As one of the stars of the new media world, Sebastian Onufszak exhibited at Grafik16 in Zurich. His designs, music videos and posters are bursting with joie de vivre - the multi-layered play of colors and illustrations catch the eye. Onufszak presented one of his works at Grafik16, the largest exhibition of graphic design and visual expression in Switzerland.
Emptiness to fill them
Sebastian Onufszak appears in all black at Grafik16 - apart from red socks. His black-clad appearance is an obvious contradiction to his work - colorful, lively and interactive. ≪That's right≫, he says with a laugh, ≪I'm probably unconsciously looking for these opposites.≫ Accordingly, his business card is just a white piece of paper with his name and contact details written in black, unadorned lettering - you won't find any job title or other details on it. This monochrome appearance is complemented by a completely tidy desk. ≪Nothing should be on there≫, emphasizes Onufszak. He is not the type for creative chaos, he needs order. ≪I need the emptiness to fill it≫, he says after some thought. In order to develop a new design, he needs calm. For him, this foundation is like a blank sheet of paper that needs to be filled. ≪But I really like to be inspired≫, he adds with a wink, ≪it doesn't work without it.≫ He hopes to find plenty of inspiration at Grafik16.
Inspired by new technology
Sebastian Onufszak emigrated from Poland to Germany with his parents at a very early age. His father studied photography and graphic design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław. ≪That wasn't called graphic design in the East back then, but applied art, or so he explains. The fact that his father worked with illustrations had a strong influence on Onufszak. Even as a small child, he was exposed to his father's graphic work. ≪I was always there to watch him work≫, he says. That was probably the main reason why he got into this profession, he says looking back. His father was his role model, but later also his challenge - ≪I wanted to try out new things and, of course, get better at them≫, explains Onufszak. However, he wasn't actually interested in the idea of competition, but simply in trying out technological innovations and creating something new. In general, Onufszak always takes a close look at everything, examines and rejects, seeks to recognize backgrounds and their counter-perspectives. In this way, Onufszak also questions his work and its future. Today, at the age of 38 and with a 16-year-old daughter, he naturally begins to wonder when he himself will be overtaken by the younger generation and no longer be able to keep up with the innovations. ≪While my daughter sends voice messages and writes entire novels on Whatsapp in a matter of seconds, I'm still typing a text message with two fingers≫, he says self-deprecatingly. His father, for example, grew up with slow cuts in films and mostly relaxed film music; today, speed dominates. ≪As the MTV generation, we grew up with fast-edited music videos and clips - we got used to it≫, states Onufszak. This will continue with the next generations, new technologies will emerge to which the younger generations will adapt relatively quickly, but which the older ones will inevitably leave behind at some point. However, Onufszak still has his finger on the pulse of the times and is very happy to use any new technology for his job. He likes to be inspired by innovations, but at the same time he is already passing on his experience as a graphic designer to communication design students at the Augsburg University of Applied Sciences, where he teaches motion graphics. Above all, however, he is genuinely delighted and impressed by the achievements and talents that he is able to recognize and challenge as a result. New technologies and innovations in the field of moving images are not only a source of inspiration for Onufszak. Above all, he sees their range of possibilities for his graphic work, but is also certain that these changes can have an impact on communication and thus also on social coexistence.
Radio interference and Heidi Klum
Sebastian Onufszak studied classical graphic design, but was already mainly involved with new media. After various positions as art director and creative director in design offices and animation studios, he set up his own business as a freelance designer. Today he works on various projects for clients such as Audi, ProSieben, Ray Ban and Adobe. ≪I mostly work from home, have set up my office there and simply enjoy it≫, he summarizes briefly. What he finds particularly interesting is working for different industries. You're always working in something different. These changes inspire him again and again. Onufszak got his inspiration for the exhibited work at Grafik16 from the music band Funkstorung. Onufszak listened to the duo during his student days. He was particularly fascinated by one of the music videos from that time - ≪I wanted to create exactly this kind of animation myself,≫ he explains. He is now exhibiting the resulting work at Grafik16. It consists of 96 frames, taken from his music video for ≪Laid Out≫. Onufszak has depicted the entire discography chronologically; the colors of the covers, symbols and text fragments from the lyrics are visualized abstractly. The video can be viewed via smartphone using a QR code. His inspiration is largely based on this: ≪Making music videos is the greatest thing for me - the creative freedom you have with these projects≫, he says enthusiastically. His main work also consists of concepts for moving images. One of his last projects was the TV show package for ≪Germany's Next Topmodel≫ in Germany. However, Onufszak did not usually develop the graphic animations on set, but at home. Nevertheless, Sebastian Onufszak is always on the road for his projects - he occasionally spends time in New York, San Francisco, Munich or Los Angeles. For McDonald's, he had to fly to the set in Mexico at short notice to create illustrations for a commercial on location. ≪That was pretty spontaneous. I got a call and had to fly to Mexico the very next day. Once there, I first had to get a desk and drawing materials≫, he says. That was one of the most exciting trips for him. Otherwise, he doesn't usually have to be on site. He can also get inspiration in ≪small≫Augsburg - even if he always appreciates the personal contact.
Ursina mason
Some of Sebastian Onufszak's works: The Adobe Lion from 2015 as well as the illustration "Never Hide" for Ray Ban and the animation for ""Germany's next Topmodel", Pro Sieben.
More digital than ever ...
Grafik16 is an important exhibition for graphic design and visual forms of expression in Switzerland. Current works by over 130 national and some international graphic designers, illustrators, typographers, visual designers, game designers and artists are on display. Star guests in 2016 were Californian artist and creator of BunnyKitty, Dave "Persue" Ross, and German pop art legend Jim Avignon, "the fastest painter in the world" and founder of "Cheap Art". Part of Grafik16 was the special exhibition #Game16. It featured contributions from 3 art academies, 11 studios and 53 designers and producers. In addition to the exhibited works, numerous live paintings and performances with well-known artists also took place at this year's exhibition. The trend: a once analog craft is increasingly becoming a digital one. The internationally renowned designer, illustrator and art director Sebastian Onufszak was selected by Lidia Panio. Panio was responsible for the areas of application design, web design, motion graphic design, interaction design and mapping. She works in the digital economy for renowned companies, agencies and international brands. Soon after completing his communication design studies, Sebastian Onufszak became an art director and later creative director in various design offices and animation studios. He then took the plunge into creative freedom as a freelance designer in 2009. Since then, his passion for expressive design has served high-profile clients such as Adidas, IBM, Ray Ban and Karl Lagerfeld. His commercial and personal work has been published in numerous books, magazines and exhibitions. As a lecturer in moving image at Augsburg University of Applied Sciences, he trains the next young generation of designers.