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CV

Since 3/2023

Creative Director FOCUS Magazine

Publishing house: Hubert Burda Media, Berlin

7/2020 - 2/2023

Head of Design Zentrum Hamburg

Design Zentrum Hamburg is an institution that is part of the Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft to promote design and the city's creative industry. A space for exhibitions, events, workshops, experiments, discussions and interdisciplinary exchange on design issues.

design-zentrum-hamburg.de

2019 - 2020

Creative Direction

Design, strategy, concepts, consulting, lectures and workshops. Among other projects, redesign of DER SPIEGEL

2013 - 2019

Creative Direction STERN, Member of the editorial board

Stern Magazine, Crime, Dr. v. Hirschhausens Gesund Leben, Special editions (Reise, Mode, Ratgeber, Thema), stern.de, Publishing house Gruner+Jahr GmbH

2010 - 2013

Projects + Books

TAZ (Die Tageszeitung) ProQuote Sonderausgabe, MAX Sonderausgabe, VITAL, XX - politisches Frauenmagazin, WIE EINFACH (Magazine for EON), BERLIN - Hauptstadt für die Wissenschaft (Publishing house ZEIT Tempus Corporate GmbH), Book design (selection): Cool Camping by Björn Staschen, Das neue Testament by Axel Sven Springer, Underground by Julian Assange, Wir wollen eine andere Welt - Jugend in Deutschland, 1900-2010 by Fred Grimm, Berlin 3D by Arne Weychardt, Cover Concepts: TECHNOLOGY REVIEW, GEHIRN + GEIST, FOCUS, EMOTION, GEO special 

2005 - 2009

Creative Direction ZEIT WISSEN

Additional: development and launch ZEIT STUDIENFÜHRER und ZEIT WISSEN RATGEBER, Publishing house Gerd Bucerius GmbH & Co. KG

 

2004

Freelance Artdirection

STERN Campus + Karriere, STERN Gesund Leben (Cover), GEO + VIEW (Cover), SPIRIT Lifestyle-Magazine (development for the Publishing house Axel-Springer SE)

 

2001 - 2004 

Creative Direction ALLEGRA

Additional: ALLEGRA Woman & Work

Publishing house Axel-Springer SE

 

1999 - 2001 

SPIEGEL-Reporter

Head of the graphic department

Publishing house Spiegel-Verlag

 

1993 - 1999

BRIGITTE, STERN, KONR@D

Cover Design, Picture Editor, Graphic Design

Publishing house Gruner+Jahr GmbH

1988-1993

Studies

Visual Communication und Fine Arts, Universität Kassel, Graduation with distinction

Awards

 

Excellent work is almost always a team effort. Many thanks to all the great people I had the pleasure of working with.

Art Directors Club

1   Grand Prix

4   Gold

12  Silver

24  Bronze

25  Merit

Lead Award

1   Gold

2   Silver

3   Bronze

15  Merit 

Nannen-Preis

3x  First Place in Photography 

Awards for photographers, publication in STERN.

World Press Photo 

5x  First Place

5x  Second Place

3x  Third Place 

Awards for photographers, publication in STERN.

​European Magazine Award 2025

  • Magazine Story of the Year (Focus Magazin – "Ich wünschte, diese Fotos gäbe es nicht")

  • Photography – Portrait(Focus Magazin – "Out of Gaza")

  • Storytelling Feature,Report,Q&A (Focus Magazin – "Seid wachsam, bleibt Mensch"!)

Talks + Keynotes

 

Kunsthochschule  Berlin Weißensee

Lecture in the context of  »Jitsi Bisti Spider«, 1/2024 
https://jitsi-bitsi-spider.kh-berlin.de 

»The design market in Hamburg«

Creative Ports — Cultural and Creative industries (CCI) in the Baltic Sea region. Sustainable Design Lab, 2021 

»Design means business«

Reinventing Media Business, Riga/Lettland, 2019

»The future of reading«

FURE, Münster, 2019

»The future of magazines«

Art Directors Club - Festival, 2019

»Editorial Design im Stern-Kosmos. Zur Gestaltung einer Markenwelt«

Staatliche Akademie der Künste, Stuttgart, 2018

»Peter Lindbergh – Der Mann, der die Frauen liebt«

Kunsthalle München, 2017

»Propaganda, Ikonisierung und Emotion. Bildidentitäten und ihre Wirkungsmacht als Teil medialer Kommuni­kation«

Imaginata, Jena, 2016

»Bilder im Kopf«

Photo-Convention Zingst, 2015

»Editorial Design für Journalisten«

Henri Nannen Schule, 2014

»Wissenschaftsfotografie im digitalen Zeitalter«

Technische Universität Dortmund, Chair of Science Journalism, 2010

Teaching + Workshops

Meisterschule für Grafik- und Kommunikationsdesign, Wien

Lecture and Q+A with Antje Mayer-Salvi, 2023

Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart

Workshop, Editorial Design + Magazine development, 2018 + 2019

Forward Festival München

Workshop »The cover is the brand«, 2019

Portfolio Slam Editoral Design

Jury Member, Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft + PAGE, 2019

Kunstschule Wandsbek, Akademie für Kommunikationsdesign

Editorial Design + Portfolio Views, 2016 + 2019

Design Factory International 

Member of the examination board, 2019, 2021, 2022

Henri-Nannen-Journalistenschule 

Lecturer for Editorial Design, training of several years on the topic of newspapers + magazines, 2012 to 2015, 2020

Hochschule für Künste Bremen

Jury member for the award of the university prize,

2010 to 2013

Press + Publications

 

NDR Hamburg Journal: Future Fashion Project

Die Zukunft der Mode, 11/2022

https://www.ndr.de/fernsehen/sendungen/hamburg_journal/Hamburg-Journal,sendung1296708.html

SAT 1 Regional: Future Fashion Project

Mode der Zukunft: Gemeinsames Projekt zwischen China und Hamburg, 11/2022

https://www.sat1regional.de/mode-der-zukunft-gemeinsames-projekt-zwischen-china-und-hamburg/

PAGE Brands und Nachwuchs: Der Portfolio Slam

Drei drei mutige Nachwuchstalente im Design Zentrum Hamburg 

https://page-online.de/branche-karriere/brands-und-nachwuchs-das-war-der-fuenfte-portfolio-slam/

 

PAGE Magazine: Designxport becomes Design Zentrum Hamburg

About Design Zentrum Hamburg, 02/2022

https://page-online.de/branche-karriere/designxport-wird-zu-design-zentrum-hamburg/

Menschen, Marken, Medien, Hamburg 1 TV

Talk (12/2021, 40 Min.), Host: Peter Heinlein, Guests: Claudia Fischer-Appelt and Lars Kreyenhagen (Karl Anders Agency) + me.

https://hamburg1.de/mediathek/43514

Der grüne Faden - von Kreativ zu Jura und zurück!

Podcast with Britta Klingberg (Kanzlei Fechner) 
and Yolanda v. Zitzewitz, 27/10/20

https://open.spotify.com/show/7yxyVNyQvVAGE905trhUug

Hamburger Abendblatt

About designxport + me, 11/9/20

https://www.abendblatt.de/kultur-live/article230384954/Frances-Uckermann-Design-muss-erlebbar-sein.html

NDR TV Hamburg Journal 

About designxport + me, broadcasted 15/7/20

PAGE Magazine

Interview about magazine design, 09/2019

https://shop.page-online.de/shop/page-9-2019/

Photonews

Interview about photography at "Stern", 02/2017

NDR TV Medienmagazin Zapp

TV program about photo reporters, broadcasted 4/10/2019

RTL Nord TV

Contribution to "70 years of Stern", broadcasted 9/19/2019

Osmos Magazine, New York

Portraits of New York artists by Frances Uckermann, 04/2017

Jurys + Organizations

 

Member of the "Deutscher Designtag"

As representative of the Design Zentrum Hamburg, 2022-2023

www.designtag.org

Member of the Media Committee of the "Deutscher Kulturrat"

As representative of the Design Zentrum Hamburg, 2022-2023

www.kulturrat.de

Karl H. Ditze Preis - Förderpreis

Jury Member, Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften Hamburg, 2020, 2021, 2022

Der Neue BFF Förderpreis

Jury Member, Bund Freischaffender Fotografen, 2020

http://www.foerderpreis.bff.de

D+AD London

Jury Member, Design of Magazines and Newspapers, digitally + print, 2018

ADC – Art Directors Club Deutschland

Jury Member, all years since 2015
2017 + 2022: Head of the Editorial Jury

https://www.adc.de/2019/03/14/adc-kopf-frances-uckermann/

ADCE – Art Directors Club Europe

Member

https://www.adceurope.org

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie

Member since 2017

Lead Awards

Jury Member 2015, 2016

Rückblende

Jury Member, Prize for Political Photography and Caricature of the State Representation of Rhineland-Palatinate, the Federal Association of German Newspaper Publishers and the Federal Press Conference, 2016, 2017

Illu16

Jury Member, Illustration competition, Köln, 2016

Henri-Nannen-Preis 

Jury member of the preliminary jury photography, 2014

We are Open

Independent agency network, since 2019

LeBook

Jury Member

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