In conversation with Klimaite Klimaite
Sisters Laura & Indrė talk about working together on typographical solutions for cultural clients
‘In conversation’ is Playground’s newsletter series, where we invite friends, acquaintances, and individuals we admire to share their creative thoughts and explore the art of playfulness.
Playground Readers,
Long time, no interview. This time round, I’m very excited to introduce you to Lithuanian-born, Berlin-based sister duo Klimaite Klimaite – whose work you’ve probably pinned on Pinterest more than once.
I met Laura through a mentoring programme, and I’ve been so impressed not only by their work, but also by their honesty and deeply human approach to design. The level of thought they put into every little detail is truly inspiring.
We’re thrilled to have them featured here, especially as our Playground Issue 4 launch event; happening in just two weeks, will take place in their intimate and cosy design studio in the heart of Berlin. We can’t wait! Come by for a chat, or forward this conversation (and the invite) to your Berlin friends.
And while you’re here… Playground Issue 4 pre-orders are now open. First to order, first to receive.
Over to Laura and Indre, aka Klimaite Klimaite, and their curious minds – loved every bit of it.
What has been taking up most of your mind lately?
Indre: To find time, space and motivation for continuing my free work. And how to get rich.
Laura: Balancing roles: me as a designer, a mother, a wife, a friend, a sister, a student, a woman. How to work efficiently and earn more money.
What is one subject you’ve been interested in recently that is completely unrelated to your area of work?
Indre: Renovating my summer house. Learning and dancing tango.
Laura: Creation of a daily-life through the lens of a cosmic consciousness.
Where would you take us if we asked you to give us a one-day tour of the city you live in?
Indre: Probably a stroll around the Maybachufer canal, coffee, then an early drink on a rooftop of Neukoelln Arcaden, then finish for a sunset in Tempelhofer Field.
Laura: From Treptower Park, a walk along the river Spree, stopping at Zenner Biergarten. Then taking a BVG ferry to another side of the shore (Wilhelmstrand station), walking along summer garden houses, and finally reaching Funkhaus. Enjoying around and chilling on the shore.
Snap a picture of your creative space / work desk right now! No cheating – do not tidy up.
What are the books/films/podcasts/any piece of media that truly influenced how you perceive creative work?
Indre: TBH I don’t engage in the media that has to do with my profession much, I watch zombie movies as I need to switch off. What truly inspires me is art, from classical to contemporary.
Laura: Dutch education. Limiting information from outside helps me to listen to myself and find my own creative ways. I am influenced by the places I live in and by the people I meet.
If you had one extra day in a week – what would you use it on?
Indre: Reading books
Laura: I would either develop my creative project (because I am a postgraduate student now!) or watch Soft White Underbelly channel (interviews and portraits of the human condition) on YouTube all day!
What is the one fail you made in your career that you would be happy to repeat?
Indre: None of fails that became a lucky accident, they have unfortunately stayed fails.. Maybe when I was 21 I gave up my job in advertising agency, left my boyfriend, and moved away from Lithuania to study in the Netherlands, to what I thought would be typography, just to figure out later it was a type design.
Laura: Cannot somehow come up with a real fail… Only mistakes that I am learning from.
What are the ways you incorporate play into your daily work?
Indre: Creative process is a play in itself. If you are bored, you are doing something wrong.
Laura: Margarita for lunch (preferably on a rooftop).
As a sister duo, how did you decide to work together and form the studio partnership?
Before we moved to Berlin, we worked separately. After we started to look for tables to rent and ended up renting tables in the same co-working space. We started being involved in each other's creative process much closer, we realised we profit from feedbacking each other a lot. So Laura had this idea to make a studio together that took 2 years to convince Indre.
What does a ‘perfect’ project brief look like for you?
Cultural client that knows our work and style. Clarity, clear and realistic deadlines, material on time, good budget.
You mostly work with cultural initiatives and institutions – what do you think sets that work apart from more commercial design projects?
It is not so much about serving or fitting the taste or understanding of so called mythical ‘average consumer’ or target audience. Our audience is our client: a curator, art historian, artist, musician, writer, philosopher.
Posters, exhibition identities and books seem very close to your heart – how do you typically begin a new project in those areas?
Brainstorm.
Berlin is a vibrant design and cultural hub – how does being based there shape or influence your work and your view of the cultural sector?
Berlin shapes rather political and social views that influences us and sometimes our work.
When designing for cultural institutions (e.g. exhibitions or books, editorials), you often deal with content that has history, significance or archival material – how do you approach working with that kind of content versus something entirely new?
We often (if not always) find inspiration in the content, it gives us answers for the formal and visual expression. That is why for us it is important to work with meaningful assignments.
Looking ahead, are there areas or formats you’d like to explore more – such as digital, immersive, or motion design – or new sectors outside the cultural sphere you’d like to engage with?
Laura would like to explore analog formats of how to express content to people through storytelling, tours, lectures, and discussions. Indre would be interested in the fashion sector.
To keep up with Indrė & Laura, follow their studio on Instagram. Also, check out their personal work & projects: Indrė’s www.kompotas.lt & Laura’s lauraklimaitelusa.com
🗓️ Thursday, 20th of November
🕡 starts 18:00
📍 Klimaite Klimaite Studio, Ackerstraße 152, Berlin
Come by, bring a friend, and share an evening with studio playground!
Housekeeping
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Thank you for reading,
Auste & Playground team