Matt Butler
Les Mitchel Report 2025
Intro
Hello! This report explores and responds to the wide range of art, design and culture spread across Europe. I will examine how design permeates everyday life, how function influences design in unexpected ways and the beauty that can be found in often overlooked ephemera. Within the report you are likely to find visual responses, comments on culture, found objects and maybe a couple of songs I was listening to along the way.
This trip would have only been possible with the support of the Les Mitchel Award for which I am incredibly grateful.
Amsterdam
A labyrinth of waterways and terraces with a lively art culture. An example of the more underground side of this culture was the stickers and posters that plaster every street sign, electrical box and lamppost. I liked how these street furnishings act as a sort of noticeboard for the underground art culture. With a mix of tourists and locals circulating through the streets seeing these small graphic rebellions cuts through the typical Dutch art culture tourists are typically exposed to and uncovers the true, ever-growing, cultural landscape.
Amsterdam Collage
Berlin
An incredible variety of art, music and culture spread throughout the entire city. Berlin is a continually evolving creative landscape that coexists with its fractured history that underlines the city. It is easy to see how Berlin has become somewhat of a haven for creatives. Similar to Amsterdam, Berlin has a huge amount of art on its streets. Whether that is murals, posters or stickers they all represent the diverse cultural and historical environment that forms the foundation of Berlin’s art culture. A key example of this is the East Side gallery, which is a segment of the pre-existing Berlin wall that is now adorned with a huge amount of murals that are constantly changed and updated.
A collection of found objects in Berlin
Prague
Prague is one of the most captivating cities in Europe, its charming atmosphere is impossible to ignore when wandering down the river past the ornate pastel terraces. Being at the centre of Europe, Prague had a wide range of cultural influences, similar to the other cities, stickers wrap almost every lamppost which in a city as ornamental as Prague creates an interesting juxtaposition. One of my favourite features of the city was the pavements, which were long and thin geometric mosaics that snaked throughout the city adding a creative aspect to an often overlooked detail of urban environments.
Prague pavement study
Warsaw
Warsaw felt like a very sturdy place, confident with its past and what it has evolved into today. Separated into the old and new town, the old town is a testament to the longstanding traditional polish culture that stands strong within the city. The new town is a mixture of more angular buildings indicative of the communist rule and newer buildings that are symbolic of the city’s evolving nature. Culturally, many remnants of the communist era still exist in the city, an example of this is the huge amount of neon signs that embellish the brutalist facades. These signs, their vibrant colours and custom typography, are a defiance against the neutral exteriors of the buildings. In a way these glowing rebellions don’t just juxtapose the architecture but possibly the communist regime on art which only permitted socialist realist art.
Warsaw stamp
Vienna
A remarkable city with a lively arts culture and rich history that feels apparent when exploring the city. Although a historical city indicated by the baroque style facades that line the roads, the city feels fresh and young. At night people convene in traditional pubs and bars decorated with old photos, modern art, bizarre film posters and of course stickers. To me these are what represents Vienna, a medley of history and modernity rolled into one and constantly moving forward.
Lake Bled
Although void of a prominent cultural landscape, due to a focus on tourism within the town, Lake Bled provided a space for reflection. A quiet environment that allowed me to reflect, understand and appreciate the art, design and culture experienced in other cities. This was an important part of my process that allowed me to acknowledge work I had seen and how I could apply it to my practice.
Ljubljana
Slovenian culture and art shone through in the form of intricate tilings and mosaics that cling onto building exteriors throughout the city. These modern executions of a traditional Slovenian craft are a testament to the persitance of art and design through time and how it can influence the city today. Everything in Ljubljana is beautiful, designed and well executed, particularly with Jože Plečnik’s architecture shaping the atmosphere of the city.
A collection of found items in Ljubljana
Venice
An extraordinary city comprised of towering facades and weaving canals. Although the old town is dominated by tourism, segments of Venetian history appears in the form of traditional hand-painted signage. An example of these was the ‘nizioeto‘ which were essentially hand-painted street signs designed in the 18th century to help people navigate the maze of alleyways. This example additionally highlights how function informs design and this is something I will acknowledge within my own practice.
A collage of hand-painted Venetian signs
Rome
Rome is one of the most historically rich cities in the world, with ancient Roman columns and buildings dotted around the city. It also has a rich typographic history, with ancient letterform carvings etched into every basilica’s walls. These carvings represent the foundation of modern typography, they pioneered techniques still used today and have shaped the way we design and use typefaces. Seeing these engravings was very inspiring, a piece of design that has truly stood the test of time.
A collection of found typographic carvings
Thank you for reading!
Matt ButlerLes Mitchel Report 2025