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novum plus :

Editorial

Here’s to the New Year!

The start of a new year, I feel, always has something liberating about it. Following the joy and upheaval of all the festivities, come a few days when the world stands still for a moment and we all have time to sort a few things out – both physically and mentally. We have time to think about the coming months, to forge new plans, discard old ones and to reflect upon whether everything is »in the right place« in our lives. And, if you feel the same way, then I may have an idea for you that is worth considering:
The star pianist Alexandre Tharaud from France is perhaps the only one of his guild who does not actually have a piano, let alone a grand piano, of his own. Before concerts and recording sessions, he moves into the house of a friend who is away, to practise on their piano. What artifice is this, you might ask, but there is in fact a very pragmatic reason behind it: In the days when he did have his own piano, he found he would play for hours and with great passion … but not those pieces he was supposed to be practising. There was always time for that later – tomorrow, or some other time – he told himself. Now, of course it’s not very realistic to suggest that we dispense with the computer at home, or paper and pens for drawing. But the idea of working less or perhaps not at all at home, and instead spending the time in the studio or office in a more concentrated fashion, is perhaps not such a bad one …

At this point in the year I like to give you a preview of the novum plus themes you can expect in the coming months. Well, alongside classic subjects like photo design, illustration, typography, orientation systems and corporate design (all of which came up often in your responses to our survey), we will be covering for the first time the aspects of »Religion & Design«, »Barrier-free Design«, »Bread & Butter Jobs« and »Free Work«. In summer we will also be catching up with designers who have tried – or are trying – their luck outside their home countries, and asking them what it‘s like to live and work abroad. If you know of an interesting case story on this, then we would love to hear from you. And, last but not least, »Paper« and »Creative Paper« will also be themes for novum plus, ahead of our Creative Paper Conference, with exciting programme, which we will be hold­ing again this year in October.
I wish you a pleasant end to the year, with lots of time to relax and recharge your batteries ahead of what I feel sure will be a fantastic and creative 2012.   All the best,



Bettina Schulz

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