Sven Völker (*1974) is an author, artist and designer based in Berlin, he is also professor for graphic design. His new picture book "A Million Dots" is a New York Times "Best Illustrated Children's Books 2019" Winner. It starts with a single tree and by doubling the number on each page reaches (more than) a million within 44 pages. A book about the magic and poetry of math.
Together with composer and singer Sting, Völker has released his first picture book at NordSüd Publishers. In "There is a little black spot on the sun today," his bright illustrations transform Sting's evocative lyrics from The Police's song "King of Pain" into a minimalistic children's book that explores pain's sadness, beauty and wonder.
Sven Völker is Professor for Experiment and Strategy in Graphic Design at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam. He studied at the University of Art in Bremen and received an MA from Middlesex University in London. In 2004 he was appointed professor at the University of Arts and Design (HfG/ZKM) in Karlsruhe and since 2010 at Burg Giebichenstein University of Art in Halle. He designed the award winning corporate identity for the Japanese Suzuki Motor Corporation. Völker combines graphic symbols, color, form and typography in a playful, modular way and allows them to evolve in ever new combinations. With his small and unconventional Berlin based studio he also worked for clients such as Volkswagen and BMW.
In his cultural projects he transfers his visual approach into the world of art, books and lately even onto the stage. For the Opera in Halle/Saale, he created the stage design for the novel symphony "The Trumpet of the Swan" by E.B. White. His large scale art installations, consisting of colored light and printed posters, traveled to exhibitions in Norway, Prague, Basel and Bern in 2012.
Since 2010 he is Editor-in-chief of Some Magazine and frequently publishes books about design and art: "Some Book" at Lars Müller Publishers and "Go Faster", a book about the graphic design of racing cars at Gestalten Publishers. "Helping the world cross the street" was written and edited together with German philosopher Peter Sloterdijk in 2010.
