A print poster Felix Pfäffli designed last year for the French graphic design festival Une Saison Graphique.
FELIX PFÄFFLI
Age: 29
Location: Lucerne, Switzerland
Practicing since: 2010
Felix Pfäffli may well have been destined to be a graphic designer. Born and raised in Switzerland—home of the International Typographic Style—Pfäffli, 29, “grew up surrounded by people who love to design,” he says, noting that his father and brother are graphic artists as well. Best known for typographically savvy posters and editorial work, he’s taken up the mantle with his diverse yet consistently eye-catching body of work since starting his independent studio, Feixen, in 2010.
If the medium is the message, then Pfäffli designs with an agile understanding of what works both on paper and on screen. Rendered page corners, tears, and collage all appear in their digital incarnations, as well as an adherence to traditional print dimensions—visual cues that at once upend and revere the poster format.
Despite his apparent strength, Pfäffli quick to note that Feixen has also taken on fashion and exhibitions alongside corporate work and signage. "I’m mostly known as a poster designer,” he concedes, “but I was never just doing one thing. Mostly, we choose projects that are interesting because they are new to us. If someone would ask us to design his shop or house, I guess we would immediately do it."