German? Expression of Nationhood

Master thesis written in the department of Information Design at the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2019.

Analysis of the the relevance of the current given national symbols in Germany, in particular of the viewpoint of young German millennials. German? Expression of Nationhood critically investigates the importance of national identity in todays fluent society. Cross-border practices — the increase of mobility — offer us new possibilities of identification across our own nation/state borders. To convey the criticality, it was important to choose a design that is not typically German, starting with the choice of the used fonts – Serapion (from the Czech Storm Type Foundry) and Suisse Int’l (by Swiss Typefaces).

This change and acceptance towards pluralism can be seen as a a benefit for a part of the society; for others an adaptation to this change is not possible and connected with the rejection of pluralism. This group shows a strongly identification with the given national symbols to promote their idea of national identity, as seen with for instance right-wing populist party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). As national identity is influenced by acceptance and intolerance, we should ask ourselves if this is a society we would like to represent. We are in need to question national identity and emphasize the changing notion of nation and national identity in today’s post-migrant society that is shaped by fluent offers of identification.

Supervisors: Joost Grootens, Gert Staal, Simon Davies, Vincent Thornhill, Irene Stracuzzi, Noortje Van Eekelen