Daily bureaucracy

Daily bureaucracy

The visual language of the German government

Displays of the bureaucracy of the government can be found in many different ways in our daily life. In this photoseries buildings, interiors, forms and information services of various local governments in Berlin have been photographed. The series is a visual research into the visual language of the German government. 

Remarkable differences can be found compared to the Dutch situation. The values of the communication from the Dutch government are influenced by the corporate business culture. Efficiency and customer service are common practice for every government service in Holland, just as for airlines or internetproviders.  Telephone scripts, reception areas and uniforms do not differ that much from those in corporate life. Holland seems to agree that a government should present itself as a business: customerfriendly and efficient.

In Germany working spaces of civil servants are being made personal with pictures of familymembers, a microwave, plants or a refrigerator. This is not a coincidence; after the war it has been a strategy to give a human face to the bureaucracy. In addition to that, waiting areas and information points are much more archaic then in the Netherlands. There is much less the need to 'please' the customer. Or even to treat the citizens like customers.

The images in this series radiate some sort of haphazardness and 'non design' and show the result of an official process rather than thay have been created by a 'designer'. They show a form of innocence but at the same time an uncompromising bureaucracy. In contrast to the Netherlands, the German bureaucracy doesn't promise anything more than they are willing to live up to.

Look here for the complete series.

Text: Lucas Verweij
Images: Madeleine Kotte