Poster Cult: the latest works of Swiss printmaker Dafi Kühne

Kühne’s latest publication wrestles with the romanticisation of craftsmanship in a digital age and explores how he merges these two worlds through his ever-evolving practice.

It seems that everywhere we look, there is news on advances in technology and the rise of digital techniques, even in the art and design world. The tactility of analogue techniques has become somewhat nostalgic; print papers and magazines are becoming fewer and fewer, and most of our marketing comes through a relentless stream of emails.

But despite all this, poster printing seems to have endured and retained its popularity as a medium of communication and advertising.

One of Switzerland’s foremost poster designers, Dafi Kühne, has been prolific in this space and has found a way to merge the traditional and the technical through his practice, embracing both traditional production methods and modern layouts.

After completing a bachelor’s degree in Visual Communication at Zurich University of the Arts in 2009, Kühne opened his own poster design and letterpress printing studio, “Babyinktwice”, in the Swiss Alps. In his studio, he mostly worked on typographic posters for music, art, architecture, theatre and film projects, but also created some posters for products.

Every design he creates goes through the process of letterpress printing on a traditional press, and, for reproduction, Kühne uses a variety of tools, from a computer and traditional set type to pantographs, laser engraved pear wood blocks, and hand-cast plastic resin.

Whatever the method, his goal is always to push the quality and the boundaries of his designs. Kühne’s latest book, Poster Cult – published by Lars Müller – offers a detailed insight into the evolution of his poster printing techniques since the release of his first publication, True Print, which launched seven years ago.

While True Print introduced Kühne’s work, this new publication provides insights into the technical and conceptual development and the background to his poster work. Looking closely at Kühne’s work over the last ten years, Poster Cult also evidences his growing interest in creating larger print formats.

Since 2018, he has explored this new way of working by using one of the largest single-person-operated letterpress proof presses ever produced.

Readers can also expect to be challenged to think about the simultaneous balance and tension between poster culture and poster cult, between the romanticisation of craftsmanship and the integration of digital tools, and the uncompromising application of autonomous design processes.

Poster Cult includes the thoughtful presentation of 60 selected posters, as well as black and white images shot by Zurich-based photographer Peter Hauser that illustrate the artist’s interconnected digital and analogue working process.

Words from Poster House NYC chief curator and director Angelina Lippert and Museum für Gestaltung Zürich director Christian Brändle contextualise the works and support the visuals, while an additional glossary illustrates printing procedures and processes, making the book accessible to both experts and poster enthusiasts alike.