marcus kraft

Magazine covers by Marcus Kraft

Could you introduce yourself to Designer Daily’s readers?
My name is Marcus Kraft and I’m a graphic designer based in Zurich, Switzerland. My work includes a range of projects such as art direction and design for art and cultural institutions and other clients.

How did you get into design?
As a very young child, I always retraced comic drawings. Afterwards at school, I was chief editor and layouter of the pupil newspaper – I think that’s how it all got started.

Can you tell our readers about your design process?
Usually, as soon as I get a briefing, I start to think about it and try “to distill the essence” of it. I write down thoughts, ideas or do some sketches at that stadium. If an idea seems striking enough to me, I go on with the computer. – But if an idea doesn’t satisfy myself on paper, I don’t turn on the computer. I think it’s always the best solution when the content generates the whole design almost by itself. All you have to do then is to find and choose the right parameters. I also try to keep it very simple because I think that life itself is complicated enough.

queneau project

Diploma project on Raymond Queneau

Which of your projects are you the most proud of and why?
Puh, good question! As soon as a project is over, I somehow feel that it doesn’t “belong” to me anymore – I just don’t have the connection anymore. After one year or so, I usually have enough distance to review it. I still like my diploma project – it was a very structured yet personal examination of a lyrical text by the great French author Raymond Queneau.

What websites and magazines do you read on a regular basis?
I read a lot of daily newspapers because I still like the surface feel about it. These are usually Swiss or German papers like “Tagesanzeiger”, “Neue Zürcher Zeitung” or “Die Zeit”. I don’t read news on the internet because I hate it to read long texts on a screen. Like every graphic designer, I sometimes browse through different design blogs to see what’s going on in the world of design.

Which designers have been inspirers for you?
Well, I studied at the design school in Basel – of course, the big pioneers of Swiss Typography like Emil Ruder, Armin Hoffmann and Wolfgang Weingart were not teaching there anymore by then. But I really admire their design and their way of thinking things through. Andy Warhol is also a big inspiration.

Thank you Markus for answering my questions! For our readers, make sure you check out Marcus’ portfolio.

marcus kraft stapferhaus

Corporate identity for Stapferhaus

About the Author

author photo

Mirko Humbert

Mirko Humbert is the editor-in-chief and main author of Designer Daily and Typography Daily. He is also a graphic designer and the founder of WP Expert.