Interview with Ariane Spanier–Fight For Kindness 2024 Guest

Ariane Spanier is a Berlin-based graphic designer. Born in Weimar, Germany, she studied Visual Communication at the Art Academy Berlin-Weißensee. After a period in New York, she established her studio in Berlin. Ariane works primarily with clients from the cultural sector. The studio’s projects span printed materials such as books and posters, as well as identities and digital design, with a strong emphasis on typography.

Ariane is the creative director and co-editor of Fukt, an annual magazine dedicated to contemporary drawing. Her work has received numerous awards, including recognition from the TDC New York and Tokyo, D&AD, Graphis, Stack Awards, ADC New York and Germany. Her designs have been featured in a wide range of magazines and design publications. She is also a member of AGI (Alliance Graphique Internationale), the international graphic design organisation.

Can you tell us about the origins of Fukt Magazine and how you became involved with it? What are your aspirations for the future of the Magazine?

I became involved after meeting my partner, Björn Hegardt, the founder of Fukt magazine for drawing. It was one of the things that connected us — a shared love for drawing. For me, as a designer who did a lot of drawing, and for him, as an artist, it was a natural meeting point. Björn started the magazine during his time at art school in Norway in 1999 because there was no publication dedicated to fine art drawing at the time — no platform for it. Even today, Fukt remains one of the very few. When I joined, the magazine’s design was charming but had a somewhat zine-like feel. I took over the design, and Björn, to his credit, let me do so without much hesitation. The redesign played a significant role in the magazine’s growing recognition over the years. The cover concepts, in particular, go beyond simply saying «drawing magazine». Each issue involves playful experiments with materials, ideas, or concepts related to its theme. Typography also plays a central role—after all, type is drawn, making it closely connected to drawing. This approach attracts not only designers and artists but also a broader audience interested in drawing. I always aim for cover designs that reflect the theme of drawing or the specific issue’s topic. While that should seem obvious, many magazines settle for just putting a photo on the cover. For me, the design process is driven by an inner need for ideas and concepts that make sense and reveal something intriguing. A good design might create a moment of surprise, play, or joy—that’s my measure of quality. So far, it’s worked well.

Fukt has just released its 22nd issue. It’s been around for a long time, steadily growing — like a snail, slowly but surely. This summer, we hosted an exhi-bition in Berlin, primarily featuring artists from the city who had previously been showcased in the magazine. The sense of community among these drawing artists was heart warming and rewarding. However, our main focus remains creating compelling issues and sharing them with the world. We’re particularly excited about our latest issue, themed Nature. The process of interviewing artists and delving deeper into their work has been immensely satisfying.

"I don't always know what I am doing, and I think that's really important."

Their work and the conversations are something we get better at with each issue. So we do and learn in the same way the magazine evolves. We don’t want to change it into a faster-paced endeavour or turn it into something that feels like work. It is a ton of work, but it’s manageable (alongside all our other projects, my design work, and Björn’s art) because it only happens once a year. But how can you grow a magazine? I love the idea of it getting bigger in terms of print run and spreading further across the world. Our readers are everywhere, and I love that. Drawing is so important for humanity — it’s such a fundamental form of artistic expression. With its many levels of expertise and intention, it remains one of our human languages that must be spoken, read, and looked at. I also believe we remain so deeply invested in Fukt because we do so much other work as well, which keeps it from becoming boring.

Can you share a bit about your journey into graphic design and the role of typography in your work?

I have a family background in design and art, so it was quite a natural beginning.

I drew, painted, and photographed a lot as a child and teenager. I had a big interest in all things creative — it felt easy and natural. Typography, however, followed a different path. I wasn’t into type at all when I started design school.

I didn’t know what to do with it beyond learning standard typesetting. I couldn’t understand the fascination with the rules and details that type designers focused on — it all seemed so technical. Then I came across more expressive designs with typography, where type was allowed to take on behaviour, materiality, illustration, or narration. Suddenly, it looked joyful, and it wasn’t just about doing things right anymore. I suppose that’s how I sometimes use typography to this day — as a carrier of a visual idea beyond its meaning. Typography often feels like an image to me.

"Perhaps it’s a useful measure in our profession, ensuring we don’t get too comfortable. Trying to do things you haven’t done before is one of the most important — and most difficult challenges. It’s really hard. I often feel like my own Don Quixote, battling the windmills of repetition and comfortable sameness."

What has been the most rewarding project you've worked on so far, and why is that so?

Fukt magazine for drawing, as a continuous project, is definitely a rewarding one. It has brought me atten-tion, new opportunities, and the chance to travel with it— to book fairs, talks, and conferences. It also involves a lot of people; the artists and contributors to the magazine form a vibrant drawing community. It’s a non-client-controlled playground for typography and design. I am also particularly proud of a public art project in Berlin — a design for a construction fence featuring extensive writings on «Borders». This was a more artistic project, with the texts written and rewritten by me. It meant much more than a typical client project — it was entirely me, which is a very different experience for a designer.

How would you describe your design philosophy, and how has it evolved over the years?

While I think of myself as a very intuitive designer, I believe I follow an inner path: an idea, concept, and aesthetics need to align with the topic in a way that feels satisfying to me. That satisfaction is partly «making sense», partly «surprise», and partly «looking good». I cannot describe it more precisely. If I were to define my design philosophy and articulate it more clearly, it would mean I’d have to follow it rigidly — it would be set in stone. I believe that if you define your work or way of working too much, some of the magic is lost. I don’t always know exactly what I’m doing, and I think that’s really important.

How do you use typography to evoke emotions and convey the essence of a brand or a message?

Typography has such an immense range of expressions. It represents certain eras in history and is inherently connected to ways of thinking, making it highly referential in many ways. Because typography is essentially a drawing, it carries all the readable and visual quirks you find in drawings too — the slickness, roughness, loudness, elegance, or fun — whatever you want it to be. You just have to choose, alter, and adjust it until it conveys and expresses exactly what you intend. On top of that, you fill it with meaning through words, giving it things to say, so in essence, there are no real limits.

"For me, kindness also means taking others seriously, investing time, doing my best, and showing respect."

What methods do you use to stay inspired and keep your work fresh and innovative?

I have no idea if my work is fresh or innovative. I often feel that everyone else is more experimental and adventurous than I am. Part of that is true, and part of it is a healthy dose of imposter syndrome that I’ll probably never shake. Perhaps it’s a useful measure in our profession, ensuring we don’t get too comfortable. Trying to do things you haven’t done before is one of the most important — and most difficult challenges. It’s really hard. I often feel like my own Don Quixote, battling the windmills of repetition and comfortable sameness.

When it comes to inspiration, I don’t think it’s about the inspiration itself, but about being in the right moment to receive it. It’s about having the right mindset to let new impressions flow in. We aren’t always ready for that. When I travel, I tend to be more open and receptive to allowing new elements into my “pot” of visual ideas and possible solutions. Inspiration isn’t a single light bulb moment for me either. Usually, it’s the act of working-through process and testing — that leads to results. The work itself can guide you. When a design “leaves your body” and you step back to see it from the outside, it can trigger you to explore this or that direction further.

What role do values of kindness play in your design practice and why do you think it is important?

I don’t think kindness comes into my work in an obvious way. For me, it’s more about the values of working with clients — thinking about and genuinely caring for the field they work in (easier in culture, more challenging in advertising).

That said, I haven’t specifically addressed the topic of kindness per se. But kindness is essential in every aspect of life. A bad day can be transformed into a good one through a kind comment or a thoughtful reaction. Humans feel so much better and more hopeful when kindness is extended to them. On the other hand, unkindness, anger, or aggression can leave a profound and often unforeseen impact on others. As a form of visual communication, design —especially graphic design — is fundamentally about «communication», and this is where kindness becomes so important. For me, kindness also means taking others seriously, investing time, doing my best, and showing respect.

What advice would you give to aspiring designers who want to incorporate empathy and kindness into their own work and career?

Look at the way you work and how you treat others. That also includes setting boundaries when others aren’t kind. I genuinely believe this is a very basic goal everyone should strive for — after all, who wants to work with unpleasant people? If you can find or create projects that focus more on this topic, even better. But ultimately, I think kindness starts as a fundamental work ethic.

How do you envision the role of empathy and kindness in the future of the design industry?

My hope is that, in the light of AI, we instead learn to place greater value on working with human designers. I hope for a counterbalance to machine-driven outputs: that human interaction, communication, and the exchange of ideas and creativity become more appreciated and sought after. I’d like to think this could lead to a recognition and rediscovery of humanness, with all its imperfections — a deeper understanding of what it means to be human, of our need for interaction, work, and creativity. That we might see the importance of the making itself for the survival of the human race. For me, this isn’t about kindness or empathy within the industry; it’s about the survival of design and, by extension, mankind on a cultural level. Design is a profoundly human activity, like art — it has propelled us forward, not only through its products and outcomes but also through the thought processes and contemplations behind it. We give form to our surroundings, whether in architecture, objects, images, typography, or language. Through these, we express who we are and what we think; they reflect our histories, traditions, futures, dreams, and our understanding of ourselves. I can’t predict the future, and I don’t fully understand AI — what it’s really doing, how it will evolve, or how we’ll use it.

I do see its value in areas like science, medicine, and text, where vast amounts of data must be processed and evaluated. But if we give up on creating, thinking, and making, handing over these inherently human acts entirely to an artificial species just because it’s faster, then we are essentially retiring from humanity.

This interview is part of the Now More Than Ever 2024 Fight for Kindness Annual book

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The Fight For Kindness 2025 Call for entries is open, and the deadline is fast approaching!

Fight For Kindness is a global initiative that promotes the extended values of kindness through typographic posters. To participate, designers are invited to submit artwork by May 31, 2025 that contains an inspirational headline/message for a more empathic, inclusive and positive world.  

Let’s start changing this world together by doing our small part and promoting the values of kindness, respect, community and humanity together.

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