Who

Prof Dr Martin Lorenz (1977, Hanover, Germany) is the grandson, son, and nephew of teachers. His escape plan from this family tradition was to become a graphic designer. 

He graduated from the Graphic Design department at the Royal Academy of Art (KABK) in The Hague, Netherlands, after studying communication design at the University of Applied Sciences in Darmstadt, Germany. While founding the design Studio TwoPoints.Net with Lupi Asensio and raising two boys, he enrolled first in a Master’s Program and later in a PhD program at the University of Barcelona, Spain, writing a doctoral dissertation about flexible visual systems in communication design. 

Martin became a teacher. Since 2003, he has taught at various Universities. He currently teaches bachelor’s degrees at the University of Cooperative Education and master’s degrees at Elisava Barcelona and the Film Academy of Ludwigsburg, while continuously developing new courses on his asynchronous learning platform, Flexible Visual Systems. Martin also works with Lupi Asensio and Elio Salichs at TwoPoints.Net, Tim Rodenbröker at Coding Systems, Franziska Parschau at the School of Systems and Emily Harris and Linnéa Rönnquist at Value Translation.

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What

Contemporary visual identities need to adapt and function consistently across a wide range of interactive, in-motion, and static formats. Relying on static logos, rigid guidelines, and context-blindness is no longer sufficient.

Flexible Visual Systems is a comprehensive design approach that replaces the static with the dynamic. It is not just another craft; it is a foundational mindset change. Rather than designing a static message, this model focuses on designing the rules and components that generate contextually adaptive communication.

The doctoral dissertation showed that there are two types of flexible visual systems in visual identity design (branding). Systems based on form and systems based on transformation:

Form: Building visual languages starting from foundational components. The CAA Approach.
Transform: Using procedural design (generative design, creative coding, agentic workflows or kinetic motion systems) as the core mechanics of a flexible system, allowing identities to evolve and react in real-time. The Procedural Approach.

The theory was developed through doctoral research at the University of Barcelona.

It was later transformed into a practical manual for designers, published as Flexible Visual Systems in English, Spanish and Japanese.

The work evolved further through asynchronous teaching on the learning platform www.flexiblevisualsystems.info

It was expanded through the founding of the School of Systems, which teaches the frameworks of Flexible Visual Systems.

How

LEARN

The Vita Activa is a continuous feedback loop. Theory informs practice, practice tests the theory, and teaching synthesizes the findings for the next cycle.

The Learn–Apply–Teach cycle begins with learning. There are many ways to learn. For me, making books is my preferred way to learn. Creating books is an opportunity to learn from yourself and others; it opens a conversational space with fellow humans, both living and dead. It is a conceptual artefact that manifests thoughts, making the book a document of the past and a reflective tool for the present.

Books 

• 2026, Life-Ennobling Design, download here
• 2026, Dark Matter Lab Threads, download here
• 2025, Sistemas Visuales Flexibles — Una Introducción, FVS Publishers, Hamburg — Available at Lulu
• 2025, The FVS Atlas, Viction:ary, Hong Kong — Available at Victionary
• 2024, Flexible Visual Systems, BNN, Tokyo — Available at BNN
• 2023, Sistemas Visuales Flexibles, Graffica, Valencia — Available at Graffica
• 2021, Flexible Visual Systems, Slanted, Karlsruhe — Available at Slanted
• 2019, On the Road to Variable, Viction:ary, Hong Kong — Available at Victionary
• 2015, I Love Type — Collectors Box, Victionary, Hong Kong — Sold out
• 2013, I Love Times, Viction:ary, Hong Kong — Available at Victionary
• 2013, I Love Helvetica, Viction:ary, Hong Kong — Available at Victionary
• 2012, Monograph — Barcelona: A Guide, Creative Review, London, UK — Sold out
• 2012, I Love Franklin Gothic, Viction:ary, Hong Kong — Available at Victionary
• 2012, I Love Gill Sans, Viction:ary, Hong Kong — Available at Victionary
• 2012, Pretty Ugly, Visual Rebellion in Design, Gestalten, Berlin, Germany — Available at Gestalten
• 2011, Type Navigator, Gestalten, Berlin, Germany — Available at Gestalten
• 2011, I Love DIN, Viction:ary, Hong Kong — Available at Victionary
• 2011, I Love Bodoni, Viction:ary, Hong Kong — Available at Victionary
• 2010, Spanish Advertising Annual, Club de Creativos, Madrid, Spain
• 2010, I Love Avant Garde, Viction:ary, Hong Kong — Available at Victionary
• 2010, I Love Futura, Viction:ary, Hong Kong — Available at Victionary
• 2010, Left, Right, Up, Down: New Directions in Signage and Wayfinding, Gestalten, Berlin, Germany — Available at Gestalten
• 2010, latino—grafico, Gestalten, Berlin, Germany — Available at Gestalten
• 2009, Neuland – The Future of German Graphic Design, Actar D, Barcelona, Spain — Available at Actar
• 2006, The One Weekend Book Series – Graphic Tourism Since Two Thousand And Three – The Collection of Volumes One Through Five, Actar D, Barcelona, Spain — Available at Actar
• 2005, HORT, Gestalten Verlag

How

APPLY

Putting the theory of flexible systems into practice through commercial, cultural, and societal ventures, Martin Lorenz has co-founded and continues to co-found, a number of enterprises.

Currently Active Enterprises

TwoPoints.Net
The design studio co-founded with Lupi Asensio in 2007, specializing in flexible visual identities.


Coding Systems
A hybrid design practice bridging system design and creative coding, co-founded with Tim Rodenbröker in 2018. 


Value Translation
A not-for-profit translating new economic thinking into everyday practices with accountancy and design co-founded with Emily Harris and Linnéa Rönnquist in 2026

School of Systems
A design school teaching a variety of design disciplines using the FVS framework, co-founded with Franziska Parschau in 2026.

Past Enterprises

Design Werkstatt
Julien Martin
The Inner Game of Design
2/4 de 8
The One Weekend Book Series
Guatshi
Stille Post
Poster Series

How

TEACH

Current Teaching

Elisava Escola Universitària de Disseny i Enginyeria de Barcelona
Co-Director of the Master in Societal Design
2026 – Present
Barcelona, Spain
Master Degree in Societal Design

University of Arts Linz
Guest Lecturer for Contextual Design
2026 – Present
Linz, Austria
Bachelor Degree in Graphic Design

University of Cooperative Education
Lecturer for Social Design, Flexible System Design and Design Theory
2025 – Present
Hamburg, Germany
Bachelor Degree in Visual Communication

LABASAD – Barcelona School of Arts and Design
Masterclass Lecturer for Flexible Visual Systems
2024 – Present
Barcelona, Spain
Master Degree in Advanced Graphic Design

Elisava Escola Universitària de Disseny i Enginyeria de Barcelona
Lecturer for Systemic Type Design
2020 – Present
Barcelona, Spain
Master Degree in Graphic Design

Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg GmbH
Workshop Lecturer for Kinetic Type Design
2020 – Present
Ludwigsburg, Germany

Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg GmbH
Workshop Lecturer for Motion Identities
2020 – Present
Ludwigsburg, Germany

Past Teaching

Elisava Escola Universitària de Disseny i Enginyeria de Barcelona
Lecturer for Flexible Systems for Visual Identities, Data Visualization, Concept Mapping, System Design, Societal Design
2020 – 2026
Barcelona, Spain
Bachelor Degree in Graphic Design

Salzburg University of Applied Sciences
Lecturer for Coding Systems
2025 – 2025
Salzburg, Austria
Bachelor Degree in Creative Technologies

Elisava Escola Universitària de Disseny i Enginyeria de Barcelona
Lecturer for Design Research
2022 – 2023
Barcelona, Spain
Bachelor Degree in Graphic Design

École Supérieure de Design de Troyes
Workshop Lecturer for Flexible Systems
2022 – 2023
Troyes, France

HfG Offenbach
Workshop Lecturer for A.I. Supported Type Design
2023
Leipzig, Germany

KABK Royal Academy of Art, The Hague
Lecturer for Typographic Systems
2020 – 2022
The Hague, Netherlands

HGB Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst
Workshop Lecturer for Flexible Systems
2022
Leipzig, Germany

UMPRUM Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague
Workshop Lecturer for Flexible Systems
2022
Prag, Czech Republic

Google
Workshop Lecturer for Flexible Visual Systems
2022
Two online workshops. One for the American continent and another for Europe and Asia.

Istituto Europeo di Design
Lecturer for Flexible Visual Identities
2020 – 2021
Barcelona, Spain

Istituto Europeo di Design
Workshop Lecturer for Type Design
2020
Barcelona, Spain

HMKW University of Applied Sciences for Media, Communication and Management
Lecturer for Kinetic Typography
2021
Berlin, Germany

Tipos en su tinta
Workshop Lecturer for Type Design
2020
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

HMKW Hochschule für Medien, Kommunikation und Wirtschaft
Lecturer for Poster Design
2020
Frankfurt, Germany

HMKW Hochschule für Medien, Kommunikation und Wirtschaft
Lecturer for Flexible Visual Systems
2020
Frankfurt, Germany

HAW Hamburg University of Applied Sciences
Lecturer for Kinetic Typography
2020
Hamburg, Germany

KW Kunstschule Wandsbek
Lecturer for Corporate Design
2015 – 2020
Hamburg, Germany

KW Kunstschule Wandsbek
Lecturer for Editorial Design
2015 – 2020
Hamburg, Germany

KW Kunstschule Wandsbek
Lecturer for the Basics of Graphic Design
2015 – 2018
Hamburg, Germany

HAW Hamburg University of Applied Sciences
Workshop Lecturer
2019
Hamburg, Germany

TGM Typografische Gesellschaft München
Workshop Lecturer
2019
Munich, Germany

Istituto Europeo di Design
Workshop Lecturer for Poster Design
2018
Madrid, Spain

Muthesius Academy of Fine Arts and Design
Workshop Lecturer for Flexible Visual Systems
2017
Kiel, Germany

Hochschule für Technik, Wirtschaft undGestaltung
Workshop Lecturer for Flexible Visual Systems
2016
Constance, Germany

Elisava Escola Universitària de Disseny i Enginyeria de Barcelona
Director of the Postgraduate Degree of Applied Typography
2010 – 2012

Elisava Escola Universitària de Disseny i Enginyeria de Barcelona
Lecturer for Micro-Typography at the Postgraduate Degree ofTypography
2010 – 2012
Barcelona, Spain

Elisava Escola Universitària de Disseny i Enginyeria de Barcelona
Lecturer for Flexible Systems for Visual Identities at the PostgraduateDegree of Typography
2010 – 2012
Barcelona, Spain

Elisava Escola Universitària de Disseny i Enginyeria de Barcelona
Lecturer for Design at the Postgraduate Degree of Typography
2010 – 2012
Barcelona, Spain

Elisava Escola Universitària de Disseny i Enginyeria de Barcelona
Lecturer for Systems at the Postgraduate Degree of Typography
2010 – 2012
Barcelona, Spain

Elisava Escola Universitària de Disseny i Enginyeria de Barcelona
Lecturer for Flexible Systems for Visual Identities at the Masters Degree of Branding
2009 – 2011
Barcelona, Spain

Elisava Escola Universitària de Disseny i Enginyeria de Barcelona
Lecturer for Design at the Masters Degree of Graphic Design
2006 – 2009
Barcelona, Spanien

Elisava Escola Universitària de Disseny i Enginyeria de Barcelona
Lecturer for Typography at the Masters Degree of Graphic Design
2006 – 2009
Barcelona, Spain

Elisava Escola Universitària de Disseny i Enginyeria de Barcelona
Lecturer for Flexible Systems for Visual Identities at the Masters Degree of Graphic Design
2006 – 2009
Barcelona, Spain

Elisava Escola Universitària de Disseny i Enginyeria de Barcelona
Lecturer for Systems at the Masters Degree of Graphic Design
2006 – 2009
Barcelona, Spain

Blanquerna – Universitat Ramon Llull
Lecturer and Member of the Board of Examiners at the Masters Degree of Cool Hunting
2009 – 2012

Blanquerna – Universitat Ramon Llull
Member of the Board of Examiners at the Masters Degree for Branding
2009 – 2012

Universitat Abat Oliba CEU
Member of the Board of Examiners at the Masters Degree for Branding
2009 – 2012
Barcelona, Spain

Instituto Europeo di Design
Lecturer for Visual Identities
2010
Barcelona, Spain

HSB Hochschule Bremen – City University of Applied Sciences
Workshop Lecturer
2008
Bremen, Germany

Willem de Kooning Academy Rotterdam
Workshop Lecturer for Visual Communication
2007
Rotterdam, Netherlands

IDEP BARCELONA Escuela Superior de Imagen y Diseño (UAO)
Lecturer for Visual Communication
2006 – 2007
Barcelona, Spain

IDEP BARCELONA Escuela Superior de Imagen y Diseño (UAO)
Lecturer for Poster Design
2006 – 2007
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

HFG Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach
Lecturer for Illustration
2006 – 2006
Offenbach, Germany

MSD Münster
Workshop Lecturer for Illustration
2004
Münster, Germany

Page Academy
2003 – Present
Hamburg, Germany