THORBJØRN ANKERSTJERNE for QASIMI
Enthusiasm is not something Thorbjørn Ankerstjerne lacks. He infuses all his work with passion and a personal commitment that goes beyond conventional expectations: “I think it is very important to get excited about what you do.” Creative ownership is vital, as he takes responsibility to push a project as far as possible. Constructive and honest communication with clients is required to streamline the design process and facilitate his free-flowing ideas. His relocation from Copenhagen to London in 2007 has opened up an increasingly diverse range of projects as he moves from graphic design as a corporate application to “a device that can work in a cultural context”.
Respectful of the challenge to “portray someone’s collections and thoughts with a piece of graphic design”, Ankerstjerne thrives on the seasonal nature and speed of the fashion industry. The urgency seems to stimulate his creativity and was one of his strengths when Qasimi commissioned him to complete the groundwork of a rebrand within a few weeks. Qasimi were familiar with his earlier work and believed that his visual aesthetic would enable him to interpret their brand in this short period of time. Ankerstjerne enlisted Fabio Sebastianelli as a collaborator and immediately got to work setting out the framework for the project. “We had a very clear idea what we wanted from the beginning – to be very clean, simple, classic and something we could adapt to their men’s and women’s collections.” This rationale directly reflects the luxurious fabrics and sophistication of the Qasimi brand.
Ankerstjerne was free to create a completely new look and feel for the brand communication without any reference to the previous logo. Doing this became an exercise in reduction; by literally removing all extraneous elements from the letterforms the breakthrough came with the development of an abstract geometric pattern. This was initially presented to Qasimi as a motion sequence, to emphasize the flexibility of the concept and that it was more than a mark. Materiality always plays a central role in Ankerstjerne’s work and he quickly realized the potential of the pattern, particularly for the packaging.
The shopping bag succeeds because of Ankerstjerne’s innovative understanding of its material qualities. Its conventional structure is enhanced when, in the right light, the paper becomes translucent and reveals the inner pattern on the otherwise plain exterior – almost magical in its simplicity, this subtle effect showcases Ankerstjerne’s understated touch. A tribute to the success of the pattern is that it has become central to Qasimi’s branding and they infuse it back into their collections on garments, linings, prints, boots and even jewellery. Although it was initially used to complete a graphic design project, it has expanded beyond the usual parameters and directly informs fashion in what has become a continuous loop. It is continually progressive, with the ability to adjust specifically to each collection. “For something so simple it is really fortunate to create a mark that is so flexible,” says Ankerstjerne.
For Ankerstjerne, a successful relationship is about open dialogue and he relies on his clients to participate constructively to resolve problems. “If the collaboration is really working well, the more integrated you can become in their thinking and the better results you can produce. You can start to feel what they want more, and can twist it more.”
Ankerstjerne can be vigorous in defence of his concepts if he believes this will benefit a project, but is able to temper this passion and work through problems to find new solutions that are mutually satisfying. He maintains extremely high standards for every stage of the design process. “I feel really strongly about quality and want my work to be seen in the best way possible. It does not take a lot to ruin something, but it is also pretty easy to make something good. It is just about making people aware of that.” The ability to rationalize his creative process is a great advantage as he strives to justify his decisions and, most importantly, infect others with his passion for design.
Only produced in a standard size, when the bag catches the light from the right angle, it reveals the pattern on the clean, white exterior. The optical illusion is achieved by printing an inverse pattern on the inside of the bag. “There are a million different ways to work with the pattern,” says Ankerstjerne.