Metahaven
(Netherlands). Live and work in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Metahaven is a studio for design and research based in Amsterdam. Metahaven's work - both commissioned and self-directed - reflects political and social issues in graphic design objects and media. The group's 2010 publication Uncorporate Identity investigated what the International Herald Tribune called the "purpose and value of design in a neurotic and treacherous era of geopolitical instability". Metahaven's projects include Black Transparency, a multi-year investigation into the relationship between transparency and secrecy that resulted in a series of exhibitions, talks and a forthcoming book. As part of this project, Metahaven designed a set of merchandise for WikiLeaks - scarves and t-shirts - which were sold by the organization to circumvent a financial blockade. Metahaven is affiliated with the Center for Design and Geopolitics at University of California, San Diego. Its founders teach at Yale University in New Haven, the Sandberg Institute Amsterdam, and at ArtEZ academy of arts in Arnhem.
