Storytelling
Design
Photography
Socio-political
Role
Designer, Photographer
Company
Freelance project
Platform
iOS, Android
Year
2023
Design can’t repair violence. But it can decide how stories are carried. This project began with listening...
Project Overview
“Springerstiefel & Lederhosen” is a multimedia research project examining neo-Nazi violence in the Meran area (South Tyrol, Italy) in the early 2000s. The exhibition works as storytelling and combines photography, text, graphics, and audio interviews with affected individuals and people who actively resisted right-wing extremism.
In the Burggrafenamt region, right-wing extremist violence in the early 2000s was rarely documented or publicly addressed. Many experiences remained invisible, fragmented, or marginalized in collective memory.
Problem statement
Right-wing violence was superficially publicly addressed
Personal experiences remained invisible, to be forgotten
Scattered information
No multimedia approach to learn about
How can a physical exhibition spaces be meaningfully connected to digital storytelling?
Goal
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Research in archives and collecting interviews
Provide a low-threshold entry into the topic
Make marginalized experiences visible trough multimedia
Preserve personal testimonies and acts of resistance trough audio
Orientation and clarity across media
Exhibition as a space for information and encounter
My Role
I was responsible for the research, photography, and visual identity of the project. It was a collaboration between me and Mara Stirner, who handled the interviews and texts. Springerstiefel & Lederhosen was one of the winning projects of the Weigh Station call, a regional financial support initiative for cultural and creative projects.
Research
Visual Identity
Storytelling
Photography, Graphic design
Exhibition Design
TARGET AUDIENCE
Springerstiefel & Lederhosen was exhibited in various cultural centers in South Tyrol. The target audience of the exhibition were people with different backgrounds. That’s why we had to make sure, everybody can access the information in the exhibition.
Various levels of knowledge
Witnesses & people from the same area
Sociocultural- interested people
Younger audience with no background
German or italian speaking
Multimedial documentation
The following fragments show graphics and photographs which are part of the multimedia exhibition.
The project is designed as a narrative space. Visitors decide independently how deeply they want to engage with the content.
Text
Historical and social framing
Graphics
Orientation, visual identity
Photography Connection to audio, spatial context
Audio Interviews Personal voices and lived experiences
Postcards for the visitors with phrases society was saying during that time, in local dialect and qr-code on the back.
Portraits of involved people
The anonymization of the faces of the individuals in the portraits affected the style of the photography. It was chosen by us to
guarantee privacy and safety. With each photograph, we included a quote from their interview.
Ich bin damals immer mit einem Blick über die Schulter durch Meran gegangen
Alle Jugendlichen, die alternativ gekleidet waren, waren ein Feindbild
Wir haben schon früh versucht die Problematik anzusprechen
- auch über Musik
Object memories
I photographed different objects that the affected people brought to the interviews. Among them were a photograph of a blue eye taken after a neo-Nazi attack, an old mobile phone on which the person had received threatening SMS messages, a framed punk mohawk belonging to the interviewed person, a poem about that period of their life and so on. These objects carry strong, deeply personal memories.
From offline to online
Visitors could listen to the audio interviews through tablets integrated into the exhibition. Using QR codes, we
connected the offline exhibition experience with visitors’ smartphones, extending the interaction beyond the physical space.
People appreciated the idea that they could continue listening to the interviews at home.
WHATS NEXT
The exhibitions and the underlying research received very positive feedback from visitors. Many were highly engaged and took the time to read, watch, and listen to the audio content, allowing them to dive deeper into the material. Currently, we are awaiting a new round of funding. The goal is to translate the complete research into a web-documentary project, making the content accessible through a structured, user-centered digital experience.
ETHICAL QUESTIONS
Made marginalized experiences visible for visitors with different background. Design carries social and ethical responsibility.
RESEARCH TO DESIGN
Research and media translated into spatial and editorial decisions. UX methods were applied beyond screens, focusing on experience, not interfaces.
CROSS-CHANNEL EXPERIENCE
Physical exhibition with integrated digital touchpoints. Audio works well as a narrative center.
CRITICAL CONTENT
How violent and emotionally heavy content can be communicated without overwhelming users. Responsibility toward affected individuals.
STRUGGLE WITH MEMORIES
Many people were hesitant to talk, even anonymously, and memories after 15–20 years were often incomplete.
