I M Internazionale Milano, Magazines and Munich: we have a quick catch-up with Bureau Borsche 

Based in the Bavarian capital, Bureau Borsche is a globally-renowned design studio dedicated to crafting the highest quality design work for clients across cultural and commercial sectors – from luxury fashion houses to niche publications. Founder Mirko Borsche gives us a quick insight into their latest happenings, alongside a look to the future. 

PT Hi Mirko, how are you? 

MB I’m fine, how are you?

PT I’m well, thank you. How is the Bureau Borsche team structured at the moment? 

MB We are ten designers and one person who manages the office.

PT Do you all work primarily in the studio nowadays? What is the atmosphere like? 

MB Yes we do and it seems like everyone is happy with that, but to be completely sure you should ask the team. 

We always try to improve our work as designers.

PT Do you have any plans to expand or change the studio in any way?

MB The studio changes automatically by the tasks we have to work on. We always try to improve our work as designers and as a team and we are more than happy that we are able to work on all different kinds of projects. In June we’ll open up a small office in Milan, working on a magazine called STXDYOZ.

PT What makes Munich a great city for designers? 

MB It’s a small city, with a lot of nature in and around it. Life quality is quite high and people are friendly but weird.

PT Since you first established Bureau Borsche, how has the city around you changed? 

MB The city grew fast, a lot of tech companies settled down, like Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc. which made Munich priceless for a lot of people.

PT Out of your most recent projects, which one have you most enjoyed working on? 

MB I really enjoy most of the projects, but let’s take Haus der Kunst, to initiate your next question.

PT Your corporate identity for Haus der Kunst is such a dramatic shift from the prior identity. Were there any ideas for a more ‘pared-back’ look, or was this the direction the client was interested in from the offset? 

MB Actually that was the pared-back look of all the designs we showed and Andrea Lissoni did a bold decision on changing the identity, but you can’t ignore the heritage of that building, it is the right idea to contrast the concept of the Nazi regimes architecture and to make that museum a happy place.

Numero Berlin was art directed by some of the best art directors I know.

PT What challenges did you face while working on the art direction and design for Numero?

MB Numero Paris is one of the best art-directed magazines in the fashion industry for ages, Numero Berlin was art directed by some of the best art directors I know. There is a lot of pressure not to fail, we struggled taking that task, but working with Götz Offergeld was eye-opening. It’s rare these days, that people trust you and your decisions 100% and he does.

PT Do you find the time to explore personal projects outside of client work? 

MB Yes, but tiny ones like ‘THE ORDER OF THINGS.’

PT What did you learn from your work for IM Internazionale Milano that helped with Venezia FC?  

MB Actually both projects happened to be parallel and except for football and Italy, they don’t have much in common.

PT Football fans are obviously incredibly passionate and changes to the brands of their clubs can be subject to debate. How was your work received? Were there any reactions that stood out to you?

MB Changes are rarely received positively, which might be rooted in the human DNA. We learned all different sorts of Italian swearing words, maybe all of them, but after all, everyone seems to be happy with the result.

Bureau Borsche