Georg-Christof Bertsch

Georg-Christof Bertsch (born 30 May 1959 in Seeheim-Jugenheim) is a German corporate branding consultant and university lecturer.

Background

Georg-Christof Bertsch is the third son to Robert Bertsch (1922-1997), principal of a special education grammar school, and Anny Bertsch, née Herling (1916-2009). Beginning in the early 70s, Robert and Anny were initiating leaders in the reconciliation between their hometown and France, the UK and Israel, helping to establish partner towns in all three countries. In 1988, Robert Bertsch published "Juden in Seeheim und Jugenheim", the first historical account of Jewish life in Seeheim-Jugenheim, Germany. The book was launched to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Crystal Night (November 9 and 10, 1938).

Professional career

Bertsch studied art history at the Berlin Institute of Technology and went on to set up Germany’s first Design management office with Matthias Dietz in 1988. In 1990, in collaboration with Barbara Friedrich, he published the “Ambiente Euro Design Guide”, the first German lexicon on contemporary design. In 1997, together with Dr. Hans Höger, Christian Moeller and Markus Weisbeck, he launched www.euro-design-guide.de Germany's first design open platform on the Internet. Between 1990 and 95 Bertsch was president of Design Horizonte Frankfurt. In 1995 he and his wife Annette founded Bertsch & Bertsch Corporate design Corporate Communications GmbH (limited liability company). The foundation of Bertsch.Brand Consultants [1], which puts its focus on providing consultancy services for complex branding and design processes, followed in 2005. In 1996, together with Dr. Hans Höger he curated “Attitudes for the Next Millennium” at the Aspen Institute's International Aspen Design Conference. Between 2004 and 2013 sat on the board of Friends of Städelschule Portikus (registered association) [2] in Frankfurt, officiating as vice-president from 2004-2010. On 27 May 2008, he became the first German to be elected to the Board of Governors of the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem. Between 2007-2009 Bertsch was a guest lecturer at the Hesse State University of Art and Design [3] (Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach) where he was granted the title of Lifetime Honorary Professor in 2009. From 2010 to 2012 he headed the Cumulus' global water working group. He has been a board member of WELTKULTUREN Museum Frankfurt [4] since 2011. Together with Prof. Dr. Kai Vöckler and Prof. Peter Eckart he launched the Designinstitut Mobilität und Logistik (Designinstitute of Mobility and Logistics) at HfG Offenbach in 2014. In 2016 he became a partner at witten.group ([5]) Bertsch is a Rotary International member at RC Frankfurt Friedensbrücke. He is an elected member of DDC German Designer Club. He is an atheist.

Works (a selection)

• THE WORD Chennai Water Forum - embrace our rivers at Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai" Schippert, Helmut; Bertsch, Georg-Christof; Balsavar, Nandan (chairs), published by Asian College of Journalism, Goethe Institut Max Muller Bhavan, 2016
• Bücher und Buchstaben und Schreibschrift in: Klimmt, Reinhard ed. Reihenweise. Die Taschenbücher der 50er Jahre, 2 volumes. Achill Press, 2016
• The effect of risk management on brand and reputation management in: Risk Management in Law Firms, Strategies for Safeguarding the Future, ed. by Knott, Hermann J.; International Bar Association, Global Business Publishing, London, 2014": Bertsch, Georg-Christof, BERTSCH.BRAND CONSULTANTS / Chester, Simon, Heenan Blaikie LLP / Hunter, Jane, Aon Risk Solutions
• Material Grove - from traditional material to material innovation" Holzbach, Markus / Bertsch, Georg-Christof (editors), HfG University of Art & Design Offenbach Press, 2014
• "Urban Water - A Challenge for Product Designers" Conference Paper Cumulus Conference Helsinki, Finland, May 24-27th, Aalto University, Helsinki, 2012
• Two goddesses of Indian design, Stylepark Nov 2011
• Product Design & Water – towards a vision for education Conference Paper Cumulus Paris, France, May 19–22. Université de Sèvres, Paris, 2011
• klimaroute.de – learning to understand climate change and rivers (German) as editor in chief. Frankfurt am Main, launch Jan 13th 2011
• Undisciplined? Design in an age of massive change in: Höger, Hans ed: Design Research. Mailand 2008, pp. 96–117.
• Avrupali, kendi kültür baskentini tanimiyor in: Cumhuriyet Hafta vom 31. August 2007, pp.  pp 1 and 13
• The Benefits of Organizing International Design Workshops to Gain a Deeper Understanding of the Local Context in: Juried Education Papers. Global Issues (The ICSID IDSA World Congress, Oct. 17-20 2007, San Francisco, USA) together with Özlem Er.
• Der Raum der Erinnerung (Room of Memory) in: Holt, Jan ed: V+W Designmatrix. Hatje Cantz, Ostfildern 2006, pp.  pp 113–144.
• Build or Die. Constructing survival. In: Fezer, Jesko ed: Designcity. Die Gestalten Verlag, Berlin 2006, pp 149 f.
• Common Sense in: Wurster, Christian ed: V+W Privatbuch. Selbstverlag Vogt + Weizenegger, Berlin 2005, pp.  pp 104 ff.