Fork(Hamburg, Germany)

Fork Unstable Media was founded in 1996. The current partnership consists of Jeremy Tai Abbett, David Linderman and Manuel Funk. The partners, along with a young team of American and German designers, programmers, and brand experts known for solving communication problems with unusual but effective ideas, round out the Fork team. Much of Fork's inspiration comes from questioning the seriousness of current media programming or propaganda and juxtaposing this seriousness with humor and a healthy lack of respect. Clients include Beiersdorf AG, makers of Nivea skin products, Lufthansa Systems Network, a daughter firm of Lufthansa Systems, Universal and Urban Records Germany, Reemtsma (a tobacco manufacturer), and the Media Academy Cologne, to name a few.

Fork Unstable Media's idiosyncratic vision has been widely recognized by the press, and many projects have been published in books and magazines. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has acquired three of Fork's projects for their permanent collection. "The most interesting interaction is that of a baby and its environment", says Jeremy Abbett. "A baby has little experience to base its reactions upon, so multiple attempts are made. This is not unlike the way we like to create a lot of our interfaces for navigation. Users may not understand it at first, but after successive attempts, they will be able to assimilate the meaning. To move ahead we have to keep things fun and frustrating, and at the same time make sure that it still remains playful."

Visualizing IT: Lufthansa Systems Network:

When Fork Unstable Media began conceptualizing the site for Lufthansa Systems Network, one of the information technology (IT) agencies of Germany's top airline, the designers took it as a special challenge to visualize a vast network of interdisciplinary IT departments under the company's head office in Hamburg, Germany.

Lufthansa Systems Network provides sophisticated infrastructure IT services for clients around the world. Fork Unstable Media developed a three-dimensional, java-based navigation tool that succeeds in visualizing the sheer scope and intricacy of this network. The 3-D navigation encourages browsing complex topics and services within a simple information hierarchy. As the user concentrates on a particular theme, the navigation zooms into a focused representation of immediately related topics. The 3-D model can be manipulated by users, allowing them a feeling of how the various points of the model relate to one another and as a whole. Audio clues are also used, as well as visual clues that respond to the user's actions.

Client Lufthansa Systems Network/POB Team Jeremy Tai Abbett, creative director// Manuel Funk, project manager// Jan-Michael Studt, technologist// Andrea Mittmann, screen designer Since March 1999 Target Clients and decision makers interested in the IT services Lufthansa Systems Network has to offer

Tools Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Allair Homesite Builder Awards Bronze Award from the German Multimedia Awards in the Business to Business category