012 100 Jahre Schweizer Grafik, curated by Karin Gimmi e Barbara Junod, Museum für Gestaltung, Zurigo (Swiss) 2013 Un/Limited, curated by Thibaud Tissot, Museum of Fine Arts, Le Locle (Swiss) 2014 Schweiz – Japan, curated by Stephanie Cuérel & Josh Schaub, Weltformat Graphic Design Festival, Lucerne (Swiss) 2016 Swiss Graphic Design Exhibition, curated by Erich Brechbühl, Noël Leu & Anna-Viktoria Eschbach, Crafts Museum of China Academy of Art, Shanghai (China) 2017 Who the hell is Mr Brockmann?, curated by David Kilian Beck, Ambit gallery, London (United Kingdom) 2017 Artists and Robots, curated by Jérôme Neutres & Miguel Chevallier, Astana (Kazakhstan) 2018 Artistes et robots, curated by Laurence Bertrand-Dorléac & Jérôme Neutres, Grand Palais de Paris, Paris (France) 2020 Code/Poésie, curated by Antonio Rodriguez, Chateaux de Morges (Swiss) 2020 Offsetdruck-Unikate, curated by Johannes Nilo, Unternehmen Mitte, Basel (Swiss) 2021 Rock Me Baby, curated by Sébastien Mettraux, Centre d'Art Contemporain, Yverdon-Les-Bains (Swiss)

Books and articles Famous ordinary things, Demian Conrad & Rob Van Leijsen, DABOOK, 2016. "Johannes & Alan. A workshop of algorithmic typography", Demian Conrad, Issue, Journal of art & design HEAD – Genève, 2020, https://issue-journal.ch/flux-posts/johannes-alan/ Who the Hell Is Müller-Brockmann?: Conversations About the Swiss Style, Demian Conrad, Arthur Niggli, 2021, Graphic Design in the Post-Digital Age: A Survey of Practices Fueled by Creative Coding, Demian Conrad, Rob van Leijsen & David Héritier, Onomomatopee, 2022,