To Jazz and Beyond

Interview with Niklaus Troxler

by Majid Abbasi

Majid Abbasi: How have you been able to design for the Jazz Festival with a single subject for years?

Niklaus Troxler: Before I started graphic design I was in love with music and at the same time I was the manager for organizing Jazz Festival Willisau. So music and design were always with me. Music has and always will impress me and I am so glad that I know music because it has developed within itself and I could use the same process in my design. I see both as one but what enables me to advance my work with a single subject is improvisation that helps me in design. This is my design course, improvisation in music and design.

MA: What’s your role in Jazz Festival Willisau?

NT: For organizing the festival I did not have a company or any exotic systems. I started everything by myself along with my family. I was in charge of everything and my family members helped me on this matter. My wife Ems and my daughters Annik and Paula.

I liked my independence but I was constantly after obtaining financial resources and backing that could support me. The most important issue was to resolve financial problems to begin with and then plan and contact the musicians. I had to look for compatible colleagues too on technical matters. Eventually, in the September of this year I had 120 colleagues for the festival. Swiss small cities such as Willisau are very good centers for art and cultural activities. I don’t know how familiar you are with Swiss administration but here in the country’s highest levels the small communities are very important of course not in political matters. There are small communities, then the cantons or provinces and then the country. These small communities make up the society and of course the cultural structure. At times they find themselves more responsible than others and move ahead of other small communities. I am glad to live in a society with these attributes. I was born in Willisau and live and work here. When I was very young I became interested in jazz music and now I’m happy to be working here. Willisau is indeed is very much recognized because of this festival.

MA: Tell us a bit about the history of jazz music.

NT: We have to go back to 1966 to when I started it. At first, the emphasis was on traditional styles and many blues singers and musicians came here from all over Europe and America. As you may know it was at the same time that rock music evolved and became popular and jazz was a little ignored. But in 1975 jazz had a come back and prospered. After this festival was held and became famous many musicians from other areas of Switzerland came here. They discovered here and founded the jazz music school which is part of the university now. This festival has a long history though I should mention that we started very simple by simple concerts and now we have reached where we are.

MA: Was it the jazz festival that prompted you to design posters for jazz?

NT: I am not so sure whether I like music better or poster or graphic design. I think music is the most important art in the world but graphic design in the way we work is to announce and advertise for events which is also very interesting. The fact that I can express myself in my posters is very pleasing to me.

MA: But I see spectacular and surprising images by you at times that go beyond an announcement or advertising. They are a part of the art of poster design.

NT: I like to express my personal ideas just like a musician and I think these ideas is inspired from my listening to music.

MA: How much your knowledge of music helps you in design or in other words how do you see the relation between music and design?

NT: You know that music is an organized process. It has structure. It is very attractive and full of improvisation. I use the same standard in my design which is appealing too. Of course, my posters quickly and directly communicate. Many people like my posters and they may not understand much about music. A poster for music has to be a visual dance. It should have motion, contrast, rhythm and much other stuff but the most important element in poster design whether or not it is for music involves concentration on a single idea and I try to show everything briefly which is what makes my posters attractive. I want to design a poster not just create an image. Poster has to be in the street. It has to be impressive and I hate posters that lack this quality. My posters are put up in the streets for a fact and most importantly, they communicate with the audience. This is very important that people on the sidewalks see the posters not just one but hundreds of copies and they do see.

MA: How do you create such vast diversity in your jazz poster designs?

NT: I think I’ve already elaborated on it but I will talk about it more. The reason is because music is a lot more different. I believe that we shouldn’t design one single visual identity for Willisau jazz festival. This festival’s visual identity rests in diversity and variations. Making a visual identity for music may be very naive or even foolish. You see this naivety very well on music records and CDs and that’s very bad. All look alike. What does that mean? For example, when you see ECM music record covers all of them are made up of similar images and types and almost convey no feelings and they all look alike. But what I believe in is completely different. The diversity that I have created is an identity. This is Anthony Braxton’s CD and nothing more. You see it is very different because her music is different. I work on this subject and believe that everything and every piece of music has something special of its own. So this diversity must be and it would be very boring to create one single design.

MA: So you are saying that diversity is the spirit of these posters and its message is completely musical?

NT: Yes that’s right. They are a part of my life. When you discover something new in designing for music it is very attractive. Design has to be pleasing and should not be regarded as a job or profession. It should not be a hard and laborious task. Of course, I am involved for hours to find suitable solutions and sometimes it is not so easy. Again, sometimes I quickly find suitable solutions. At the end everything is delighting. (laughs!) Let me change my question by asking you about the Swiss style.

MA: How come this style is still lively and what is its main trait?

NT: When I started to work it coincided with the emergence of the Swiss style and its representatives. That time was the era of big names such as Josef Muller-Brockmann and Armin Hofmann. Frankly, it wasn’t too pleasing for me. It was not a flexible style for me. I did not like to follow them at the onset of professional work. These 90 degrees angles were too much and not appealing. But what made me more persistent in choosing my way were the impressions I got from rock music and pop art. I always respect these pioneers of the Swiss style and admire them. I was a close friend of Muller-Brockmann. I remember that he gave me his poster and I gave him mine. We had a good relationship. What’s interesting in Swiss designers for me, however, is to see how the younger designers work. You know that I teach in Stuttgart in Germany. I give my students freedom of action. In designing it is very bad to limit them to work like you or others.

The Swiss style is still lively and brisk but I have gone my own personal way and the young Swiss artists are also advancing with a

lot of versatility. They have stepped foot in a good path and I think they have a good position and a bright future.

MA: Do you think we can divide the history of Swiss graphic design into two periods?

NT: Yes we certainly can. The second period that includes a broad scope of young contemporary Swiss designers has different ranges. The young Swiss unlike the past generation don’t know much about type and typography.

There are many designers who among them some are performing amusing works but many others are extremely feisty and brave. They work with type only for informational purposes and some just play with type. Martin Woodtli is one of the representatives of this young generation. Those who graduate from the Basel School of Design are much more logical due to the teachings they received from Armin Hofmann and Wolfgang Weingart. Weingart though was not too much of a constructivist and he was more so well-known as representing the revolutionary and unconventional generation. I speak more about the educational atmosphere of this school and its structure. I have taught in Basel too.

MA: It seems that Swiss schools vary in teaching methods?

NT: Yes, for example, in Lucerne imaging is the basis but you can’t find it in Zurich. They focus more on type like Basel. It is completely different in Bern. Perhaps because they invite other scholars to teach. It is the educational and study program that’s effective and dominant and that may even blemish the presence of various instructors.

MA: Do you think the young generation is going towards a free world?

NT: Yes this is their only chance for remaining; that they walk towards a free world with regards to their specific perception. This is not a style but their personal path.

MA: How do you perceive the relation of content and form?

NT: Content and idea is most important to me. The form comes on its own at the end. If we have to change the content we can find personal forms. I don’t start with form and I don’t find anything particular. Form is found by accident most of the times. Content and idea has to be worked on.

MA: Tell us about the future of poster.

NT: It must be fought for. It must be fought for its presence in public places and streets. In Switzerland we still have places for putting up posters perhaps more than in other countries. Unfortunately, poster design at the present is more important than its other vital aspects. These contests have to be categorized into two groups of professional and student with both present.

MA: Speaking of contests tell us about 100 Best Plakate.

NT: This contest is held every year in Switzerland, Germany and Austria and the subjects are in German. We change the board of jury every year. Until the last time I was the organizing manager or contest president but now Henning Wagenbreth is in charge. Every year a book is published by Hermann Schmidt Mainz publications in Mainz in a fixed size and it is designed by different designers. This book is well distributed and you can easily find it in Amsterdam or London and this is very important for such a contest.

MA: What’s the main idea behind this contest?

NT: The main idea was to give importance to the German language but later on we noticed there are many French speaking people in Switzerland and of course they have to participate in the contest too. This contest is not a big event and we are not interested in expanding it. There are enough biennials and contests around the world. This is a special competition and of course an attractive contest between the designers of these three countries. This contest is only on posters from smallest to biggest sizes. At the end of the book also you can read a special section with regards to the history of posters in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. It was my idea to introduce our poster history in addition to seeing modern posters. We introduced various posters with different inclinations such as type, political and social themes and the necessary information on the poster. I retired from that position at age 60 and as I said my colleague took charge of it.

MA: You are not just a designer. You are also a good manager and organizer. You are a teacher and musician…in 100 Plakate, in AGI in Willisau and…

NT: When you have an idea you have to carry it out. That’s pleasing and enough. I handled 100 Beste Plakate contest for three years and if I like to remain it is because the idea is interesting. If you have a good team and start well you will definitely succeed. I am sure that after me others will carry on this job in the best possible way. But I am happy now because I have more free time so I concentrate on newer ideas.

MA: What is your next responsibility and what would you like to do?

NT: I don’t know but I am completely free for possible interesting programs in the future. I really like teaching and you know I started it very late. I began in 1996 from Stuttgart and I think teaching is very important. In my mind a good designer can also be a good teacher. I go to Stuttgart two days a week and I am very happy to be working with students. I collaborate with each of them in their own way.

(phone rings) Hello, ok, we have to go for lunch…