NAME: Zak Kyes | Zak Group
LATIN NAME: veritas
AGE: 23

“The term ‘self-initiated,’ like ‘experimental,’ is one that needs some explanation,” says Zak Kyes, a Swiss-American graphic designer based in London. “Self-initiated work or work without a client should not mean anything goes nor should it be an exemption from criticism. There is always a client, even when you are your own client. And as it happens,” he adds, “I am always my own worst client.”

Kyes dropped out of a double major in art history and business in New York in order to attend CalArts. “I was always doing other things: writing, making ‘zines, videos, installations, graphic design … and CalArts in particular became a way to unite these activities,” he says.

When Kyes graduated he moved to London, where he finds the British design climate suits him. “Graphic design is a lot closer to the surface in London. Unlike LA, it’s not subsumed into the oppressively market-oriented worlds of motion graphics and advertising.” And even though London is “saturated with graphic design,” as Kyes puts it, he still feels there are more possibilities to practice design there—especially print design in a cultural context—than in the U.S.

Kyes’s interest in writing remains undiminished since his student days. In fact, research, writing and editing are the keystones of his practice. He sees in them a strategic route to assertiveness in a profession that traditionally defers to the client. “Gathering your own information, assembling content and writing to explain your convictions are ways to create a voice and identity for graphic design—which is too often passive,” he says.

Another core element in Kyes’s approach to design is teaching. “Teaching—with a secret agenda—can complement and help develop a critical practice,” says the designer. “It’s an extension of my studio work because it provides a testing ground for experiments and an area to develop approaches.” A recent workshop taught with Kasia Korczak to students at the Architectural Association in London, for example, looked at the social, political and cultural use of words in the urban environment; students created site-specific installations that questioned or commented on the use of words in the city.

Kyes enjoys the relationship he has with architecture. In addition to teaching architecture students, Kyes is art director of Architectural Association Publications. He also shares workspace and collaborates with Natasha Sandmeier of desarchlab (www.desarchlab.com) under the moniker Big Picture Studio. “Some aspects and ways of thinking about architecture are already very close to graphic design. For instance, architecture has a critical vocabulary useful for provoking discussions about systems and complexity which is relevant to graphic design.” Alice Twemlow

(TOP): The AA Term posters employ a typographic waterfall, where a verbal cascade of information announces lectures, events and exhibitions by architectural designers and theorists. The A-SIDE (center) contains the names, dates and times, while the B-SIDE (left) is an abstraction of keywords (also overprinted on the front of the poster). RIGHT: Rapid Prototyping is a high density foam CNC milled 3D poster for the architectural association announcing a new term on rapid prototyping. It features a customized gridnik-monospace typeface based on the original design by Wim Crowel. PHOTO by Tomoko Suwa for +81