“Pain & Ideas” was developed during the workshop week Utopic Offices, led by Teresa Schönherr. The brief: create a poster about alternative working structures. With a tight deadline, we quickly moved from moodboard to concept — inventing a fictional agency called “Pain & Ideas.”

Our chosen metaphor was bread-making as a collective, structured practice. I designed one of the proposed uniform pieces: this cap. The visual direction drew from team-building imagery, corporate photography, and surreal office furniture. We divided tasks using a kitchen-style workflow: defined stations, shared timing, and a clear goal.

In parallel, we analysed current marketing strategies for cooperative workspaces, using them to shape — and question — our approach. As part of the “agency launch,” we designed a cafeteria tray insert containing our group manifesto, written in the tone of a fast-food brand.

We closed the project by photographing our prototype together.
Team: Alexandra Vögtle, Nicola Iljučoková, Su Kim, and Maria Neri.