About Wndsn XPD
Overview, project info, and background.
What we do and how
Wndsn's Applied Science Lab, based in Berlin, develops and manufactures low-tech, high-utility tools and instruments with the objective of providing or enhancing "that, which can't be improvised" in low-probability, high-impact scenarios where it is most needed, yet usually unavailable or non-permissive. The resulting products are measurement, calculation, and exploration instruments informed by the motto "Ex Mensura, Scientia" -- knowledge from measurement.
Products
Wndsn creates custom-built instruments and multi-purpose tools, metrology & illumination solutions.
Wndsn's claim to fame is the invention of the Telemeter, a unique measuring, navigation, and surveying instrument based on millenia of arcane math and science.
Dedicated astronomical and military versions of the base instruments are being developed and made available including comprehensive instructional materials.
Mission
Wndsn [ˈwɪndsən] provides tools and training for professionals and enthusiasts in mastering conditions where electronic measurement equipment and methods are unavailable or contraindicated.
Wndsn devises instruments that measure values in astronomical, geographical, and engineering contexts, calculate relevant results from the acquired data, and process the insights to make meaningful decisions.
Wndsn graphical computers are thinking tools that teach to observe and make sense of the physical world.
Design
Wndsn produces archival quality products that are designed with intent by combining techniques proven over centuries, bringing together the early history of science with cutting-edge, contemporary methods, resulting in iconic, timeless, high-utility designs.
Contact
If you are interested in a collaboration, design consulting, or a custom or customized product, don't hesitate to contact us.
- info [at] wndsn [dot] com
The Logo
The Wndsn logo is not a fixed mark in the contemporary sense of commercial brand logotypes, but instead, it is a heraldic sign where the appearance is based on the description "Norseman; son of strong winds and the sea" which has its roots in the blazoning of coats of arms; "a strong wind from the north" as the upper part and a symbolic representation for "first son", origin, foundation, etc. This can take on various visual shapes, with the elements still recognizable and still depcting the same described attributes. We are using various versions concurrently, some items lend themselves more to the maker's mark style while other applications call for the 1920s, European ligature-logotype.
The first Wndsn embroidered patch featuring one of the first iterations of the Wndsn logo.
Maker's mark metal stamp with a straight-lines only interpretation of the Wndsn logo.
Consider the description of the very first Wndsn logo embroidered patch:
The reflective Wndsn, one-piece toolmark, consisting of the meteorological symbol for strong wind from the north, and the Greek letter upsilon, a heraldic representation of the first born son, itself cut like a blade, is emerging from a black square, the shadows, symbolized in a material that only reflects perpendicular to the observer and is flooding its surroundings, thereby concealing them.
The Berlin Story
Forged in the Cold War City of Tradecraft
Wndsn's roots start in Berlin during the Cold War, when the divided city was the "showcase of the free world". We found ourselves the epicentre of a global battle for hearts and minds between the liberal West and the communist East. The confines of the Berlin wall, and the intense influence of the three western allies, fed an unparalleled burst of creativity that earned Berlin the title "outpost of freedom". The moniker "city of tradecraft" is the result of the constant and continuous struggle of every major global covert agency to set and maintain foot in the city. This unique combination of interests and high tension fundamentally influenced the Wndsn project.
Declaration of Freedom
Growing up in Berlin meant listening to the radio every Sunday at noon, where the declaration of freedom was repeated. The statement summarizes what we believe, and what we maintain.
Ich glaube an die Unantastbarkeit und an die Würde jedes einzelnen Menschen. Ich glaube, dass allen Menschen von Gott das gleiche Recht auf Freiheit gegeben wurde. Ich verspreche, jedem Angriff auf die Freiheit und der Tyrannei Widerstand zu leisten, wo auch immer sie auftreten mögen. [1]
Translated from the original pledge for the freedom bell:
I believe in the sacredness and dignity of the individual. I believe that all men derive the right to freedom equally from God. I pledge to resist aggression and tyranny wherever they appear on earth. [2]
Wndsn upholds this.
Outpost of Freedom
From the back cover of the book Special Forces Berlin: Highly classified until only recently, two U.S. Army Special Forces detachments were stationed far behind the Iron Curtain in West Berlin during the Cold War. The units' existence and missions were protected by cover stories, their operations were secret.
To commemorate the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall, and to honor the roots and the spirit of our foundations at "the outpost of freedom" during the Cold War, we have created a special, limited edition patch, released on the occasion of the Goruck Stealth custom event in Berlin on November 3, 2017.
The patch shows the Wndsn logo on the top-left, overlaying a band of logarithmic scale marks, symbolizing the intelligence motto "observe, evaluate, control". The main area of the patch depicts the boundaries of the divided city of Berlin, with the premier division going from North to South, separating the city with the infamous wall into an Eastern and a Western part, the difference being expressed by the black and white background respectively. The Western part is divided into the French sector making up the North, the British sector covering the middle, and the American sector containing the Southern city districts. Three famous landmarks are shown prominently and in contrasting colors, a further nod to the ambivalence of what only superficially seem to be absolutes; first and centrally the Brandenburg Gate (1793), paying homage to the Prussian heritage, depicted from a view across the wall from the West into the East; second the TV tower (1969) as a symbol of modern times, also an exclusively East-German project; and third the victory column (1873), located in the Western part of the city and acknowledging the influence that war, both hot and cold has played over the centuries.
Press
[For press enquiries, please see the Press Room.]
See also:
References: