Finding an Identity for Calder Gardens

Finding an Identity for Calder Gardens traces the design process behind the visual identity of Calder Gardens, the new cultural campus of the Calder Foundation in Philadelphia. Developed by the renowned New York-based design studio Karlssonwilker in collaboration with the foundation, the project unfolded in dialogue with the architecture by Herzog & de Meuron and garden landscaping by Piet Oudolf. This book gathers keynotes, visual references, design sketches and drafts, retrospective commentary and an interview, conveying a rich narrative of design in progress. The book provides unique insight into a contemporary design methodology, making visible how complex cultural projects are conceived, tested, refi ned and communicated.

KARLSSONWILKER INC. is a New York-based design studio founded in 2000 by graphic designers Jan Wilker and Hjalti Karlsson, with Vera Yuan joining as partner in 2020. The studio has developed into an internationally recognized practice operating at the intersection of concept, design and cultural inquiry. Central to the studio’s approach is an experimental, research-driven mindset: design is understood as a process of thinking, in which images, typography, sequences and systems function not only as outcomes, but as tools for reasoning and decision-making. A defi ning characteristic of the studio’s practice is the visibility of process. Sketches, drafts, variations and visual arguments are integral to the work, framing design as an iterative, knowledge-producing activity.