Deutsche & Japaner puts an emphasis on strong aesthetics and handcrafted elements

Germany-based studio Deutsche & Japaner is a multidisciplinary studio, which encourages its designers to “influence each other” through a range of other disciplines. “Our way of designing is primarily based onto task and subject itself,” says the studio. “So we try to dive deep into the topic to understand the needs of communication and the opportunities of referring to something.”

Deutsche & Japaner puts an emphasis on handcrafting, as well as creating a strong aesthetic to create contrast within a project. It’s been two years since we last featured the studio on the site and the studio still opts for impact over flashiness. “We love things that come across a little more quietly, not silent or loud,” it says.

The team enjoy working on projects with interesting topics, creative freedom and the chance to engage people. Typography is also a big part of its work and the studio sees it as an “important element of creation”. To Deutsche & Japaner, “a good typographic content can carry a whole design approach. We enjoy the execution as well as developing new typefaces,” it says.

Recently the studio has been working on a fashion brand makeover and several music artworks as well as product design projects. There’s also a plethora of identity projects including Uncover, a brightly coloured identity for a design biannual festival in Mannheim, which used the location’s square-like foundations as the inspiration. Other stand-out projects include Resident Serif, a typeface that combines European and American influences, a sleek campaign for Opaak, a contemporary bodywear brand and Lift Off, a magazine created for a father and son team of ceramicists.

Many of Deutsche & Japaner’s projects are created with a client in mind and the studio finds it adapts to suit the needs of each one. “Some clients have a stronger vision of their needs than others,” it says. “And some of these visions fit better to ours than others. We always try to find the best solution together which can sometimes be challenging.”

For the studio a successful outcome should feel “right and smooth” and “meet the task”. Deutsche & Japaner adds: “It should evoke a contemporary sense while being accessible and sustainable.”