It is the profound love and appreciation for movies and their creators that truly inspired these collection of prints by Stellavie. The Hamburg based design studio is run by Steffen Heidemann and Viktoria Klein. This time, the duo partnered up with illustrator Julian Rentzsch. Pairing skillfully set typography and beautiful Hahnemühle William Turner cotton paper with Julian’s remarkable drawing and illustration skills, these prints combine analog graphic art with the digital fine art printing. “It’s movie time!” portrays some of the most brilliant minds and work from the history of film. We asked Stellavie and Julian Rentzsch in a Q&A about their project.
When did you discover your passion for illustration, graphic design and printing technology?
Often it is very small things that we develop into something bigger. Julian started painting graffiti when he was younger and then implemented some contract work with murals. During the subsequent graphic design studies quickly showed that illustration is the real focus of his work.
At an early age, Steffen came across a gadget with a dot matrix printer and label paper. Typography at this time was a very small “production process” – there was literally only a handful of different fonts to experiment with. So the first step was having a passion for design and developing.
Victoria has always dealt with a variety of versatile materials. For her, design must end up getting haptic and experienced in a direct way. Her interest in materials and their artistic talents led very quickly to the decision to work in design. We met eachother when studying graphic and communication design in Hamburg. For a long time, we had planned to produce something sucessful together.
Which of your projects / designs opened the door to the professional market?
Independently, we have all been professional mid-studying and got contracts in the field of graphic design and illustration for print. The real breakthrough came with sales of our own prints. This enabled us to produce our own designs
in a quality that did justice to our claim of fine papers and high-quality printing techniques.
Do you have an idol or someone who has inspired you the most?
We try to have an open view on things. Inspiration can be found anywhere if you put your mind to it.
How would you describe your artistic style?
We like to combine analog and digital effects to match different techniques and ideas.
What is the most ambitious part of your work?
The most important aspect of our work is not to settle for a design too early, but to question ourselves again and again. Also, we take a step aside to look in a whole new perspective. When we do commission work, it is important to respond to the needs of the client. We scrutinize projects in detail as much as possible to not only achieve visual appearence but also clarity. In our own projects, it is essential to develop a clear expression of one’s own idea and the outcome we have in mind for the project.
How important is the printed presentation of your works of art and design?
No matter how steep our work style is from digital, it is paramount to us to make ideas and design tactile and “tangible”. Especially in print projects, it is essential to analyse the process of the designs again and again by printing drafts and evaluating them. Is the font well placed, can the details of the illustration be identified?
Which is your favorite paper from Hahnemühle and why?
Currently William Turner inkjet paper is our absolute favorite for art reproductions. We like the soft, subtle textured surface. It leaves a haptic impression with each encounter. Weighing 190 gsm, it is also perfect for our “Movie Director Portrait Prints” project. Here, we deal with the great directors of cinema, such as Hitchcock, Scorsese, Kubrick, Lynch and many more.
What´s next?
We have a lot of projects on the desk but for now we will be continuing with our “Movie Director Portrait Prints,” using the beautiful Hahnemühle William Turner paper!
The websites of Stellavie and Julian Rentzsch are linked and a making-of video for more.
