Of course you also go to conferences to soak up knowledge. But what is particularly nice about them is the human interaction - the informal networking, the cheerful chats in between and making new acquaintances. After a long break, the CPC was finally able to take place again and left a refreshing impression.
Day 1: Shaping a future worth living
Munich is hardly more beautiful than in the middle of summer, when you can spend sunny days in the countryside and balmy nights in the beer garden. That's why we kicked off the CPC with a speaker dinner at the idyllic Wirtshaus am Bavariapark, where all the speakers had a chance to get to know each other.
Our aim with the CPC was to connect paper enthusiasts and creatives, not only for the participants but especially for those who provide them with input and inspiration. This year, Alessia Sistori and Lilly Friedeberg from design studio B.O.B., who had traveled from Berlin and Düsseldorf, spoke on the first day. With their strong focus on transparency and individuality, they immediately won over the audience. Vit Steinberger, who took to the stage after the two, focused in his talk on the lasting value that designers can strive for with deeply sustainable concepts. "We are dedicated to designing a future worth living," said the co-owner of klee.steinberger. "For us, this means recognizing people's desires and needs and transforming them into substantial communication."
Josef Heigl and Kurt Glänzer from Studio Bruch in Graz also deal with expressive communication. In their lecture, they presented outstanding print projects - including a timeless "Dine & Design" cover for the former novum - World of Graphic Design. They had also designed a small souvenir so that everyone could take the motto of their presentation home with them.
"Every idea is only as strong as the execution itself. Everything flows here and is what remains in the end."
Studio Bruch
Mario Drechsler, a pioneer of desktop publishing, who today deals with color-critical and sophisticated print and advises on productions, spoke. In his presentation, he gave practical tips and tricks for eco-efficient production. The first day was rounded off by the multi-award-winning designer Erich Brechbühl, who had traveled from Lucerne in Switzerland. In a fascinating way, he revealed his idea-finding processes, talked about his years of training with Niklaus Troxler and delved deep into poster design.
Day 2: Cheers to the community
The second day was all about a sense of community: Hardy Seiler, who not only works as a communication designer but also co-initiated the Hafven coworking and innovation hub, spoke - alongside exciting print projects - about the value of community. With his start-up Coapp, he recently created a platform as a tool that collaboratively connects people and resources. Calligrapher Natascha Safarik also began her career in a community, more specifically an internet forum that specialized in calligraphy and helped her gain a foothold in her profession. The Viennese, who works under the artist name "Tintenfuchs", spoke charmingly about her career and had the laughs on her side with Bob Ross memes and self-irony.
In order to fill the second CPC day with lots of inspiring content, but not to strain concentration too much, the next block took the form of three short presentations of 20 minutes each. Julia Kahl from Slanted Publishers reported on the publishing work and the special edition "Slanted Bavaria", Axel Rössler from the screen printing studio "Print Now - Riot Later" gave insights into the early days in Arizona and the workshop in Maintal. In her humorous presentation, Mati Miocevic, alias Designstudio Mathilda Mutant, took on all kinds of annoying advice that people used to give her during her ten years of self-employment. For example, that she shouldn't be too friendly towards customers. She countered this convincingly: "No amore, no design. More amore, kaboom design!"
Because Tom Ising was unfortunately ill, the Kreatives agency from Munich stepped in afterwards. Art director Tainá Ceccato and illustrator Julie Frank presented two highly innovative freelance projects that not only look fantastic, but also won packaging awards: handmade paper shoes, a Christmas mailing with an American diner look - their creativity seems to have almost no limits.
The grand finale of the evening was delivered by paper manufacturer Matthias Schwethelm. The Papieroffizin workshop he founded is based on historical craft methods. The book scientist experiments with sauerkraut, sprouts and even elephant dung with astonishing ingenuity, delighting craftsmen on the road as well as prospective wedding couples and the marketing department at Adidas. And, of course, us viewers too, because with his creative way of making paper, using a wide variety of materials and literally getting his hands dirty, he does full justice to the central theme of the Creative Paper Conference.
And at the end, the guests were greeted by many colorful participant bags, packed to the brim with beautiful paper samples, giveaways and small gifts.
We say thank you!
As the team from Grafikmagazin , we can only marvel at the radiance that paper possesses, as the CPC impressively demonstrated. The love of beautiful paper unites people, it is a reason to travel from far away, it even creates new friendships. What a privilege to share these days together.
We would especially like to thank our sponsors and exhibitors as well as Studio Joseph & Sebastian for the outstanding design of this year's Creative Paper Conference. Thanks also to our volunteers for their tireless efforts and the Coucou Food Market catering team.
We can hardly wait to experience the next CPC with you in two years' time!
