CeWe Photo Book on the theme of "Human Dignity"

This remarkable illustrated book comes in a limited edition of 150 copies and contains the photos of the exhibition in an elaborate design. Gabriele Müller-Trimbusch, Stuttgart Mayor in charge of issues relating to social, youth and health affairs and the Chairman of the Board of Management of the Bundespräsident-Theodor-Heuss-Haus Foundation and the Honorary Chairman of the German Association of Photography (DVF), Georg S. Holzmann, and Dr. Thomas Hertfelder, Managing Director of the Bundespräsident- Theodor-Heuss-Haus Foundation, handed over the CeWe Photo Book to the main prize winners amid loud applause. In his introductory speech, Dr. Thomas Hertfelder addressed the theme of the competition, "Human Dignity is Inviolable": "The results of the photo competition show that this central yet harsh sentence is nevertheless able to move the human power of imagination. The CeWe Photo Book gives an impression of the high quality of the exhibits."

In his eulogy, photo journalist Bruno Neurath-Wilson pointed out the significance of the documentation, which, in this form, was able to keep the images alive in our minds. He went on to say: "There is quite obviously nothing that human beings are more interest in than those of their own kind. The effort it takes to produce a good photo of people is amazingly little. You don’t need to look around for long: from self-portraits to families, neighbours, friends, co-workers or even completely strange creatures of our species – we are the motif ourselves and we are surrounded by it. And human dignity as it is to be defined in political terms has been laid down in a binding manner for our cultural group by the originators of constitutional law. There are just as many options in terms of content and presentation when it is to be shown as a photographic image as there are human feelings and life situations – as shown in an exemplary manner in the photos in the CeWe Photo Book.

At the concluding reception the organisers and all those involved spoke out in favour of holding the competition and inviting entries again next year. Conceptual, professional CeWe Photo Book design Janek Brings, Coop Indigo GmbH, Communication for Culture, Bremen (www.coopindigo. de), was responsible for the sophisticated layout of the documentation for the photo competition on "Human Dignity" in the form of a CeWe Photo Book. Which design concept did the designer have in mind when he commenced work on the Foundation book "The formal framework was the 60-year jubilee of German constitutional law. In order to take account of the intention of the competition, I first of all designed a signet with the number 60 for the title," says Janek Brings. "What was import ant for me was to draw attention to the history of the Bundespräsident-Theodor- Heuss-Hauss Foundation and to show a personal image of Theodor Heuss as a human being in his environment in the CeWe Photo Book, in addition to the prize-winning photos. While I was designing, I recognised the potential offered by the CeWe Photo Book software (available as a free download at www.cewe-fotobuch.de). The software offers incredible possibilities, even for selecting and arranging typefaces. Before I start designing a book, I naturally have specific thoughts about a clear layout." Janek Brings finally points out a special advantage – the fact that CeWe Photo Books printed in small numbers, such as those for his smaller agency customers, are extremely economical. "CeWe Photo Books are unbeatable in terms of price for orders for one copy through to orders for a hundred books and more. Another advantage is the fact that texts and photos in CeWe Photo Books can be changed at any time.

The exhibition of this year’s first photographic competition organised by the Bundespräsident-Theodor-Heuss-Haus Foundation in cooperation with CeWe Color and the German Association of Photography (DVF) can still be seen up to 21 March 2010 at the Bundespräsident-Theodor-Heuss-Haus Foundation, Im Himmelsberg 16, 70192 Stuttgart.