TYPO Talks » Blog Archiv » Talent Talks: Interview No. 5 with Alexis Mark

Talent Talks: Interview No. 5 with Alexis Mark

The format Talent Talks is a newbie to this year’s TYPO. Curated by designer and professor Kali Nikitas, eight refreshing positions from all over the globe share their truly creative work. Apart from sparkling self-initiated projects and inspiring design artefacts, they are showcasing most notably how cool it is to work with cool people.
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by Verena Thaller, Michael Kress, Leonie Hesse, David Jablonski & Christine Wenning

Self portrait Alexis Mark

What was your dream job when you were a child?

Kristoffer: As a kid, I was told by my mum, that at one time I wanted to be a sculptor.

What makes you as a studio different to all the other studios?

Martin: I think we set up this duo-praxis which was the beginning of our collaboration now. I think also this setup, having this physical space for our practice to start from and hopefully to move to somewhere else. This at least makes us different from where we come from in Copenhagen and it makes us different there. And of course a special attitude, like asking for things and not giving a specific answer but more like proposing all these different edits of a solution but not really talking a position on a single solution.

Did you ever say no to a project?

Marie: Yes, recently we started to say No more often. It’s our essence that we were always super curious. I think we see potential in the most projects and collaborations and I would say the general attitude is to at least give it a chance.

What was the trigger for you to build your own studio?

Kristoffer: What we find interesting in graphic design are the opportunities you have as a graphic designer and how they are inherently linked to being able to do your own perspective projects. Ideologically seen, at least, it is easier to fulfill those dreams or those needs as a single studio rather than being attached to a larger body. While there are other things that are far more difficult in that solution, there is this idea, this core aspect of being able to implement your voice and suggest the things you want most. This is probably what influences this core topic.

What’s going on next?

Martin: I think the space where we work is going to move to have some changes in 2019. Right now, there are a lot of activities and we are now in a process of how to change this structure and make something new so we don’t repeat ourselves.

Alexis Mark is the shared pseudonym of Marie Grønkær, Kristoffer Li & Martin Bek and is an office for research and graphic design located in Copenhagen, Denmark.

http://alexismark.com | Instagram

Alexis Mark

Design Studio (Kopenhagen, Dänemark)

Alexis Mark is an office for research and graphic design located Copenhagen, Denmark. We are engaged with activities ranging from commissioned graphic design assignments, through self-organised autonomous projects, to design-education, exhibition-making and curating. Through a common methodological approach, we work both independently as an autonomous entity and engage with external commissions. In that sense Alexis Mark is a service provider both to itself and others. Additionally, Alexis Mark is the founder and organiser of the exhibition– and project space Annual Reportt, a platform for investigating language, mediation and the overlapping peripheries of various artistic disciplines. Alexis Mark is the shared pseudonym of Marie Grønkær, Kristoffer Li & Martin Bek. Between us we are educated at Yale School of Art (US) and The Gerrit Rietveld Academy (NL).