Marius Rittau Design, Photography, Film
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PULS

A photo series and magazine about movement, and how it changed my life.

Red magazine cover covered in white Morse code, with the word PULS set in dots.

The task

I lost 30 kilos, and sport changed the way I live. For a university project, I turned that into a magazine: a photo series about movement, photographed and designed entirely by me.

Idea & approach

The magazine is built around four photographic chapters: Focus, Colour, Movement and Light. It follows two very different kinds of sport: demanding hikes in the Alps, and Pilates as a calm counterpoint of slow, controlled movement. The cover carries the idea: a Morse code pattern that spells "PULS Marius Rittau" over and over, like a heartbeat. I chose a variable typeface whose shapes echo dots and dashes, and adjusted it specifically for the magazine.

Process

The challenge was holding four very different chapters together. Each chapter opener is designed around its own theme, while grid and type keep the magazine consistent. Already while shooting, I had to choose subjects and moments that would carry one of the four themes.

Result & learning

PULS taught me how to make photography personal: to tell my own story, then translate it into a clear editorial structure. And it showed me that good design starts behind the camera, with choosing the right subject and capturing the right moment.

More images

Chapter opener “Focus”: the word built from dots and dashes in grey, the C in white, on a dark spread.
Chapter opener “Farbe” (Colour): dotted letters printed in cyan, magenta, yellow and black, slightly offset.
Chapter opener “Bewegung” (Movement): dotted letters fading into motion trails across the spread.
Chapter opener “Licht” (Light): white dotted letters on a red-to-white gradient.
Spread with black and white close-ups of an athlete.
Spread: a woman in a red sports top lies stretched out on a white floor.
Spread with hikers in the Alps and a yellow signpost.
Spread: legs in a row in black and white, next to a red gradient.