Graphic designer Yannick Nuss views his dramatic posters and book pages as a “stage”

The Cologne-based designer’s avant-garde work moves swiftly between pop culture, media theory and visual storytelling.

Date
31 October 2022

Share

With graphic design spanning so many different art forms, finding inspiration can therefore come from many places. For designer Yannick Nuss, this influence comes from the methods of showing and staging developed in the 1950s and 60s. Lead by the writings of media theorist Marshall McLuhan and artist Ferdinand Kriwet, Yannick views book pages and posters as “a stage for the visual processing of media material”. This makes sense when seeing how full of drama and production his designs are: sewn and scanned titles adorn the front cover of a book, geometric posters are finished with mediaeval lettering, and images are cropped and distorted to near indecipherability.

But, Yannick is also keen to express that his works exist not only as a “tool for transporting content” but as a means of creating “autonomous thinking spaces” too. By negotiating with the content he has been provided, Yannick orders it in a way that puts the visuals “up for discussion”. Rather than simply viewing, Yannick is a designer who wants you to interact, break down and analyse his work.

Above

Yannick Nuss: Open Studios 2022 (Copyright © Yannick Nuss, 2022)

Above

Yannick Nuss: Bruno Nagel – Alle Thesen Ruhn (Copyright © Yannick Nuss, Bruno Nagel, 2021)

Above

Yannick Nuss, Bruno Nagel: Unblogd Two – Bruno Nagel – Sprachbehausung – 2017–2013 (Copyright © Yannick Nuss, Bruno Nagel, 2019)

Above

Yannick Nuss, Bruno Nagel: Unblogd Two – Bruno Nagel – Sprachbehausung – 2017–2013 (Copyright © Yannick Nuss, Bruno Nagel, 2019)

Above

Yannick Nuss: Zagreus 2000–2020 (Copyright © Yannick Nuss, 2021)

Above

Yannick Nuss: Zagreus 2000–2020 (Copyright © Yannick Nuss, 2021)

Above

Yannick Nuss, Matthew Angelo Harrison, Corine Vermeulen: Harnessed the Storm (Copyright © Yannick Nuss, Angelo Harrison, Corine Vermeulen, 2022)

Above

Yannick Nuss: Proto – Matthew Angelo Harrison (Copyright © Yannick Nuss, 2021)

Above

Yannick Nuss & Johannes Hucht: Dissociative Experiences Scales (Copyright © Yannick Nuss, Johannes Hucht, 2016)

Above

Yannick Nuss & Johannes Hucht: Dissociative Experiences Scales (Copyright © Yannick Nuss, Johannes Hucht, 2016)

Above

Yannick Nuss: Jayne Mansfield – A lot of what they call the most (Copyright © Yannick Nuss, 2022)

Hero Header

Yannick Nuss, Bruno Nagel: Unblogd Two – Bruno Nagel – Sprachbehausung – 2017–2013 (Copyright © Yannick Nuss, Bruno Nagel, 2019)

Share Article

About the Author

Olivia Hingley

Olivia (she/her) joined the It’s Nice That team as an editorial assistant in November 2021 and soon became staff writer. A graduate of the University of Edinburgh with a degree in English literature and history, she’s particularly interested in photography, publications and type design.

It's Nice That Newsletters

Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox? Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world.