About
Nguyen Gobber is a design practice helping the cultural and academic fields to leave a profound impression through distinctive visual identities and thoughtful editorial designs.
Expertise
Background
Nguyen Gobber is the collaborative practice of Hoang Nguyen and David Gobber. They have studied visual communication in renowned institutions such as Klasse Hickmann at the University of the Arts in Berlin and the Academy of Arts and Design (with major in typography) in Basel. To deepen their knowledge in design further, they completed the international postgraduate programme of the Basel Academy of Art and Design and received an M.A. in Visual Communication and Iconic Research for their master’s theses on metaphorical design concepts and the visualisation of utopian ideas. In addition, they developed expertise in type design through courses led by Prof. Philipp Stamm at the HGK Basel, Matthias Pauwels at the SfG Basel, Dinamo at UdK Berlin, and Hannes Famira from Type@Cooper.
Before founding Nguyen Gobber, they worked at various highly regarded design studios such as Hubertus Design, NODE Berlin, Raffinerie, and others. In these contexts and/or under their own name, Hoang Nguyen and David Gobber have so far designed for HKW Haus der Kulturen der Welt, MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), Swiss Federal Office of Culture (FOC), Greenpeace Switzerland, The Basel School of Design, Basel Academy of Art and Design, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, University of the Arts Berlin, Museum Rietberg, Kunstmuseum Luzern, Verlag Baselland, Russell Perkins, FHNW School of Architecture, University of Vienna, Adobe, and others.
Testimonials
“The collaboration with Hoang and David was characterised by great openness right from the start. […] The joint brochure project was a lot of fun—while meeting all deadlines and commitments. Hoang and David also have great expertise in materials and printing processes, as a client I have always felt very well advised.” [translated] (Mag. Susanne Häberle, Corporate Communications, University of Vienna)
“It was a pleasure to work together. I always looked forward to our conversations, and I learned something from each step in the revision process. Hoang and David were efficient, reliable, carefully attentive to the details and ready to offer multiple solutions to every problem. I hope we can continue working together in the future!” (Russell Perkins, MA MFA, Artist)
“Although the skill with which it has been crafted stands out, it does not descend into art pour l’art. It is rare for typography to be executed with such love and joy, and rare for it to be accorded so much time and space.” (Swiss Federal Office of Culture on The Future Tense)
“Hoang Nguyen and David Gobber design courage for the future by giving utopias a concrete form to look at.” [translated] (FuturZwei, Foundation for Sustainability)
“Beyond Concrete was a great challenge due to the extremely diverse contributions. Nguyen Gobber, together with the Basel graphic designer Bosco Ferreira, mastered this challenge brilliantly and created a great book. The collaboration was cooperative, professional and very inspiring.” (Barbara Lenherr, Dipl. Arch. ETH, FHNW Institute of Architecture)
“I’ve heard a lot of people rave about the V# magazine that Hoang and David worked on. They say: The design! The colours! The print! And I’m quick to add: The creative process! The support! The reliability! With Hoang and David, the V# magazine was in good hands right from the start, because they combine inspiring design ideas, a clear organisation and an orientation towards the wishes of the client.” (Amos Postner, MA PhD Candidate, Author)
Our typefaces are trusted and used by various institutions and firms, including …
Awards Events Press
2023
2022
- Feature in “Typodarium 2023” Verlag Hermann Schmidt
- Exhibition and feature at International Poster Competition 2022 (Selection)
- Feature of Lucifer in PAGE Magazine 11.22 and Page Online
- Feature of Lucifer on Creative Boom
- Article about Lucifer on It's Nice That
- Design Work Grant by Pro Helvetia, Swiss Art Council
- Mentorship of Master’s Thesis at HGK FHNW Masterstudio Design
- Feature and How-To article on Adobe
- Feature in “New Aesthetics 3” Sorry Press
- Feature in “Re-imagine Bizarre Type” SendPoints
- The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2021
- Guest critique and talk at the Peter Behrens School of Arts, Düsseldorf
- Article “Bilder für Utopien finden” on Skug.at
2021
- Article “Utopien visualisieren” on FUTURZWEI, Stiftung Zukunftsfähigkeit
- Exhibition “We, Ourselves, and Us” at Weltformat Festival in Lucerne
- Exhibition “SWISS MAX” at the Taiwan Design Museum in Taipei
- Lecture and Guide on “How to Design Scientific Posters” at the ETH Zürich
- Article on It's Nice That
- Feature in #JapanRevisited202x book by the Austrian Cultural Forum in Tokyo
- 100 Beste Plakate 2020 (Finalist)
2020
- Exhibition “ALLstars” at PDP Conference in Novi Sad
- Exhibition “Serigraphy: The Art of Poster Printing” at Weltformat in Lucerne
- Exhibition #JapanRevisited202x by the Austrian Cultural Forum in Tokyo
- Exhibition #JapanRevisited202x at Ars Electronica in Linz
- Exhibition at Golden Bee Global Biennale of Graphic Design in Moscow
- 100 Beste Plakate 2019 (Winner)
2019
- Exhibition and feature at Graphic Design Festival Scotland 2019
- 100 Beste Plakate 2018 (Finalist)
- Exhibition on Swiss Graphic Design at Teh-Chun Art Gallery in Taipei
- Feature in “Welcome To Typocracy” Type Design Publication by Fontself
- Article on Design&Paper
- Talk at OPEN HOUSE 2019 Basel Academy of Art and Design
2018
- Exhibition at grafikSCHWEIZ 18
- 100 Beste Plakate 2017 w/ Hubertus Design (Winner)
- Exhibition Regionale19 at E-WERK in Freiburg
- Talk at Schule für Gestaltung Basel
2017
––We don’t participate in profit-driven competitions––