Latvian artist Germans Ermičs will design the 2024 medals

Germans Ermičs is born in Riga in 1985. In his teenage years, he finds himself among creative peers, becomes interested in visual arts and takes the first steps in graphic design. After graduating from high school, Germans goes to Denmark to learn the basics of design and art at Krabbesholm Højskole.

While studying in Denmark, Germans has the opportunity to witness firsthand how designers work. He often hangs out with fellow student Daniel Berlin and his father, Russian-born industrial designer Boris Berlin. Their friendship continues to this day and has also grown into a professional collaboration.

In 2006, Germans is admitted to Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands. Before starting his studies, he trains with the legendary Danish graphic designer Rasmus Koch and together with friends in Riga sets up the culture, music and fashion magazine Veto. Germans creates the design concept of the printed publication and continues working as art director of Veto until 2018.

Germans arrives in Eindhoven as a graphic designer, but during his studies he gradually transitions to making three-dimensional objects in the furniture and interior department Man and Living. Germans’ passion for colour and its ability to influence the shape of objects, the surrounding space and the perception of viewers is born. Germans completes an internship with the versatile designer Robert Stadler in Paris.

Germans graduates from Design Academy Eindhoven in 2011 with the project Isometric Mirrors. In this collection, the designer applies his interest in optical illusions — the shape and placement of the mirrors seemingly expands the boundaries of the room. His work is noticed by the design magazine Frame, and at the graduation show, Germans is approached by the influential Milanese gallerist Rossana Orlandi.

Rossana Orlandi’s gallery, housed in a former tie factory, is one of the hotspots of Milan’s Salone del Mobile design fair. The collector keeps an eye out for new talents and has helped launch the careers of several world-famous designers. In 2012, with Isometric Mirrors a long-lasting collaboration between Germans and Rossana begins.

After gaining experience in various design offices in, in 2014 Germans establishes his own studio in Amsterdam. The very next year, at the Salone del Mobile in Milan, he presents his first collection Shaping Colour at a group show by the Dutch design collective Dutch Invertuals. This is followed by participation in design exhibitions in London, Paris and New York. The architecture office Glenn Sestig Architects invites Germans to create a work for the interior of the fashion brand Raf Simons store in Dover Street Market in London.

The second edition of the Shaping Colour collection is presented at the Rossana Orlandi gallery in 2016 and receives widespread attention from the design press. The New York Times Style Magazine ranks Germans among the 15 most promising young designers, he is one of the ten finalists in the Design Parade Hyères and wins his first Wallpaper* magazine award.

In 2017, the Ombré Glass Chair by Germans Ermičs debuts in Milan. It is a tribute to Japanese designer Shiro Kuramata’s iconic Glass Chair, which is considered one of the most significant design objects of the 20th century. This work becomes a turning point in Germans’ career. Photos of the visually appealing piece of furniture appear in all major design publications and even on the website of the technology company Apple. Germans’ works are now featured not only in the spreads of Wallpaper*, but also on the cover of the magazine.

Germans’ style attracts the attention of Instagram — in 2019, the social network invites the designer to collaborate on creating a photogenic object for the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. An intrigueing pavilion, titled Where the Rainbow Ends, is constructed on the beach in Cannes. Dressed in coloured mirror, it gleams in the Mediterranean sun and offers a physical experience of the rainbow on the inside.

Although Germans’ ideas have so far been mostly implemented in glass, the designer also works with other materials — metal, textile, stone — experimenting with both colour and form as well as innovative technologies. For example, the marble object Pele de Tigre demonstrates a new surface treatment method invented by Germans, which highlights the stone’s natural veining.

Germans Ermičs continues living and working in Amsterdam and participating in design exhibitions and creative projects around the world. The list of the designer’s clients and collaborators include electronics company Bang&Olufsen, fashion brand Wandler, carpet manufacturer cc-tapis, beverage producer Heineken, restaurants of chef Sergio Herman, as well as international architecture and interior design companies.