Celebrating the bliss and battles of living and making in this day and age, PRESENT is a magazine and platform founded by the Berlin-based creative director, designer, and publisher Hugo Hoppmann. It’s about the art of making, self-reflection, mindfulness, and the power of presence by sharing honest conversations with makers and creators about their creative process, fears, successes, and failures. On a mission to inspire and empower the creative community, PRESENT serves as an open playground for Hugo and his network of collaborators. The idea for the platform came to him when living in New York City in 2016 as he remembers: “It all started with the word ‘present’ which can be interpreted in different ways: being present and appreciating the now, seeing your work as a gift, being generous towards yourself and the people around you, presenting your ideas to the world, and never hiding the potential you have inside.” By showing not only the joyful but also the challenging sides of work and life, PRESENT aims to encourage its readers to believe in their dreams and portray a realistic yet hopeful image of the creative industry. “I secretly hope that the reader shuts the magazine in the middle of reading and feels the motivation and courage to get started on their favorite, yet unrealized project.”
Published in autumn 2021, the second issue of PRESENT—written, photographed, designed, curated, and edited in the course of two years—is dedicated to the theme of vulnerability. When interviewing Terry and Tricia Jones, the founders of i-D, for the first issue, they introduced Hugo to the work of professor, lecturer, and author Brené Bown, who is known for her research on shame, vulnerability, and leadership. “I believe being vulnerable is courageous. Admitting vulnerability means being honest, transparent, and open,” Hugo tells us, “ even about difficult situations and experiences in life. When we started working on the first issue, the pandemic hit. During that time, I had many conversations about vulnerability with my partner Sarah Discours, who is not only a great art director and designer but also a woman from whom I learned a lot about honesty and directness. She also has an amazing intuition for discovering interesting people and stories.”
The 300-pages magazine is filled with reportages, interviews, essays, and fashion editorials, exploring the role of vulnerability in creative processes. To get weight off their shoulders Hugo and Sarah got additional support from the two graphic designers Ivana Cavic and Sergio Martinez who joined the issue 2 team after an open call on social media. With Ivana based in Serbia and Sergio living in the US, they worked together mainly remotely, which Hugo describes as “a great experience”. In the course of producing the second issue, a new custom typeface was introduced across the identity as a nod to the famous Eurostile. It was developed by type designer and typographer Erkin Karamemet with the support of Gregor Maria Sahl. “For a while, I always had this vision of creating a PRESENT typeface, initially based on the idea of re-interpreting the original Eurostile,” Hugo tells us, “but completely re-engineered and with much more personality. Erkin was super motivated and did a fantastic job, turning it into a variable typeface, with high sensibility and masterful details.”
Describing PRESENT as an umbrella for his various interests, Hugo has pushed himself to make time for self-initiated projects next to leading his own studio. Growing up, Hugo has always been fascinated by magazines and the creative freedom within the design. “They were a crucial part of my personal and professional journey, a foundation for my work, a source of inspiration, and a pathway to new ideas,” he tells us. Drawn to design and visual expression from such a young age, Hugo has spent years honing his craft. Evidently, this determination paid off, as Hugo has worked with a plethora of exciting clients over the last years, such as Mugler, Apple, Salomon, Nike, and 032c. “It’s been years of practicing, trial and error, not giving up. Over the years, my focus shifted from input to output, and I became more selective with what I feed my brain,” he tells C24. “There is so much going on in this world. I believe it’s a superpower to be able to filter the noise, see clearly, not get distracted from your mission, to be able to listen to your heart, and trust your gut — that’s what I’m striving for, in life and my work.”
With the third issue of PRESENT already in the making, Hugo plans to grow the community behind the platform, working on more collaborations with artists, designers, and makers. “Sometimes, we tend to stay in our own bubble for too long. I love phases of solitude and need plenty of time on my own sometimes to concentrate, but I equally value open exchange and collaboration,” he tells us. “It’s important to remind ourselves to be thankful for any feedback. If someone is giving you really constructive, thoughtful critique, that’s a gift. And that means that this person cares about you.”
