CLARA HOLMES

CLARA HOLMES

I'm a Swiss-British graphic designer based in Zurich. I recently graduated with a BA in Visual Communication from Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and gained experience through internships at Studio Dumbar and Marie Lusa. My work explores a wide range of topics and is often shaped by a conceptual and research-driven approach. I'm particularly interested in how design can engage with social issues and spark dialogue.


Clara Holmes
Graphic Designer
168 cm
September 2000
I'm a Swiss-British graphic designer based in Zurich. I recently graduated with a BA in Visual Communication from Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and gained experience through internships at Studio Dumbar and Marie Lusa. My work explores a wide range of topics and is often shaped by a conceptual and research-driven approach. I'm particularly interested in how design can engage with social issues and spark dialogue.



[ education ]
09/2021–06/2025
Zürcher Hochschule der Künste (ZHdK)
Bachelor Visual Communication
09/2023–01/2024
National College for Art and Design (NCAD)
Dublin, Ireland
Exchange semester in graphic design

[ experience ]
03/2024–06/2024
↗ Studio Dumbar / DEPT.
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Visual design internship
02/2024–03/2024
↗ Studio Marie Lusa
Zurich, Switzerland
Graphic design internship

[ press ]
↗ HOCHPARTERRE "Mit Minirock und Kletterseil durch das digitale Zürich" 2025

Hairy Affair
Editorial
280×365mm
144p.
June 2025
Body hair grows soft, wild, and everywhere, defining our human identity. However it attracts attention, triggers emotions, and is often shaped by expectations to be tamed. Celebrating it suddenly becomes an act of resistance, a refusal to conform to imposed beauty standards. Each hair becomes a quiet protest—against shame, silence, and invisibility. My bachelor’s project tells the story of a body growing up, navigating outer influences and inner conflict around body hair. It takes the form of a theatrical editorial, honoring the body in its natural state and challenging conventional ideas of beauty and acceptance. It reclaims visual communication as a space for self-determined identity.

Hairy Affair Cover
Hairy Affair Ticket in hair binding
Hairy Affair closeup of binding
Hairy Affair Spread 1
Hairy Affair Spread 2
Hairy Affair Spread closeup
Hairy Affair Spread 3
Hairy Affair Spread 4
Hairy Affair Spread 5
Hairy Affair Spread 6
Hairy Affair Spread 7
Hairy Affair Spread 8
Hairy Affair Spread 9
Hairy Affair Backcover
Hairy Affair image overview


GeoTech Style Vision
Editorial
Poster
Photography
A4
68p.
April 2023
As technology like Google Street View makes exploring the world effortless, traditional navigational skills fade away. A deeper engagement with the terrain is no longer needed, as satellite-based navigation takes over for us. Meanwhile, urban fashion embraces technical outdoor gear designed for harsh conditions but worn in the city, often just for trips to brunch—known as Gorpcore. GeoTech Style Vision [GSV], an editorial created with ↗ Sarah Iller, investigates these shifts and reveals their surprising links. Through hyperlinked texts, one can jump from philosophical essays to tweets. The accompanying images in the editorial and poster blend Street View aesthetics with Gorpcore. Featured in ↗ Hochparterre.

GSV Editorial Spine
GSV Editorial Cover
GSV Editorial Spread 1
GSV Editorial Spread 2
GSV Editorial Spread 3
GSV Editorial Spread 4
GSV Poster
GSV Poster closeup
GSV Editorial Spread 5
GSV Editorial Spread 6
GSV Editorial Backcover
GSV image overview


Joker
Branding
2'30''
October 2024
I'm the life of the party, brimming with fun and cheer, I'm the one to keep near. What am I? Joker is a fictional delivery service, developed collaboratively with ↗ Ylenia Freiermuth, ↗ Cheyenne Cattaneo, ↗ Alison Léger and ↗ Marina Huber, that brings games straight to you. With the motto order, play, return, the brand is built around social connection, playfulness, and collaboration. All communication happens through riddles, drawing users into the experience from the start. The mobile interface responds to physical movement: turning the phone reveals different functions, from browsing the game deck to checking out. Visual elements throughout the identity subtly reference familiar aspects of games.

Joker brand posters
Joker brand app
Joker brand outfit
Joker brand headquarters
Joker image overview


Beyond the Answer
Editorial
A3
20p.
November 2024
Artificial "Intelligence": A tool of infinite potential and uncertain consequences. We no longer look for simple answers. Instead, we chase logic and explanations in its binary language to justify our choices. In collaboration with ↗ Ylenia Freiermuth and ↗ Medea Laim, we created a newspaper that critically reflects AI. The project is built around questions posed to AI, with responses translated back into 0 and 1’s. Instead of images, it features AI generated prompts. The project asks how we deal with a system that knows neither consciousness nor truth, but increasingly shapes our reality.

Beyond the Answer Newspaper on bench
Beyond the Answer Cover
Beyond the Answer Person reading newspaper
Beyond the Answer exhibition
Beyond the Answer Spread 1
Beyond the Answer Spread 2
Beyond the Answer Spread closeup
Beyond the Answer binding closeup
Screenshot ChatGPT
Beyond the answer image overview


Pekura
Typedesign
1000 units
May 2022
The idea for Pekura began with a fruit logo found on Chinese transport packaging—its bold, modular forms stood out immediately. Together with ↗ Ylenia Freiermuth, we began to explore how these shapes could take on new meaning when reassembled in a system of our own. The result is a back-slanted, bold typeface that plays with rhythm, repetition, and structure while keeping a sense of lightness and curiosity.

Pekura Specimen 1
Pekura Publication 1
Pekura Publication 2
Pekura Specimen 2
Pekura Specimen 3
Pekura original apple 1
Pekura original apple 2
Pekura image overview


Ich bhalt ja alles uf
Editorial
175×235mm
196p.
May 2023
Graphic designer Jacques Plancherel wasn’t exaggerating when he told SRF that he kept everything. In collaboration with ↗ Artemisia Astolfi, ↗ Anastasiia Maslei and ↗ Sarah Iller, we gained access to the archives of the Museum für Gestaltung, where we uncovered box after box of material documenting Plancherel’s work on the national exhibition ‘Expo 64’—from financial and scenario reports to public feedback. This book offers a rare glimpse into the creative process and reveals the hidden stories buried deep in archives, documents that often never reach the public eye.

Plancherel Spine
Plancherel Cover
Plancherel Spread 1
Plancherel Spread 2
Plancherel Spread 3
Plancherel Spread 4
Plancherel Spread 5
Plancherel Spread 6
Plancherel Spread 7
Plancherel Spread 8
Plancherel Spread 9
Plancherel Spread 10
Plancherel Archive 1
Plancherel Archive 2
Plancherel Notes
Plancherel image overview


Satoshi Kon
Poster
[shortlisted]
F4
June 2023
Known for films like Perfect Blue and Paprika, Satoshi Kon left a lasting mark on animation with his dreamlike storytelling. In collaboration with ↗ Sarah Halbgewachs, this poster project explores how his themes of blurred realities can be translated visually. Using layered images, we echoed his shifting perspectives, while the bold vertical typeface—drawn from the energy of Japan’s city streets—adds a deliberate tension to the softness of the imagery. The poster was shortlisted for the ↗ Filmpodium.

Satoshi Kon Poster 1
Satoshi Kon Poster 2
Satoshi Kon Poster closeup 1
Satoshi Kon Poster closeup 2
Satoshi Kon Poster Layout sketches
Satoshi Kon image overview


Yes means Yes
Editorial
135×185mm
20p.
December 2024
Thousands of hands touch the breasts of the statue of Molly Malone in Dublin daily, rubbing her breasts until they are golden. Her statue was meant to honour the spirit of 17th century women workers, but has become a symbol of objectification.
Yes Means Yes stresses that consent must be actively given, never assumed. This publication captures a sample of the thousands of hands that touch her every day. It's time for society to rethink how we treat public art and women's bodies in public and private spaces.

Yes Means Yes Cover
Yes Means Yes Spread 1
Yes Means Yes Spread 2
Yes Means Yes Spread 3
Yes Means Yes Spread 4
Yes Means Yes Spread 5
Yes Means Yes image overview


Langnau Mono
Typedesign
Poster
1000 units
F4
November 2022
Created specifically for the poster proposal for Langnau Jazz Nights, an annual jazz festival in Emmental, Switzerland, Langnau Mono is built on a strict set of design rules. While its rounded shapes give it softness, the structured forms of the glyphs maintain a sense of rigidity. Within these constraints, a playful approach guided the creation of several symbols. Used in the poster, the typeface captures the vibration of music—never still, always evolving. It interacts with the background in a dynamic way, much like how jazz takes listeners on a journey through rhythm and movement.

Langnau Mono Specimen
Langnau Jazz Nights Poster 1
Langnau Jazz Nights Poster closeup 1
Langnau Jazz Nights Poster 2
Langnau Jazz Nights Poster closeup 2
Langnau Mono image overview