Who: Alina Günter is a graphic designer and illustrator working primarily for magazines.
When: Günter graduated in visual communication from HKB, Bern in 2008. She received the Certificate of Typographic Excellence of the Type Directors Club twice, in 2011 and 2010, as well as a Most Beautiful Swiss Books award in 2010 for the NZZ book series “Die neue Polis”. The design of the title and credits for the movie I Was a Swiss Banker by Thomas Imbach secured her the Zurich Film Award in 2007.
Where: Since 2008 Günter has worked as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer. She also worked for the graphic studio unfolded, Zurich, and designed the cover for the magazine Die Volkswirtschaft, which is published by the Federal Administration. Since 2012 Günter has had a regular mandate to produce the layout and illustrations for the Swiss politically committed journal [WOZ] (https://www.woz.ch/).
What: Günter possesses a large array of graphic design skills, ranging from typography to general layout design. Within her practice, she has developed a specific approach to illustration. She has evolved a dry storytelling style, sustained by the unconventional use of hand-made drawing using graphite and colour pencil, as well as ink drawings.
Her illustration work involves a deep understanding of the content she works with and a close collaboration with her client, in which she prefers to establish a long-lasting relationship in order to develop a compelling visual language.
Why: Günter creates “images that open a polysemic narration, images that feel weird and simple at the same time”, adding “I am looking for that tension between the reduction of the drawn motif and the complexity of the content.”
