This multifaceted book project portrays over 50 urban locations in the Hanseatic city, focusing in particular on the creative scene - from cultural events to record and book stores to specialty coffee. Graphic designer Violetta Sanitz and various illustrators present their creative vision of Hamburg and prove how lively their home city is.
"What I particularly like about Ankerwechsel 's home city are the contrasts, the creative hustle and bustle, for example in the St. Pauli district where I am based with the publishing house, and the calmness," is how publisher Harriet Dohmeyer describes her love for Hamburg. And it must be quite a big one, because she recently published a book that presents 200 pages of unusual meeting places, institutions and people in the Hanseatic city - somewhere "between an illustrated book, a collection of interviews, an art project and a city guide", as she describes it herself. Hamburg and its residents cannot be categorized, she says. "With 'Hallo Hamburg', we want to present our personal city - loud, multifaceted and personal." To achieve this level, there are not only short introduction sections, but also in-depth interviews with eight inspiring founders.
Intermediate tones amplify the sound
"Hello Hamburg, you beauty," says the intro. "Sailing shoes and well-worn sneakers walk over your cobblestones in equal measure. You are cosmopolitan. And yet you still resemble a village, just with a few more faces. You can count the harbor cranes from the banks of the Elbe and marvel at the greenery next to brick buildings. Even in heavy rain, rough winds and gray skies, you are a wild body of water worth jumping into. Whether you want to drift or swim to the top: People are quickly on the same wavelength with you. Your Hanseatic calmness is the background noise in everyday life. Intermediate tones amplify the sound of the ships: Freedom. Hamburg, you have radiance - but hello!"
Speaking of radiance, graphic designer Violetta Sanitz played a key role in the production, devoting herself to each location with an individual design. She has given each of the themed pages with a subcultural focus, in which specialty cafés, record stores or bookshops, for example, are presented, their own design ideas. Sanitz 's portfolio is firmly anchored in the Hanseatic city: she has worked for clients such as Kampnagel Hamburg, hamburg.de, Gruner+Jahr, NDR and Thomas i-Punkt Hamburg.
Creative hustle and bustle
Ankerwechsel Verlag is also deeply rooted here and published its first book "Hallo Hamburg" back in February 2018 as the start of the Hallo series, which defines itself as a collection of subjective city narratives. Harriet Dohmeyer took the fact that the debut was sold out as an opportunity to revise this view of the city. Thanks in part to the collaboration with Violetta Sanitz, no page of the revised edition resembles the first edition.
The content ranges from restaurants and cultural venues to urban space projects such as Oberhafen. The book presents places that are particularly worth living in, but also addresses socially relevant aspects such as global responsibility, gender equality and the precarious conditions of the creative industry. Very personal challenges faced by the urban designers - such as depression or a career change - are also addressed. The portraits range from long-established pioneers such as Thomas Friese (Thomas-i-Punkt, Entenwerder 1 and i-Punkt-Skateland) to the young vintage furniture retailer Linda Käckermann.
Harriet Dohmeyer, who also works as a journalist and author and has received grants from VG WORT and the German government, was keen to write a differentiated book. On the one hand, it can be read as a travel guide, but it also contains elements of a city portrait and even an art project. In this way, it is aimed at long-established city dwellers and newcomers alike. And - as we think - also graphic design lovers, because not only has Violetta Sanitz done a great job, we also like the attractive production with open thread binding and beautiful uncoated paper.
"Hallo Hamburg: Ein Blick in die Stadt" is now available in the publisher's online store and in selected bookshops and stores.
32,- €
ISBN 978-3-947596-10-2
All information about the publisher
Portfolio Violetta Sanitz
