IN THE MEDIA | Looking back on some of the ideological distortions that have ruined entire periods of art, it remains astounding that the Bauhaus many considered ripe for retirement or lightly dismissed with the disparaging comment, "law-and-order design," is still alive and well and continuing to produce new exponents. The professional path taken by 46-year-old art director, Marc Posch - from Stuttgart via Munich to Los Angeles- probably typifies the plight of designers who learned the austerities of "less is more", only to find out one day just how lively things van get in the actual marketplace. "This naturally leads to a continual conflict: is it form follows function or form follows fun?" says Posch. Yet there's no sign of this kind of polarity in his work. Another factor is that Bauhaus aesthetics are lately appearing as a legitimate consequence of computer technology, with a chic whiff of calculation: the means justifies the outfit...

...What Posch calls his California freedom- at least in respect to more "fun & pep" - is firmly invested in his prospectus for olive oil (European Olive Oil Campaign, Commission of the European Union, Brussels): it translates a direct approach to the public very nicely into visual values. And Posch's menu (Julep's, Munich/Milan/Berlin) is really "laid back" - with what be the categorical imperative of his latest work down below on the right: "Don't be a Stranger." Armin Eichholz, novum gebrauchsgrafik

MAGIC HIDES ON THE EDGE | He calls it his mantra: the graffiti on a house wall somewhere in the never-ending conurbation of Los Angeles where he saw the thought provoking words: »Magic hides on the edge«.

A very positive comment, and one that the newcomer to California, Marc Posch, has since used as his own personal power formula: »Since coming to the US, my experiences have shown me that it is sometimes important to step across a border, to leave old familiar paths and just let yourself go with the flow.« In this city of illusions, it’s not uncommon to completely rethink a finished design shortly before presentation, and then to finally go ahead with this new idea.

Even though the first design may have involved several weeks of concept work after the briefing. Then, »five minutes before the deadline, everything is just turned on its head again«, says Posch.

» HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!« THE PRESSURE TO PERFORM | The decision to move his private and professional life from Bavaria to sunny California was never really difficult for Marc Posch. »LA was always my dream«, he admits. This courageous declaration of love for this urban monster is not often heard, as the confusing admixture of different cultures and their »styles« in LA and the lack of a real center to the town (except for »Hollywood«) makes it difficult for Europeans to feel comfortable here. And the daily exhortation, heard countless times, to »have a wonderful day«, reminds you of your obligation to be happy, and to achieve something.

A constant re-orientation and re-discovery, a re-definition of own ideas and design, ergo design itself, thus gains central significance. Here, where »nothing is really real, but nothing is really false«, says Posch – because the line between film and reality is such a fluid one – this »unique power drink of art and commerce« arises that inspires his work.

The conditions are ideal for a creative bio tope where conventions are there to be flouted rather than observed. Marc Posch’s own style has changed little as a result of the geographical change, except for the decisive shift towards web design. Posch: »In the early days when I was still moving backwards and forwards a lot between Munich and the West Coast, I was regarded as American, because this melange was influencing my style.« Today, it’s the other way round, for this German in LA has a certain exotic, foreign cachet. Nevertheless, he admits he is still learning: »At the start it was a shock to me to see how absolutely integrated the Internet is in everyday life.«

His client structure has changed dramatically with the switch to Web design. The print/Web design ratio is now almost 1:9. Posch is never amazed at the mentality of his American colleagues: »As long as Dreamweaver and Flash are working properly, then nobody gets upset.« (pj, novum 11/03)