Gorilla

‘In essence graphic design is about communication, about the tension between informing and concealing, about what you show immediately and what you allow to filter through later. And, certainly no less importantly, what you do not show.’ This statement was made by Gorilla, a design collective that was responsible for a daily visual column on the front page of De Volkskrant from 2 October 2006 until 4 April 2009.

Six times a week a revolving duo drawn from the collective (comprising De Designpolitie, Herman van Bostelen and Lesley Moore) was given three hours to create a visual response to the day’s news. They were thus acting not only as designers but also as authors and perhaps as opinion formers. During the two and a half years in which the column appeared, Gorilla developed its own unique visual identity and a fixed place in the paper’s layout. The simple and colourful designs look innocent enough but have a razor-sharp message. Gorilla gave iconic images a twist and created a visual double take that challenged readers’ expectations of how to interpret images, or in this case, the daily news.

They are telling images, constructed of the fewest number of elements possible, which are instantly recognisable and yet require a second glance. This is the world according to Gorilla.