Melissa Kunstein

Events and lectures celebrating the centenary of Aicher’s birth were held all over Germany, indicating that his work is as still as topical as ever, if not more so. The enthusiasm displayed for Otl Aicher as a character and person gives us cause to follow in his traces. How can we get conversation to focus on him and his thinking today?

Project idea
Most people to whom the name Otl Aicher means anything hail from fields such as graphic art, design or architecture – people who have encountered Aicher’s work as trainees or through their own work and who grasp and understand its continuing relevance to, and implications for, the modern world. But does he have to remain confined to this target group? Is Otl Aicher not capable of teaching far more people a thing or two? Not merely as a designer, but as the person he was. I think he is.

I was inspired by the project run by the German TV channels SWR and BR in which an Instagram profile was created in Sophie Scholl’s name to mark the centenary of her birth. Her biography was portrayed on Instagram in the manner of a remake for the project. I would like to introduce Otl Aicher to the social media in similar vein; more precisely, to Instagram. But I wasn’t thinking of retelling his life story. No one is set to act as, speak like or portray Otl Aicher. I wanted to map Otl’s personality on the Instagram platform and represent his character, way of working and everything that distinguished him with the benefits that Instagram provides.

Instagram is an app serving partly to inspire people. And that’s precisely what Otl Aicher was particularly good at doing too. It was his unconventional way of dealing with issues that made him so special. This, then, is the interface that was to form the basis for my otl.gram profile.

Target group
Given that Instagram is basically open to everyone, the intention with otl.gram was to reach as many different people as possible. Players from the spheres of design and graphic art form the primary target group. But Otl Aicher wasn’t just a graphic designer either. Thus, otl.gram, too, is a site for anyone involved in graphic art and design but also in thinking as a whole. Otl Aicher’s unusual way of thinking about both profound and seemingly banal topics may give rise to entirely new approaches to thinking. Aicher and his work continue to have an unmistakeable impact on people today therefore.

Each post is configured as a Carousel post comprising several pages that can be selected by wiping left. The first page always consists of a number preceded by a hashtag that enables it to be used for numbering purposes. It indicates to the user that there may be further posts on this topic and entices them to select the profile in order to access further posts.

The lines at top and bottom structure the otherwise very low-profile design and lend the numbering greater spatial effect. The constantly changing positioning of the lines creates a pattern, as can be seen on the right, that evolves with every new post. Hence, the pattern remains throughout and is merely moved.

The contrast brought about the alternatingly black and white background reinforces the pattern’s impact within the overall display and additionally resembles a chessboard. Chess is a game defined by rules and restrictions on how the various pieces can be moved that, in my opinion, has particular affinities with Otl Aicher’s own way of working and thinking. Clear structures exist within which it is nevertheless possible to move around freely. The suffixes “Otl Aicher” and “100”, finally, provide an initial indication of the context for what follows.

The first sequence, the post’s title page, which is intended to arouse the user’s curiosity, is followed by two further sequences in the same design as the first. The first of these is the main sequence.

The applicable quote is placed in the middle of the post. Positioned beneath this is the name “Otl Aicher”, enabling the quote’s provenance to be immediately established and to be cited should the quote be re-used in, for instance, a post of one’s own, as is common practice with Instagram.

Users are addressed personally in the third and final sequence. They receive information on the next uploads and are urged by a “call to action” to follow the profile so as not to miss any further contributions, When several followers activate the “bell”, contributions are displayed to further persons who are not as yet followers of the profile. Additional features are post descriptions and hashtags: the former contains the quote forming the subject of the post preceded by the appropriate numbering. The users are then addressed. This may take the form of a teaser previewing the content of the following contribution or, indeed, of a question. This renewed communication with users is important as a means of raising levels of involvement on the profile, which in turn leads to individual posts or even the profile itself being proposed to more people.

The correct hashtags likewise have a bearing on a post’s success and visibility. otl.gram is the profile encompassing the project. The profile’s focus lies on publishing contributions. These highlight various of Otl Aicher’s thoughts and singular characteristics in the form of quotes of his. This enables any user to gain a good impression bit by bit of who Otl Aicher was.

Why does otl.gram only contain quotes? There’s admittedly more to be discovered, learned and known about Otl Aicher than can be conveyed through such quotes. The otl.gram account seeks to point up Aicher’s (present-day) relevance. And what is more lasting than words?

Aicher’s words are meant as an invitation both to ponder and discuss matters. That’s how we can ensure his work and above all the thinking that distinguishes him as a person remain topical. Moreover, creative, inspiring, out-of- the-ordinary quotes are amongst the main constituents of Instagram.

Users set great store by garnishing their own contributions with quotes of this kind. They use them to articulate their feelings and thoughts without having to give too much away about themselves.

Quotes are a particularly good means of formulating states of mind in a way that allows other users to grasp them without needing to know absolutely everything involved.

Contributions, i.e. posts, form the basis of otl.gram. It might, however, be possible to add further functions facilitated by Instagram to the profile at some later stage. A question drawing on the new quote and couched in a story format would, for instance, provide a good opportunity to get in touch with followers in order to swap ideas.

A kind of sneak peek outlining the new quote would likewise be a good means of keeping involvement with the profile going whilst simultaneously intensifying follower interest. I feel that otl.gram provides exciting scope for presenting people and their essence in a way commensurate with the modern age.

Subject-matter is served up in bite-sized chunks for consumption in freely customisable quantities. Hence, as well as serving as an entertainment platform, a revamped version of Instagram could in future also make subject-matter available to completely different people than hitherto.