Maximage: David Keshavjee & Julien Tavelli
Jan Tschichold Prize 2020
Since 1997, the BAK has awarded the Jan Tschichold Prize to a personality, a group or an institution for outstanding achievements in book design. The prize is awarded on the recommendation of the jury and independently of the competition "The most beautiful Swiss books". This year’s honour, worth CHF 25,000, goes to Maximage, a Swiss design studio set up in 2009 by David Keshavjee (1985) und Julien Tavelli (1984), with Daniel Hättenschwiller and Guy Meldem as active members. Based in Geneva, Zurich and Paris, Maximage works alone or in collaboration to create visual identities and digital solutions, books, posters and typefaces.
Maximage questions tools and technologies, opening up new perspectives on contemporary means of production. Its areas of particular interest include typeface design, offset printing and the creation of colour profiles. This research is applied to the development of tools for graphic designers, artists, photographers and printers. The jury’s choice of Maximage to receive the Jan Tschichold Award recognises the influence these tools have exerted on the graphic design landscape over recent years.
