NEW IMAGES OF AGEING
SILVER SOCIETY
EXPLORING TABOOS
PHOTOGRAPHY & STYLING
SILVER SOCIETY
EXPLORING TABOOS
PHOTOGRAPHY & STYLING
CONCEPT
Our society seems so fixated on the beauty and the adventures of young people, that it is hard to find the fun when thinking about our own ageing process. Many amongst us are afraid of losing their mobility, beaer" is a popular phrase, ageing often comes with a heavy weight of societal expectations and misconceptions.
Our society seems so fixated on the beauty and the adventures of young people, that it is hard to find the fun when thinking about our own ageing process. Many amongst us are afraid of losing their mobility, beaer" is a popular phrase, ageing often comes with a heavy weight of societal expectations and misconceptions.
But people around the world are getting older and staying fit for a longer time of their life. The Silver Society megatrend describes the diverse effects of this demographic change, which presents society with enormous challenges - but also opens up great opportunities for a new socio-cultural vitality. In order to successfully master the demographic transformation, new social framework conditions are needed, as well as a new mental approach to ageing.
That's why my friend and colleague Luisa Zieglmeier and I dedicated ourselves to creating new images of ageing. We set our focus on eroticism, self-love and body image at old age, which is currently still very stigmatised. We had so many questions on this topic: What can we learn about body-image and self-love from the elderly around us? Or: Why is there such a discomforting silence around the sexual lives of seniors? And lastly: Will we ever be able to walk confidently when we're old?
PROCESS
Meet Vedrana, our remarkable model who fearlessly defies the conventional image of ageing. We met up with her a couple of times, she made us lunch, talked about her life and showed us her apartment, photo albums and underwear.
Vedrana's story is as captivating as it is empowering: She was born in 1948 to a strict and catholic family in the Croatian part of Ex-Yugoslavia. Her rebellion was evident early on, she recalls hanging out with friends and decorating a Christmas tree with lingerie, much to the dislike of her family. At the young age of 20, she decided to leave her home, family and the communist regime of Yugoslavia behind, seeking a life of her own in Switzerland. First, she worked as a nurse but because she fell pregnant soon after, she was forced to marry and move in together with the father of her child, a farmer. It was a wild marriage, they had to function as a couple and coworkers on the farm at the same time and both struggled with monogamy. A second child followed a few years later but after roughly 25 years of ups and downs, love and hate, lust and distrust, they decided to get divorced. These many tough years could've made her crumble but instead she came out of this marriage a strong, independent woman. She was finally on her own, her kids had grown up and moved out and she could focus on her optician shop.
She's been living by herself ever since, sometimes casually dating while always maintaining a healthy relationship to herself and her own body. She knows what she wants, doesn't let anyone tell her what to do and always puts herself first. She's confident, sexy and gives 0 fucks. In her own words: "Moi, je m'aime. Amen!", which translates to "Me? I love myself. Amen!".
Meet Vedrana, our remarkable model who fearlessly defies the conventional image of ageing. We met up with her a couple of times, she made us lunch, talked about her life and showed us her apartment, photo albums and underwear.
Vedrana's story is as captivating as it is empowering: She was born in 1948 to a strict and catholic family in the Croatian part of Ex-Yugoslavia. Her rebellion was evident early on, she recalls hanging out with friends and decorating a Christmas tree with lingerie, much to the dislike of her family. At the young age of 20, she decided to leave her home, family and the communist regime of Yugoslavia behind, seeking a life of her own in Switzerland. First, she worked as a nurse but because she fell pregnant soon after, she was forced to marry and move in together with the father of her child, a farmer. It was a wild marriage, they had to function as a couple and coworkers on the farm at the same time and both struggled with monogamy. A second child followed a few years later but after roughly 25 years of ups and downs, love and hate, lust and distrust, they decided to get divorced. These many tough years could've made her crumble but instead she came out of this marriage a strong, independent woman. She was finally on her own, her kids had grown up and moved out and she could focus on her optician shop.
She's been living by herself ever since, sometimes casually dating while always maintaining a healthy relationship to herself and her own body. She knows what she wants, doesn't let anyone tell her what to do and always puts herself first. She's confident, sexy and gives 0 fucks. In her own words: "Moi, je m'aime. Amen!", which translates to "Me? I love myself. Amen!".
RESULT
The photos captured during our time with Vedrana radiate an undeniable sense of confidence. Her story proves that old age, body-positivity and a vibrant sex life can very much coexist and shouldn't be taboo. Motivated by her confidence, we now carry more optimism with us but also demand change to happen. How about including more older women in underwear campaigns for example? Or have more actresses play sex-positive grandmas like Grace and Frankie to normalise the thought of old people having sex?
The photos captured during our time with Vedrana radiate an undeniable sense of confidence. Her story proves that old age, body-positivity and a vibrant sex life can very much coexist and shouldn't be taboo. Motivated by her confidence, we now carry more optimism with us but also demand change to happen. How about including more older women in underwear campaigns for example? Or have more actresses play sex-positive grandmas like Grace and Frankie to normalise the thought of old people having sex?
That being said, "Moi je m'aime, amen!" is a passionate call to defy the stereotypes that have held us back. It's an invitation to confront our own anxieties about growing older and to approach life with the same spirited rebellion that Vedrana embodies. We want to encourage people of all ages to question the norms and prejudices that surround growing older and to embrace a more open and positive perspective on life's different stages
This project has been featured in Hochparterre Campus, to read the the (german) article, click here.
VIDEO COLLAGE
TIKTOK CORES
TREND RESEARCH
STYLING
HYPER INDIVIDUALISM
TIKTOK CORES
TREND RESEARCH
STYLING
HYPER INDIVIDUALISM
CONCEPT
With the COVID-19 pandemic, social media – more than ever before – turned into a tool and platform for experiments and self-expression. Especially among users that are part of Generation Z, various "aesthetics" started emerging, forming a dynamic network for creative self-expression. At the heart of such an aesthetic lies a certain niche interest that expresses itself in all areas including styling, interior design, music, and even food, developing into what's known as a "core lifestyle".
With the COVID-19 pandemic, social media – more than ever before – turned into a tool and platform for experiments and self-expression. Especially among users that are part of Generation Z, various "aesthetics" started emerging, forming a dynamic network for creative self-expression. At the heart of such an aesthetic lies a certain niche interest that expresses itself in all areas including styling, interior design, music, and even food, developing into what's known as a "core lifestyle".
Unlike previous subcultures or trends, core aesthetics have more fluid codes and characteristics, resulting in blurred boundaries and increased complexity. This invites users to explore related cores, allowing them to experiment with multiple parallel identities.
In our video portrait, my talented colleague Valerie Imhof and I, analyse this digital landscape of hyper-individuality and fluid identities, revealing how it challenges conformity and stereotypes.
PROCESS
During our research, there were a couple of things that stood out to us: The first thing being that gender seems to play a very important role, as trending aesthetics often experiment with either androgyny or hyper feminine / masculine styling. The second observation was that many users wouldn't describe their online identity to be the same as their offline identity, it seems as if many use social media to explore an additional identity they can't or don't want to express offline, which creates space for multiple parallel identities.
We continued by collecting lots of visual material and contacting people with very strong, niche or experimental online identities. Many of these accounts are challenging stereotypes and questioning norms, which is why we asked the users behind the accounts to answer a couple of questions and talk about their online identity in the shape of a selfie video, which we then combined with found footage to create "Cyber Aesthetics".
During our research, there were a couple of things that stood out to us: The first thing being that gender seems to play a very important role, as trending aesthetics often experiment with either androgyny or hyper feminine / masculine styling. The second observation was that many users wouldn't describe their online identity to be the same as their offline identity, it seems as if many use social media to explore an additional identity they can't or don't want to express offline, which creates space for multiple parallel identities.
We continued by collecting lots of visual material and contacting people with very strong, niche or experimental online identities. Many of these accounts are challenging stereotypes and questioning norms, which is why we asked the users behind the accounts to answer a couple of questions and talk about their online identity in the shape of a selfie video, which we then combined with found footage to create "Cyber Aesthetics".
check out my miro board, where collected all of my reserach and documented my process, here:
RESULT
"Cyber Aesthetics" was created using Premiere Pro, where we combined found footage from our netnographic research with the social media content and voices of our interviewees, five Gen Z people who explain how they appropriate the digital space to experiment with their own identity. They talk about their styling, editing process, use of digital platforms and the personal principles that influence them.
While most of them express an appreciation for the creative freedom they can play with online, some also point out that the shallowness and heavy judgement that can be found within the digital space influences their online identity.
"Cyber Aesthetics" was created using Premiere Pro, where we combined found footage from our netnographic research with the social media content and voices of our interviewees, five Gen Z people who explain how they appropriate the digital space to experiment with their own identity. They talk about their styling, editing process, use of digital platforms and the personal principles that influence them.
While most of them express an appreciation for the creative freedom they can play with online, some also point out that the shallowness and heavy judgement that can be found within the digital space influences their online identity.
Originally, our video portrait was designed to explore different core aesthetics but after discovering, that many users are inspired by and identify themselves with a combination of different cores rather than just one specific core, we decided not to name the cores referred to within the video. With this decision, we wanted to highlight the fluidity, with which cores are explored and expressed.
Laura, one of our protagonists, finds a very fitting conclusion: she explains that everything can be turned into a core and that therefore there is a core for every niche meaning that everyone can feel a sense of belonging.
CORPORATE IDENTITY
COMMUNICATION
GRAPHIC DESIGN
PHOTOGRAPHY
EVENT PLANNING
COMMUNICATION
GRAPHIC DESIGN
PHOTOGRAPHY
EVENT PLANNING
CONCEPT
In a project dedicated to the power of corporate identity, I chose to give the Swiss HipHop festival called Openair Frauenfeld a rebrand. It is a fictional project I should say, however I chose this specific festival because I believe it could be more than it is. As of now, it is known for its notable lineups but unfortunately also for its rather aggressive, mostly male crowd. It's not uncommon for people to believe that everyday rules don't apply at the festival, which leads to loads of room for disrespect, theft and an overall elbow-mentality.
In a project dedicated to the power of corporate identity, I chose to give the Swiss HipHop festival called Openair Frauenfeld a rebrand. It is a fictional project I should say, however I chose this specific festival because I believe it could be more than it is. As of now, it is known for its notable lineups but unfortunately also for its rather aggressive, mostly male crowd. It's not uncommon for people to believe that everyday rules don't apply at the festival, which leads to loads of room for disrespect, theft and an overall elbow-mentality.
The festival's corporate identity hasn't changed much over the past decade, all of their content has always been black and yellow in combination with college fonts. Their four stages, which haven't changed either, are designed to reference metropolitan skylines, giving the whole festival an industrial look (which is a bit ironic, given the festival takes place outside a small town, on a horse racing track and in close proximity of a protected nature reserve).
My goal was to create a corporate identity that speaks for a more inclusive and peaceful festival with a strong sense for its community, while keeping in consideration, that it is the biggest Openair Festival in Switzerland and the biggest HipHop festival in Europe and therefore quite commercial.
PROCESS
To build that said sense of community, I started by brainstorming about what the Openair Frauenfeld meant to me and what more it had to offer other than its lineup. In other words: What are the most fun, memorable and genuine moments I experienced at the Openair Frauenfeld?
Was it the waking up with no hangover (yet) and getting breakfast for all of my friends? Was it the still-drunk-from-last-night afternoon pregames with my tent mates? Was it the delicious food (available 24/7) that we couldn't eat fast enough after exhausting ourselves in a moshpit? Was it the shower at 4:00 am we never had to que for that would wash away all the sweat and dirt? Or was it the waking up to moaning sounds from my bestfriend's tent in the middle of the night? I created a whole list of these moments and feelings that I cherished the most with the goal of using them to sell a lifestyle.
In addition to that, I definitely wanted to change the colours and general look to give the festival a softer, more inviting look. "Frauenfeld" translates to "womenfield" which is almost a bit ironic, considering the rather small amount of females in the crowd and especially on the stage! To challenge this status quo, I decided to go with a light shade of purple, the colour used by the feminist movement.
Lastly I really wanted to think the whole process of preparation for a festival through; what are the necessary steps that lead to a successful and memorable festival? I decided to plan and design a whole year worth of preparations and pitched the new branding in the shape of a time schedule from July (right after the festival) to next year's July when the festival is bound to take place again.
To build that said sense of community, I started by brainstorming about what the Openair Frauenfeld meant to me and what more it had to offer other than its lineup. In other words: What are the most fun, memorable and genuine moments I experienced at the Openair Frauenfeld?
Was it the waking up with no hangover (yet) and getting breakfast for all of my friends? Was it the still-drunk-from-last-night afternoon pregames with my tent mates? Was it the delicious food (available 24/7) that we couldn't eat fast enough after exhausting ourselves in a moshpit? Was it the shower at 4:00 am we never had to que for that would wash away all the sweat and dirt? Or was it the waking up to moaning sounds from my bestfriend's tent in the middle of the night? I created a whole list of these moments and feelings that I cherished the most with the goal of using them to sell a lifestyle.
In addition to that, I definitely wanted to change the colours and general look to give the festival a softer, more inviting look. "Frauenfeld" translates to "womenfield" which is almost a bit ironic, considering the rather small amount of females in the crowd and especially on the stage! To challenge this status quo, I decided to go with a light shade of purple, the colour used by the feminist movement.
Lastly I really wanted to think the whole process of preparation for a festival through; what are the necessary steps that lead to a successful and memorable festival? I decided to plan and design a whole year worth of preparations and pitched the new branding in the shape of a time schedule from July (right after the festival) to next year's July when the festival is bound to take place again.
check out my miro board, where collected all of my reserach and documented my process, here:
RESULT
From the first mark-the-date posters right after the festival took place, to business cards in the shape of stickers that could be used for scouting new talents or a website with an A-Z that answers most questions and a new map and merch, it's all included in the new branding. I designed a new logo which is a reference to the foldable camping chairs that are an indispensable part of the Openair Frauenfeld experience and thought of a new and more contemporary visual language. This included references to current trends like tooth gems and suede tracksuits, new fonts with chrome effects and challenging gender roles.
From the first mark-the-date posters right after the festival took place, to business cards in the shape of stickers that could be used for scouting new talents or a website with an A-Z that answers most questions and a new map and merch, it's all included in the new branding. I designed a new logo which is a reference to the foldable camping chairs that are an indispensable part of the Openair Frauenfeld experience and thought of a new and more contemporary visual language. This included references to current trends like tooth gems and suede tracksuits, new fonts with chrome effects and challenging gender roles.
INTERNET CULTURES
TREND RESEARCH
SOCIAL MEDIA
HUMOUR & SOCIAL STUDIES
VIDEO EDITING
TREND RESEARCH
SOCIAL MEDIA
HUMOUR & SOCIAL STUDIES
VIDEO EDITING
CONCEPT
Humour is an integral part of our daily lives, manifesting itself in various forms such as private conversations, advertisements and pop-cultural entertainment. With the rise of digitalisation, in recent years a new form of humour has emerged on social media, known as ‘internet humour’, which is frequently expressed through memes.
Humour is an integral part of our daily lives, manifesting itself in various forms such as private conversations, advertisements and pop-cultural entertainment. With the rise of digitalisation, in recent years a new form of humour has emerged on social media, known as ‘internet humour’, which is frequently expressed through memes.
Contrary to popular belief, these memes do not only serve as a source of entertainment but also as a social barometer that reflects the issues currently affecting our society. In addition to that, many memes serve as coping mechanisms for personal and social crises and as a result play a major role in the destigmatisation of very important topics such as mental health or sexuality.
That being said, memes have a significant influence on our communication, lifestyle and can even influence political beliefs. In "More Than Memes" I analyse, decode and question internet humour and memes, uncovering their meaning and motivations and contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the sociocultural impact of memes.
PROCESS
To gain more knowledge about the topic, I used a netnographic approach. I collected countless web articles, videos or memes and clicked through profiles, linked posts and similar content, especially on Instagram and Tiktok. In this initial research phase, I was able to crystallise different areas and interests, which were later reflected in the different chapters.
To gain more knowledge about the topic, I used a netnographic approach. I collected countless web articles, videos or memes and clicked through profiles, linked posts and similar content, especially on Instagram and Tiktok. In this initial research phase, I was able to crystallise different areas and interests, which were later reflected in the different chapters.
Because I wanted to add a personal touch to this project, I decided to arrange interviews with meme consumers. I chose to interview these protagonists because they have a lot of experience with memes and feel like memes have shaped their identities. Ida was already creating memes at the age of 13 and then slipped more and more into an anti-recovery mental health meme bubble, while Beni is, as he describes it himself, chronically online and knows a lot about current meme-trends. The incredibly personal stories and insights into private thoughts, stories and feelings contribute to the project's emotional depth and credibility.
Concerning the look & feel it was important to me that the design of the project reflects how More Than Memes deals with the humorous content of the memes on a serious level. That's why I opted for a simple and clear visual language, which also works well with the different found footage. In addition to this, because this project refers to a digital phenomenon, I chose a strong RGB colour to underline this.
check out my miro board, where collected all of my reserach and documented my process, here:
RESULT
More than Memes serves as a social media based trend research and meme archive. It's all about what memes mean for us as a society, how they influence us as a community but also as individuals. Many of the videos raise questions to evoke curiosity but also to communicate the power of memes. "Have memes changed the way we talk about therapy?", "How can memes be used to call out politics?" or "Are memes breaking taboos?" are just a few amongst these questions.
More than Memes serves as a social media based trend research and meme archive. It's all about what memes mean for us as a society, how they influence us as a community but also as individuals. Many of the videos raise questions to evoke curiosity but also to communicate the power of memes. "Have memes changed the way we talk about therapy?", "How can memes be used to call out politics?" or "Are memes breaking taboos?" are just a few amongst these questions.
The Instagram account encourages self-reflection and serves as a meeting point for people who are interested in the research on internet humour. In the first couple of days, the account reached over 10,000 people with its content and gained more than 500 new followers.
TREND RESEARCH
NETNOGRAPHIC APPROACH
SOCIAL MEDIA &STYLING
HUMOUR STUDIES
ESSAY
NETNOGRAPHIC APPROACH
SOCIAL MEDIA &STYLING
HUMOUR STUDIES
ESSAY
CONCEPT
Meta-Irony is a niche kind of humour and is the term used to describe something that can not be categorised as either serious or ironic. It is neither known what the intentions or the sincere opinion of the person using meta-irony are, nor how the joke should be understood by the target group. Either the meta-ironic person themselves is not sure what was originally serious and sincere, or they use meta-irony to conceal their own opinion.
Meta-Irony is a niche kind of humour and is the term used to describe something that can not be categorised as either serious or ironic. It is neither known what the intentions or the sincere opinion of the person using meta-irony are, nor how the joke should be understood by the target group. Either the meta-ironic person themselves is not sure what was originally serious and sincere, or they use meta-irony to conceal their own opinion.
In recent years, humour and meta-irony have had a big influence on fashion and trending aesthetics; we've seen Ketamine Chic, a comeback of McBling and Mowalola with prints like "insert disc here" and accounts like @afffirmations on instagram, all examples that can't be categorised as ironic or serious. Meta-ironic identities, such as Yung Hurn or @babydoublecup are driving forces and are pushing meta-irony further towards the mainstream. These accounts also illustrate how different meta-irony can look: from outfit choices to tattoo choices, or runway looks to ugly cakes and meme accounts to silly editing styles.
My essay "Meta-Ironic Identities" deals with this meta-ironic wave in memes, fashion and design and describes its influence on aesthetics and society.
PROCESS
During the first part of my research I used a netnographic approach, collecting lots of examples of meta-ironic identities, accounts or aesthetics online, mostly on Instagram and Tiktok, with the goal of highlighting the popularity and diversity of meta-irony.
To get an understanding for this need for meta-irony, I decided to follow up with a socio-historical approach. During this second part of my research I kept reading that Gen Z humour looks for the zany and random because this generation is so immersed in media that they have seen it all and are desperate for a break from reality. Our media consumption, that allows (and often forces) us to follow current political happenings 24/7, can lead us to follow ongoing wars and crises similar to how we'd follow football games: in a never ending live ticker. No wonder many amongst Gen Z have lost faith in the world and its future and search for an escape from the so dull seeming reality by looking for the absurd that has no reason, purpose or consequence.
What sounds like modern day dadaism, could actually make sense. Dadaism, a satirical and absurd movement rejecting any reason, was a reaction to the senseless slaughter of the trenches of WWI. It essentially declared a war on war, questioning and rejecting the politics that led to unnecessary suffering by creating and pushing pure nonsense.
So could it be that now, 100 later, this meta-ironic humour that is manifesting itself in memes, fashion and our everyday-lives is a reaction to all the ongoing wars, the pandemic and the general doomsday feeling that seems to be lurking around?
During the first part of my research I used a netnographic approach, collecting lots of examples of meta-ironic identities, accounts or aesthetics online, mostly on Instagram and Tiktok, with the goal of highlighting the popularity and diversity of meta-irony.
To get an understanding for this need for meta-irony, I decided to follow up with a socio-historical approach. During this second part of my research I kept reading that Gen Z humour looks for the zany and random because this generation is so immersed in media that they have seen it all and are desperate for a break from reality. Our media consumption, that allows (and often forces) us to follow current political happenings 24/7, can lead us to follow ongoing wars and crises similar to how we'd follow football games: in a never ending live ticker. No wonder many amongst Gen Z have lost faith in the world and its future and search for an escape from the so dull seeming reality by looking for the absurd that has no reason, purpose or consequence.
What sounds like modern day dadaism, could actually make sense. Dadaism, a satirical and absurd movement rejecting any reason, was a reaction to the senseless slaughter of the trenches of WWI. It essentially declared a war on war, questioning and rejecting the politics that led to unnecessary suffering by creating and pushing pure nonsense.
So could it be that now, 100 later, this meta-ironic humour that is manifesting itself in memes, fashion and our everyday-lives is a reaction to all the ongoing wars, the pandemic and the general doomsday feeling that seems to be lurking around?
RESULT
As part of the Introduction of my essay, I defined irony, post-irony and meta-irony and defined the following questions as the starting point for my research:
1. How does meta-irony manifest itself in social media, in the fashion world and in emerging aesthetics?
2. Why is meta-irony so popular right now, at this point in time?
3. How is meta-irony shaping the game of identity and self-expression?
The main part of my essay is dedicated to the reasons for the use of meta-irony, which I broke down to the following chapters: multi-crisis, "cancel culture", cringe is the new cool, bubbles and tired of perfectionism on social media. In addition to this, I examined meta-irony as a tool for self-expression, either with the help of certain objects, a specific aesthetic or social media accounts.
As part of the Introduction of my essay, I defined irony, post-irony and meta-irony and defined the following questions as the starting point for my research:
1. How does meta-irony manifest itself in social media, in the fashion world and in emerging aesthetics?
2. Why is meta-irony so popular right now, at this point in time?
3. How is meta-irony shaping the game of identity and self-expression?
The main part of my essay is dedicated to the reasons for the use of meta-irony, which I broke down to the following chapters: multi-crisis, "cancel culture", cringe is the new cool, bubbles and tired of perfectionism on social media. In addition to this, I examined meta-irony as a tool for self-expression, either with the help of certain objects, a specific aesthetic or social media accounts.