Sarasvati Productions music production

Sarasvati Editions music publishing

east meets west internet music magazine

Logo and animation designs 1998

During the 1990s the internet was a new and exciting medium of experimentation for artists and designers. It seemed anything was possible, and the aims of many of us were not merely commercial.

Composer Jürgen Kirsch and friends, including Peter Simon, wanted to share their interest in eastern culture and philosophy - and especially the synergies betweens east and west - through art, design, writing and music. The website east-meets-west grew somewhat haphazardly out of this desire, becoming part magazine and part internet portal for Jürgen's music publishing project Sarasvati.

Sarasvati herself, the Hindu river goddess and patroness of the arts, seemed to smile on our efforts for a while. The project engendered much creative energy and discussion, and along the way we learned a lot about the potential as well as the limitations of internet publishing.

Personally, I was making the transition between handmade graphic design and computer work. There was (and still is) much to learn. From being a designer skilled in drawing and typography, I was now grappling with various aspects of the new technology including programming and animation. You can see one of the animations I made for this project in the animation gallery.

Eventually we all moved on, geographically and artistically. Jürgen now lives in China, where he is still very active in music composition and production, and has several internet projects online.