Thomas Manss
Encyclopedia
Thomas Manss is a German
graphic designer
based in London
. In 2002, the British newspaper Independent on Sunday included him in their list of the ten leading graphic designers in the UK.
's Metadesign in Berlin where he was involved in the development of the Berlin transport
information system and designed exhibition catalogues for the Kunstamt Kreuzberg. In 1985, he moved to Sedley Place Design, where he ran design programmes for some of Germany’s leading companies including Volkswagen
, Votex, Schering
, Deutsche Bundespost
and Deutsche Bundesbank
.
He joined Pentagram
in 1989 and worked with Alan Fletcher
on design programmes for Scandinavian Airlines, The Travelstead Group, The Barbican Centre, Shakespeare's Globe
and information graphics for Stansted Airport. In 1992 he was made an associate and has been responsible for the development of a new corporate identity for Shilla Hotels in Korea, exhibition designs for the Design Council
and a competition for a new identity for the City of Berlin
.
In 1993 he left Pentagram to start his own studio in London followed by the opening of a German office in Berlin in 1996. Clients include British loudspeaker manufacturer Bowers & Wilkins
, Canadian electronics firm Classé
, Hotel Arts Barcelona, Meoclinic in Berlin, Tate Modern
and Tate Britain
, The British Museum as well as National Portrait Gallery, accountancy firm Deloitte, Vitsœ and International Design Center Berlin.
. His in-depth understanding and passion for the subject has resulted in him becoming the first choice for many leading British architects looking to renew their identity, profile their work or provide wayfinding systems compatible with their architecture. Architectural clients include Foster + Partners, Hopkins Architects
, Grimshaw
, John McAslan + Partners, Squire & Partners, Zaha Hadid
, Tadao Ando
, Wilkinson Eyre
and more.
His work has been widely published and his reputation is reflected by invitations to lecture in the UK, Germany and Holland. In 1994 he was appointed Visiting Professor for Corporate Identity at the Fachhochschule Potsdam and was elected a Fellow of the Chartered Society of Designers
. He has been a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a member of the D&AD
since 1996.
Ordnung and Eccentricity, a major survey of his work has been published by Die Gestalten Verlag
in 2002. A second book titled Thomas Manss & Company written by Conway Lloyd Morgan was published by av edition in 2008.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
graphic designer
Graphic designer
A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, printed or electronic media, such as brochures and...
based in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. In 2002, the British newspaper Independent on Sunday included him in their list of the ten leading graphic designers in the UK.
Career
He began his career at Erik SpiekermannErik Spiekermann
Erik Spiekermann is a German typographer and designer. He is a professor at the University of the Arts Bremen....
's Metadesign in Berlin where he was involved in the development of the Berlin transport
Transport in Berlin
Berlin has developed a highly complex transportation infrastructure providing very diverse modes of urban mobility. 979 bridges cross 197 kilometers of innercity waterways, of roads run through Berlin, of which are motorways....
information system and designed exhibition catalogues for the Kunstamt Kreuzberg. In 1985, he moved to Sedley Place Design, where he ran design programmes for some of Germany’s leading companies including Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
, Votex, Schering
Schering
Schering AG was a research-centered German pharmaceutical company. It was founded in 1851 by Ernst Christian Friedrich Schering and merged with Bayer's pharma sector in December 2006. The company's headquarters was in Berlin-Wedding, Germany...
, Deutsche Bundespost
Deutsche Bundespost
The Deutsche Bundespost was created in 1947 as a successor to the Reichspost . Between 1947 and 1950 the enterprise was called Deutsche Post...
and Deutsche Bundesbank
Deutsche Bundesbank
The Deutsche Bundesbank is the central bank of the Federal Republic of Germany and as such part of the European System of Central Banks . Due to its strength and former size, the Bundesbank is the most influential member of the ESCB. Both the Deutsche Bundesbank and the European Central Bank are...
.
He joined Pentagram
Pentagram (design studio)
Pentagram is a design studio that was founded in 1972 by Alan Fletcher, Theo Crosby, Colin Forbes, Kenneth Grange and Mervyn Kurlansky in Needham Road, West London, UK...
in 1989 and worked with Alan Fletcher
Alan Fletcher
Alan Fletcher is an Australian actor and musician, best known for his role as Karl Kennedy in long-running soap opera Neighbours. Fletcher was educated at Wesley College, Perth.-Career:...
on design programmes for Scandinavian Airlines, The Travelstead Group, The Barbican Centre, Shakespeare's Globe
Shakespeare's Globe
Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse in the London Borough of Southwark, located on the south bank of the River Thames, but destroyed by fire in 1613, rebuilt 1614 then demolished in 1644. The modern reconstruction is an academic best guess, based...
and information graphics for Stansted Airport. In 1992 he was made an associate and has been responsible for the development of a new corporate identity for Shilla Hotels in Korea, exhibition designs for the Design Council
Design Council
The Design Council is a United Kingdom non-departmental public body incorporated by Royal Charter and registered as a charity.Registered charity number 272099.- In the beginning :The Design Council started in 1944 as the Council of Industrial Design...
and a competition for a new identity for the City of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
In 1993 he left Pentagram to start his own studio in London followed by the opening of a German office in Berlin in 1996. Clients include British loudspeaker manufacturer Bowers & Wilkins
Bowers & Wilkins
Bowers & Wilkins is a British loudspeaker company that produces mid-range through reference quality hi-fi and home theater speakers. The company name is often abbreviated to just B&W.Joe Atkins is current owner and chairman...
, Canadian electronics firm Classé
Classé
Classé is a Canadian manufacturer of high-end audio equipment, such as amplifiers, pre-amplifiers and source components .-History:...
, Hotel Arts Barcelona, Meoclinic in Berlin, Tate Modern
Tate Modern
Tate Modern is a modern art gallery located in London, England. It is Britain's national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group . It is the most-visited modern art gallery in the world, with around 4.7 million visitors per year...
and Tate Britain
Tate Britain
Tate Britain is an art gallery situated on Millbank in London, and part of the Tate gallery network in Britain, with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is the oldest gallery in the network, opening in 1897. It houses a substantial collection of the works of J. M. W. Turner.-History:It...
, The British Museum as well as National Portrait Gallery, accountancy firm Deloitte, Vitsœ and International Design Center Berlin.
Clients and work
Thomas Manss has a longstanding affinity with architectureArchitecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
. His in-depth understanding and passion for the subject has resulted in him becoming the first choice for many leading British architects looking to renew their identity, profile their work or provide wayfinding systems compatible with their architecture. Architectural clients include Foster + Partners, Hopkins Architects
Hopkins Architects
Hopkins Architects Partnership LLP is a prominent British architectural firm established in 1976 by Sir Michael and Lady Patricia Hopkins. The practice has won many awards for its work and has twice been shortlisted for the Stirling Prize, including in 2011 for the 2012 London Velodrome and in...
, Grimshaw
Grimshaw
-Art:*John Atkinson Grimshaw, Victorian-era painter*Nicholas Grimshaw, English architect*Grimshaw Architects, British Architecture firm-Chess:*Walter Grimshaw, 19th century composer of chess problems...
, John McAslan + Partners, Squire & Partners, Zaha Hadid
Zaha Hadid
Zaha Hadid, CBE is an Iraqi-British architect.-Life and career:Hadid was born in 1950 in Baghdad, Iraq. She received a degree in mathematics from the American University of Beirut before moving to study at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London.After graduating she worked...
, Tadao Ando
Tadao Ando
is a Japanese architect whose approach to architecture was once categorized by Francesco Dal Co as critical regionalism. Ando has led a storied life, working as a truck driver and boxer prior to settling on the profession of architecture, despite never having taken formal training in the field...
, Wilkinson Eyre
Wilkinson Eyre
Wilkinson Eyre Architects is an international architecture firm based in London, England. The firm won the Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize two years in a row...
and more.
His work has been widely published and his reputation is reflected by invitations to lecture in the UK, Germany and Holland. In 1994 he was appointed Visiting Professor for Corporate Identity at the Fachhochschule Potsdam and was elected a Fellow of the Chartered Society of Designers
Chartered Society of Designers
The Chartered Society of Designers , headquartered in London, England, is the professional body for designers. It is the world's only Royal chartered body of professional designers...
. He has been a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a member of the D&AD
D&AD
Design and Art Direction is a British educational charity which exists to promote excellence in design and advertising...
since 1996.
Ordnung and Eccentricity, a major survey of his work has been published by Die Gestalten Verlag
Gestalten
Gestalten is a publisher and creative agency mostly known for their 350 books on art, architecture, design, photography and typography. The company has 40 staff members through offices in Berlin, London, New York and Tokyo.-Books:...
in 2002. A second book titled Thomas Manss & Company written by Conway Lloyd Morgan was published by av edition in 2008.