Prof. Bela Stetzer

Corporate design, strategic brand development and management, brand architecture, brand communication, cross-media design and project work in an interdisciplinary context

Career history

Béla Stetzer studied Visual Communication at the University of Kassel and at the Karlsruhe University of Art and Design. After completing his studies, he worked as a communication designer and exhibition designer. From 1999 to 2005, he was in sole charge of the Corporate Design department at Munich Re. Through his practice, Stetzer Kommunikationsdesign, he has been working since 2006 in the fields of communication design, corporate design, brand development and corporate consultancy for clients including ARTE, the Dornier Museum in Friedrichshafen, Dräger Medical, DVVI, Einstürzende Neubauten, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, GEZ and Phaidon Press. The focus of his work lies in the development of holistic design systems at the interface between two- and three-dimensional design. This includes, for example, his contribution to the signage and wayfinding system for Deutsche Bahn, the design of the ‘Knowledge/Information/Communication’ exhibition at the Expo 2000 theme park in Hanover, and his contribution to the visual identity of the ARTE television channel in the field of corporate print design. His work has been recognised with awards including the Eyes & Ears Award, Berliner Type, 100 Best Posters, the Gold Medal at the Toyama Poster Triennial, the Gold Medal at the Invision Award, the iF Award and the Red Dot Award.

From 2005 to 2013, he worked as a lecturer in the Intermedia department at FhV Dornbirn in Austria, teaching subjects including corporate communication, intermedia production, corporate design, and branding & communication. In 2016, he was appointed Professor of Corporate Identity at Hochschule München. In addition to teaching on corporate design, he leads cross-media projects that take a practical, real-world approach to examining the consistency of a company’s holistic identity through the interplay of brand architecture, corporate culture, design strategy, corporate communication and entrepreneurial practice.