Prof. Laurent Lacour

Professor Laurent Lacour studied visual communication and art at the University of Art and Design in Offenbach, Germany. He is a managing partner of the “hauser lacour” design studio that has produced extensive and award-winning work, including branding and corporate design projects for, among others, Siemens, Sony, Swiss Re, Munich Re, Hager Group, TetraPak, De Gruyter, Fraport AG and Deutsche Börse Group. Its portfolio also includes projects for clients from the cultural sector, such as the Cologne Philharmonic Orchestra, the Museum for Modern Art in Frankfurt or Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florence. Laurent Lacour has taught at the universities of Zurich, Basel, Karlsruhe and Darmstadt. As of 2011, he was appointed to a full professorship at the design department of the University of Applied Sciences in Düsseldorf. 

Red Dot: How did you experience this year’s jury session?
Laurent Lacour: Of course, it was really different from past years. We worked independently in the digital space. Coordination with the other judges was a little bit more efficient. I very much liked that you could concentrate so well on the work and that you gained time through the digital approach to judging.

What role does storytelling play in branding today?
Modern brands are flexible, highly adaptive and organised in terms of processes. This has to do with the digital touchpoints. On this basis, storytelling is the focus of every modern brand development. That will continue to evolve. In the future, designers will have to think like filmmakers: in storyboards, strong narrative imagery and moving images.