Forward Festival Berlin 2022—Recap

Posted on by Tessa Breuer

We were lucky enough to be invited to the Forward Festival Berlin 2022 and spend two inspiring days in Berlin from September 22nd to 23rd with great people at KINO INTERNATIONAL. We had a booth there with other exhibitors where we could sell our publications and present them to the interested audience from the whole creative industry.

Forward returned to Berlin and expanded to a two-day event! It was a program full of highlights ranging from international heavyweights to local heroes of the creative industries, more than 30 speakers on two stages, exclusive side-events, workshops, an interactive expo area, and much more.

For this special occasion, Forward went from afternoon to morning after to unite industry-leading and emerging creatives. As speakers, graphic design legend Eike König, Boogie, Anthony Burrill, galerist Johann König, Erik Kessels, and many more were taking the stage at KINO INTERNATIONAL during day and night.

It was a great two days and we thank the whole Forward team for their great work and look forward to the next time!

Yearbook of Type #6 2022/23

Posted on by Juliane Lipp

You know the scenario: You just want to find a fitting series or movie on your streaming platform—but you can’t find what you are looking for and keep doom-scrolling—until you turn off the computer. 

The same often happens when looking for the perfect typeface for your design. You know, the one that not only conveys the mood you are longing for, but also needs to fulfill all necessary requirements. In a mess of countless open browser tabs, bookmarks, lists, and folders, the right typeface and foundry—characterized by smallest details—is hard to find.

The Yearbook of Type #6 2022/23 is a collection of the latest published typefaces that helps you find the one—from a browse through the book, or quick look in the index that neatly sorts typefaces by class, designers, and foundries. Each font and font family is presented on a double page. On the left page, the font is applied; inspired by this year’s theme of film and drama. To the right, the typeface is described in detail; with all its features, as well as information about the designers and foundries. A complementary online microsite features all fonts with direct links to respective foundries and purchasing options.

The publication is rounded off by a series of essays, interviews, and tutorials on the subject of type design and contemporary typography. The Yearbook of Type #6 2022/23 provides clarity in a world of constant streaming, scrolling, and aimless browsing. Find the typefaces you’re looking for—and maybe even the right movie for the evening!

– Detailed presentation of 208 recent typefaces
– Ample background information
– Index of typeface classifications
– Index of all 200 type designers and 107 foundries from 33 countries
– Explanation of all OpenType features
– Introduction by Matthieu Salvaggio
– Essays by Karen Ann Donnachie, So-Hyun Bae, Rainer Erich Scheichelbauer, Andy Simionato, Jeremy Tankard, Martin Tiefenthaler, and Lies Wolf
– An microsite online links the typefaces directly to the foundries’ websites

Presented type foundries: 205TF, 3type, AG Typography Institute, AinsiFont, Alanna Munro Type Foundry, Apex Type Foundry, Atelier Brueckner, Atypical, Balibilly Design, Bastarda Type, Blaze Type, BLKBK Inc., BrassFonts, Bureau Sebastian Moock, Canada Type, Cape Arcona Type Foundry, Commercial Type, Connary Fagen, Inc., CRU Brand Consultancy, DSType Foundry, Fabio Haag Type, Fable Type Foundry, Face2Face, Finaltype, Formula Type, FSD, FSdesign, Gradient Type, Gregorij, Hanken Design Co., Hoftype, Horizon Type Foundry, HvD Fonts, In-House International, indestructible type*, Jeremy Tankard Typography, Julien Fincker, Kilotype, Kimmy Kirkwood, KOBU Foundry, Kontour, LA BOLDE VITA, Latinotype, Lazydogs Typefoundry, Lift Type, Los Andes Type, LuxTypo, MACHALSKI.WTF, Mark Simonson Studio, Mark van Leeuwen, Mass-Driver, MB Intl., Michal Tornyai, Monkey Type, Monotype, Morisawa.Inc, Moshik Nadav Typography, Mostardesign Type Foundry, NEW LETTERS, Nico Inosanto, Non Foundry, Nouvelle Noire Type Foundry, Nova Type Foundry, Occupant Fonts, Order, Our Polite Society Type, Pangram Pangram, Paratype, Peregrin Studio, PFA Typefaces, Posterizer KG, PSY/OPS, Quicknap.zzz, R-Typography, Road to Venice Type, Rosetta Type Foundry, Schriftlabor, Serpentype, Sharp Type, Skrr Type, Slow Fonts, Stan Hema, studio4oo2, Studio Rene Bieder, Studio Thonik, sugargliderz, Synthview Type Design, The Designers Foundry, The Foundry Types, Tour de Force Font Foundry, TYPE BY, TYPE DEPARTMENT, TYPE FIRM, Typejockeys, TypeMates, Typerepublic, Typerotation, TypeTogether, Typogama, Typotheque, Ultra Kuhl, Viktor Nübel, VivalaType, W Type Foundry, Wannatype, Wiener Schriften, Zetafonts

Our sincerest thanks goes out to all participants: Thank you for being a part of this project and your support and trust in us! You and your typefaces are amazing!

Yearbook of Type #6 2022/23
Movie Edition

Publisher: Slanted Publishers
Creative Direction: Lars Harmsen
Art Direction & Managing Editor: Juliane Nöst
Graphic Design Assistance: Saehyeen Shin, Clara Weinreich
Proofreading and Translation: Vicky Blake, Lies Wolf, Julia Kahl
Publishing Direction: Lars Harmsen, Julia Kahl
Microsite: Kolja Buscher
Release: September 2022
Volume: 464 pages
Format (w × h × d): 16 × 24 × 4.5 cm
Language: English
Specials: Hardcover
Color: Printed with 10 HKS Spot Colors, HKS Warenzeichenverband e. V.
Printing: Stober Medien GmbH
Bookbinding: Buchbinderei Klotz GmbH, stitch binding
Cover Material: Peydur neuleinen, 135 g / sm, peyer graphic gmbh
Paper Inside: Holmen TRND 2.0, 80 g / sm, Holmen Paper
Endpaper: SURBALIN seda, 115 g / sm, Pastellblau, peyer graphic gmbh
ISBN: 978-3-948440-41-1

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Tsunagu Mono Gatari—Verbindungsstücke

Posted on by ferdinandulrich

On the occasion of the ten-year anniversary of its artist residency program at Villa Kamogawa, the Goethe Insitute in Kyoto, its director Enzio Wetzel and curator Michael Hirschbichler invited former residents to submit “connecting pieces” (Japanese: tsunagu mono gatari, German: Verbindungsstücke) of Japanese-German cultural exchange for an exhibition and catalogue named Tsunagu Mono Gatari—Verbindungsstücke.

Berlin-based typographers Toshiya Izumo and Ferdinand Ulrich developed the visual concept of the bilingual catalog Tsunagu Mono Gatari–Verbindungsstücke. Their multi-script design is centered around a playful, unconventional approach to the different directions of reading: from top to bottom, left to right, and vice versa. 73 artist cards and a 60-page brochure of essays are held together by two wrappers. Their colors follow a palette selected by textile designer Nari Haase, printed letterpress by Daniel Klotz/die Lettertypen.

All text is set in Alessio D’Ellena’s Laica and in Akira Kataoka’s MaruminKatura, selected to complement each other. In addition to this convergence, the titling face Ribaasu offers a connecting element between the different scripts of both languages. Type designer TienMin Liao exclusively donated her unreleased yet award-winning typeface to this project. The printed catalog is photographed by Norman Posselt with hands of Robyn Steffen.

Tsunagu Mono Gatari—Verbindungsstücke

Publisher: Wasmuth & Zohlen
Volume: 73 artist cards, 60-page booklet
Format: 13 × 21 cm
Languages: Japanese, German
ISBN: 978 3 8030 3416 8
Price: € 28.–
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Dinamo Font Customizer

Posted on by Dinamo

Dinamo believes that customizing fonts should not be an exclusive thing that people need to pay lots of money for. Everyone should have easy access to modifying their own font toolbox! Over the years, the foundry has received numerous emails from customers asking for small changes to their fonts. Mostly, designers fall in love with some of the alternates included in their designs, and they reach out to them because they’d like to make them their new font’s default. In response to this regular inquiry, the Dinamo Font Customizer makes font customization free, quick, and easy for everyone who purchases Dinamo typefaces.

After choosing your typeface, and right before completing the checkout process, you can launch the customizer and select which alternate characters you’d like to make your new font’s default.

Say you’re buying Diatype and would like the double story “a” as your default rather than the single story “a”: You can now simply select that option before checkout and our website will generate personalized font files for you on the fly. The foundry likes to think of it as just as easy as customizing your own trainers on the web portals of personalizable trainer brands.

One more thing! You can also combine the Dinamo Font Customizer with the Custom Font Naming tool to create bespoke font files containing both your preferred alternates and personalized name. When you install the font, it’ll appear in your menu with your chosen name and default characters in all design applications (even WORD 😳).

Dinamo Font Customizer

Convince yourself of Dinamo Font Customizer

Pictoplasma 2022

Posted on by Tessa Breuer

We had the pleasure to attend the 18th Pictoplasma 2022 conference in Berlin on Thursday, September 15th. On the premises of Silent Green met a colorful crowd of friends of character design, illustration, game designers, and leading animation filmmakers.

It was a great day full of inspiring moments on the screen and in conversations with the high spirited participants and hosts. It was noticeable that everyone was very grateful and happy about the reunion after a long time.

The program of the conference was very varied and entertaining with talks, panel discussions, PechaKucha presentations, animation screenings, workshops, and exhibitions.

We especially liked the atmosphere at the puppet workshop of the Austrian artist and illustrator Claudia Six. During her talk before the workshop, she shared with the audience the visions she has had since childhood. Perceiving ghost-like figures in her environment inspires her work as a puppet designer for performances and stage designs for theater and opera. The workshop offered the participants of the conference the opportunity to become creative themselves and to design and present their own puppets in an open environment.

We are really looking forward to the next festival!

Here you get an overview of the entire program of the event.

Typedesign Experts Share Their Knowledge

Posted on by Clara Weinreich

Have you ever wondered whether digital typography needs different rules than typesetting on paper? Or why some brands’ logotypes don’t really look convincing? These and many other questions will be answered in a jam-packed workshop with two respected type designers from the Monotype Studio.

On the fringes of the outstanding type exhibition Finding Forte (September 28th – October 26th, 2022) at designforum Wien, Monotype is inviting communications experts to the three-hour type design workshop Typedesign Experts Share Their Knowledge. On October 6th, starting at 4 p.m., up to 50 participants will learn everything about new trends in type design, what characterizes a good, contemporary typeface, and how a professional word mark is created.

The two-part event will begin with a presentation by Emilios Theofanous, Creative Type Director at Monotype, who will examine the current and future challenges in written communication: technology, aesthetics, values and globalization. This will be followed by an interactive logotype workshop with Friedrich Althausen, type designer at Monotype. He will talk with participants about consistency and form relationships, contrast, proportion and spacing. Afterwards, wordmarks will be designed on paper and then digitized using the best method.

Typedesign Experts Share Their Knowledge 
Type 3.0 & Logo Workshop

When?
October 6th, 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.
get-together afterwards

Where?
designforum
Quartier 21
MQ Museumsplatz 1
Vienna
Austria

Participation is free of charge. [CTA] Apply here for one of 50 places!

About Monotype
Monotype creates brands that matter with type, technology, and expertise. The company partners with leading foundries to deliver the broadest inventory of high-quality typefaces in the world. Further information

About Emilios Theofanous
Born in Cyprus, Monotype Creative Type Director Emilios Theofanous, has a soft spot for quality Greek and multilingual typography. Since joining Monotype, Emilios has worked on many custom typeface projects for clients across fashion, banking, retail and automotive sectors. More about Emilios

About Friedrich Althausen
Friedrich Althausen is a type designer based in Monotype’s Berlin office. After his studies at the Bauhaus University in Weimar, Friedrich worked as a freelance designer with a special interest in book typography and letter drawing. More about Friedrich

FRUIT EXHIBITION X

Posted on by Tessa Breuer

Fruit Exhibition X turns ten and announces its latest edition: the international festival and market of independent art publishing returns from September 30th to October 2nd, 2022, in its original structure: a three-day market that brings together the best examples of independent publications and a program of meetings, film screenings, exhibitions, and workshops dedicated to the world of publishing.

For this important final act, Fruit Exhibition has chosen DumBO, a temporary urban regeneration space a few hundred meters from the center and the Central Station, ready to welcome the proposals of almost one hundred Italian and international exhibitors including micro art publishers, self-publisher, graphic designer, illustrators, and artists, contemporary graphics publishing houses, magazines, music labels, artisan printers: on display, the public will be able to find artist’s books, catalogs, graphic design, zines, sound editions, illustration, photography, new types of traditional, and digital printing and publications.

Two focuses this year: Invitation to travel, curated by Chiara Capodici, book designer and founder of the Roman bookstore Leporello-photobooks et al., which underlines the importance of the dimension of travel, first of all interior, in its transcultural meaning , historical and visionary; Drawing (r) evolution, curated by Andrea LoSavio (gallery D406) and Cinzia Ascari, instead investigates the growing interest in contemporary drawing in recent years, not only as a medium at the service of publishing but also as an autonomous and always accomplished artistic form most appreciated in the art market. 

Ten workshops dedicated to training and creativity, ranging from traditional techniques such as lettering, screen printing, and letterpress, to digital publishing and new technological frontiers. There will also be a rich program of screenings and talks designed to bring the public closer to independent publishing through interviews, conferences, and presentations of unpublished projects.

Fruit Exhibition is a Crudo project in collaboration with Arci Bologna with the support of Regione Emilia Romagna, Comune di Bologna, and Fondazione del Monte di Bologna e Ravenna.

FRUIT EXHIBITION X

When?
September 30th to October 2nd, 2022

Where?
DumBO 
Via Camillo Casarini 19
Bologna
Italy

Timetables
Friday, September 30th: 5 p.m. – 1 a.m. (market closes at 10 p.m.)
10:30 p.m. concert by Stefano Ricci
Saturday, October 1st: 11 a.m. – 1 a.m.
10 p.m. dj set
Sunday, October 2nd: 11 a.m. – 1 a.m. (market closes at 9:30 p.m.);
9 p.m. closing party

Admission
(Ticket valid for three days)
€ 9.– for ARCI 2022/2023 card holders
€ 14.– admission + ARCI 2022/2023 card (membership at the entrance)
€ 20.– admission for non-members
Pre-membership recommended

The program may undergo minor variations, for updates it is advisable to consult the website of Fruit Exhibition X.

Presale

Exhibitors of Fruit Exhibition X:
5X Letterpress (Italy), AIAP (Italy), Alvorturazine (Italy), Almanacco Press (Italy), Anita Scianò (Italy), Anna Giuntini-Iroiroworld (Italy), Anomali (Italy), Anonima Impressori (Italy), APRI (Italy), Archivio Magazine (Italy), Baco About Photographs (Italy), Beauroma Books (Italy), BEKKO (Italy), BOLO Paper (Italy), Cabin Boy Studio (Italy), Calluna Cartilegi (Italy), Canicola (Italy), Checkpoint Charly (Italy), Cicuta (Italy), Collettivo Canederli (San  Marino), Collettivo Franco (Italy), Compulsive Archive (Italy), Condylura+Xong (Italy), Costanza Coletti (Italy), Curatela Placebo (Italy), Damocle Edizioni (Italy), Damiano Boldrini (Italy), Dito Publishing (Italy), École supérieure d’arts & médias de Caen/Cherbourg (France), Eki Magazine (Italy), Elfi Seidel (Germany), Federico Blu di Prussia (Italy), Flow Photozine (Italy), FranZine (Italy), FRUTE (Italy), Fuori Formato (Italy), Galleria D406 disegno contemporaneo (Italy), Galleria Disastro (Italy), Giada Fuccelli (Italy), Giorgiabaloo (Italy), Howphelia (Italy), Illustation (Italy), Inferno 5 (Italy), Ivana Spinelli (Italy), KABUL Magazine (Italy), Kristian Ujhelji (Austria), Le Palle (Italy), Leporello-Photobooks et al. (Italy), Libri Finti Clandestini (Italy), Libri Tasso (Italy), Lievito Creative LAB (Italy), Lisa Gelli (Italy), Lök Zine (Italy), Lucangelo Bracci (Italy), Maaterials (Italy), Marcello Ruvidotti (Italy), Marco Brancato (Italy), Margotmao (Italy), Marisa Ventura (Italy), Mel The Sketcher (Italy), Memorial Paint (Italy), Mia Martì (Spain), Mira Mink (Finland), Mulieris Magazine (Italy), Noi, libreria progetto TATO (Italy), Nerofumo680 (Italy), Numero Cromatico (Italy), Obsolete Shit (Italy), Officina del giorno dopo (Italy), Officina Typo (Italy), Officine Amaro (Italy), Papièl di Carmine Luino (Italy), Panopticon (Italy), Polenta Malgazine (Italy), Press Press (Italy), Rapso (Italy), Red Lab Edizioni (Italy), Robida (Italy), Rollingsteel (Italy)  Saleh Kazemi (Iran/Italy), Salvatore Liberti (Italy), Sigaretten Edizioni Grafiche (Italy), Studio Boîte (Italy), Studio Makebu (Italy), Studio Saor (Italy), Suppergiú Magazine (Italy), Suren Hash (Mongolia), Taller Trez (Colombia), Testa Imperfetta (Italy), Valeria Cardetti (Italy), VIAINDUSTRIAE (Italy), Vincenzo Sparagna (Italy), Virginia Elena Patrone Illustrations (Italy), Zanna Dura (Italy).

60 Years of Forte

Posted on by Tessa Breuer

Forte, this living typeface, has been used, abused, and often overused for over six decades, since it was published by The Monotype Corporation in 1962. Its designer, Karl Reißberger, has been little known until now. The exhibition 60 Jahre Forte—Die Schrift, die alle kennen (60 Years of Forte) traces the genesis of the “typeface everyone knows” through Reißberger’s early posters, original designs, and advertising materials. It goes in search of worldwide finds and accompanies its revision as Forte Forward by Toshi Omagari 60 years after its first appearance. In dialog with the historical outline, a contemporary examination of the Forte’s formal language takes place on the basis of 31 artistic positions. With their interpretations, international creatives open up a new approach to typography.

60 Years of Forte

When?
September 28th – October 26th, 2022

Where?
designforum Vienna Q21/MQ
Museumsplatz 1/Hof 7
1070 Vienna
Austria

Opening hours
Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Saturday, Sunday, Holiday, 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. 

Program

September 28th, 6:30 p.m.
Exhibition opening

September 29th, 7 p.m.
Craig Winslow (tga lecture)
Augmented restoration: shining a light on faded ads
Light Capsules, an ongoing worldwide project

October 5th, 7 p.m.
Toshi Omagari (tga lecture)
Taking Forte forward
On behalf of Microsoft, Toshi revised Forte in 2022

October 6th, 4 p.m.
Typo 3.0 & Logo Workshop (Monotype)
With creative type directors from Monotype Studios
Emilios Theofanous (Studio London) reveals what tomorrow’s written communication will look like, Friedrich Althausen (Studio Berlin) designs a professional wordmark with visitors and digitizes it.
Free workshop, 50 seats
To the registration

October 13th, 3:30 p.m.
Typowalk and Curator’s tour
Buy tickets

Admission
€ 4.– / € 2.– reduced

Publication “Finding Forte”
Preorder here!
Also available at designforum Vienna

 

Showreel

Posted on by Tessa Breuer

HDMIHDGDL—or: shouldn’t audio-visual be called visual-auditory? Sabrina Zeltner aka Subrihanna has been on the road as a visual artist with various live video projects for years. In her artist book Showreel she makes the attempt to print her music videos, complemented by texts to reflect on her work by Kristoffer Cornils, Judith Grobe, Linda Weidmann, and Meera Theunert.

Sabrina Zeltner’s artistic practice is situated in the interplay between video, installation, audio-visual live performances, graphic design, as well as subculture and club culture. She nearly always works in collaboration, making the mutual exchange and cooperation with musicians, artists, and graphic designers into an important aspect of the overall dynamic of her artistic practice. As she says herself, shared moments provide a direction for impulses. The multi-layered, largely interdisciplinary projects are manifested in music videos, live visuals, and live video performances, in which visual worlds and aesthetic form are mutually influential—the live moment is always already anticipated in the videos or inspires them. This artists’ book draws on the visual content of these music videos and live video performances. Using an experimental approach, moving images are rendered in book form, translating something ephemeral into something permanent.

Showreel

Design: Philipp Dittmar at Complex Pleasures
Publisher: Verydeeprecords (VDR055, 2022)
Workmanship: Soft Cover, Thread Stitching
Volume: 456 Pages 
Printing: six colors
Price: € 23.–
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Picture ©: Maria Bayer

New Visual Identity and Website for Studio Algo

Posted on by illo.tv

Algo, a data-driven studio specializing in video automation, is in fact a sister company of illo.tv, the ten years old international creative studio focused on motion design, illustration, and art direction. The team of Algo was born as its tech division, running a platform that turns data into videos, at scale: it now has become an independent company, with a dedicated team of eight people. They now created a new visual identity and website for Studio Algo.

To reflect this big step of growth, the studio has decided to push further their online presence. The new visual identity is abstract, geometrical, and tied to graphic design roots, with bold colorful shapes, gradients, distortion effects, and custom glyphs bringing lots of character, while a strong grid and the use of typography keeps everything in check.

The new Tech page brings visitors behind the scenes of the technologies, showcasing how Algo uses artificial intelligence to create automated videos that are indistinguishable from human generated ones. The Toolkit page lets users play with the building blocks at the basis of every project, while the new Idea Generator (in homepage) helps widen the spectrum of project ideas, helping companies, and organizations discover what they can do with the Algo technology.

The new Air Quality demo showcases real-time pollution levels for the top hundred cities in the world, allowing you to download the video thanks to Algo’s serverless rendering technology.

The website was fully developed by the Algo team using Framer, the newest No-Code platform, a tool that lets users create a website with an interface similar to an editable Figma file—but with the power of an actual blazing fast website in React.

New Visual Identity and Website for Studio Algo

Design, animation, and development: Algo
Additional development: 7LInternational
Press kit mockup: generated with Dall-e

50U Book

Posted on by rea202610

50U is a book about the United Arab Emirates, the UAE. It was published on the occasion of the UAE’s golden jubilee: 50 years ago—December 2nd, 1971—the confederation of seven Gulf states was officially declared.

50U tells the story of the UAE in 50 portraits of people, plants and places, painting an intimate picture of life in the Emirates, with the memories and expectations of its inhabitants. Over a period of just fifty years, they have witnessed the transformation of a partly nomadic, partly town-based community into a globally active metropolitan society. Interviews with a former minister, a fisherman, an astronaut, a fashion designer, an AI specialist, a female racing driver, a contemporary artist, a conservation expert, a Japanese baker, a tailor and many more tell first-hand what it is like to grow up in the UAE or to spend the better part of one’s life in the region. As one of the interviewees has it:

“In 50 years, the city has transformed from desert to high-rise buildings that pierce the clouds. We have gone from a handful of nationalities to over 250 nationalities. We have jumped from the industrial stage in growth to sector diversification, nuclear power for sustainable solutions, and selling start-ups to big companies. There is almost a story in every sector and industry to tell of the past 50 years.” — Salem Ghanem Al-Marri

An extensive photo essay by Charlie Koolhaas documents the present of ‘where the people are,’ while documentation of plant-life shows what an amazing variety of species the desert contains.

50U Book

Publisher: Archis
Design: Irma Boom assisted by Lulu van Dijck, Jan van der Kleijn
Commissioner: Yasser Bin Khediya
Initial concept: Yasser Bin Khediya, Roadha Bin Khediya, Irma Boom
Concept development: Ahmed and Rashid bin Shabib, Archis, IBO
Editors: Ahmed and Rashid bin Shabib, Anna Seaman, Arjen Oosterman, Francesco Degl’Innocenti, Lilet Breddels, Irma Boom
Project director: Khawla Bin Khediya
Managing director: Francesco Degl’Innocenti
Editorial assistant: Idil Gökgöz
English copy editors: David Cross Kane, Ban Kattan
Transcription and translation: Lien Sulaiman, Noor Refaie, Awad Mustafa, Asha Sherwood, Dana Alomar
Arabic translation and editing: Soul Sisters: Nour Sulaiman, Lien Sulaiman, Lojain Sulaiman, Badiah Ezzi
Arabic page setting: Huda AbiFarès
Volume: 352 pages
Workmanship: Softcover with Silver foil
Format: 24 cm × 17 cm × 3 cm
Print: full color 300 illustrations
Language: English/Arabic
Printer: Zwaan Lenoir
Printed and Bound in the Netherlands
Distributors: Jashanmal (MENA region), Ideabooks (rest of the world)
ISBN: 978 90 77966 921
Price: € 35.–
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Jacopo Valentini—Concerning Dante

Posted on by feder23

Over the centuries, the cultural significance of Dante’s Divine Comedy has gone beyond the purely literary sphere, influencing various aspects of society thanks also to a vast tradition of visual transpositions. Jacopo Valentini—Concerning Dante is a meta-project on the relationship between literary text and landscape, and on the evocative power of the Divine Comedy that, over the centuries, has shaped the perception of places to the point of characterizing them as ‘Dantean.’ Jacopo Valentini investigated a series of places in Italy mentioned by the Supreme Poet and, by relating them to other landscapes and still lifes with the same visual potency, created analogies for a Dantean geography. Valentini’s visual narrative unfolds around three symbolic places and three famous illustrations from Dante’s text, interweaving the Phlegrean Fields, the Pietra di Bismantova, and the Delta of the River Po—interpreted as the gateways to Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise—with the imagery of Federico Zuccari, Alberto Martini, and Robert Rauschenberg.

Jacopo Valentini—Concerning Dante

Photographer: Jacopo Valentini
Design: Federico Barbon
Editor: Humboldt Books
Languages: Italian, English
Volume: 92 pages
Format: 20 × 30 cm
Workmanship: paperback
Release: 2021
ISBN: 9788899385910
€ 19.–
Buy

Virtues of Wood

Posted on by UrsinaWirz

Bienvenue Studios discovered the remarkable deadwood sculptures at the center of their new collection at Hawkey’s Bay, a beach in New Zealand, and they immediately fascinated them. They once served as a habitat for countless organisms. A habitat that is threatened, but which is receiving more and more attention. Now they can be admired in the new collection Virtues of Wood as works of art created by nature.

Due to forestry and the increasing demand for energy wood, many animals and plants that depend on deadwood are threatened. “Rare and endangered are above all light- and heat-loving species as well as habitat specialists of biologically old development phases. One of the biggest deficits, especially in the urbanized areas, is the lack of diverse structures and the lack of deadwood and old trees,” says Dr. Rita Bütler of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape in an interview on their website.

“Presenting banal things in such a way that you can perceive them from a new perspective is important for our work. With our prints, we want to awaken interest in nature. Our work should inspire and create a certain tension.” says Oliver Hischier.

Bienvenue Studios creates visual culture from nature. An environment with natural elements has a positive influence on people’s health and well-being. Through Biophilic Design, Bienvenue Studios promote the desire for nature and integrate it into everyday life. This results in a series of art prints, postcards, posters, but also textiles.

Virtues of Wood

Take a look at their collection 

Boxhorn #38

Posted on by Ivana Baumann

The German University of Applied Sciences Aachen has recently published the 38th edition of the University’s local design magazine named Boxhorn. This issue: Boxhorn #38 analyses and discusses what the german term Zuhause (Home) means.

In conversations with designers, architects, self-employed people, complete strangers, students, photographers, illustrators, tenants, and many other folks, Boxhorn got to know different forms, definitions, and views and give them a space to thrive in the 38th issue—they give them a home.

The issue was edited by Delayne Kreutz, Gabriel Dukić, Hannah Stollenwerk, Ivana Baumann, Maret Van Stiphout, Sophie Leiwen, and Zeno Scheffel, under the supervision of Prof. Ilka Helmig. In an edition of 150 copies, 600 of the 900 individual booklets were bound by hand and, after printing with HP Indigo, finished with fluorescent red via risography printing.

Boxhorn #38

Published: July 2022
Pages: 116 pages
Dimensions: 195 × 280 mm
Price: € 15.–
ISSN: 1864 – 2535
Sold out

Soлomiya

Posted on by peterbuennagel

Soлomiya is an independent magazine founded in April 2022 in response to Russia’s war against Ukraine. Artists from Kyiv and Berlin collaborated to make this magazine, which aims to promote the visibility of common democratic and European values shared by people from Ukraine and other European countries. Being a platform of self-expression for the young generation of creatives from Ukraine, Soлomiya is both an itinerant group exhibition and an art object in itself.

The first issue titled War but Art shows some of what has already been lost but even more of what needs to be defended. It contains photographs, collages, texts, and illustrations—and features works by already well-known Ukrainian artists Sasha Kurmaz and Mykola Ridny as well as upcoming talents. Soлomiya has been realized in cooperation with Akademie der Künste and was designed by Kollektiv Scrollan.

Soлomiya

Self-published
Editors: Vsevolod Kazarin, Andrii Ushytskyi, Sebastian Wells
Volume: 128 pages
Format: 31 × 24 cm
Workmanship: Bound with an elastic band
Price: € 16.– / 400.– UAH
ISBN: 987-3-00-072582-1
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Also available at bookshops all over Europe including Kyiv

Forward Festival Vienna 2022

Posted on by mareneyra

From October 6th to 7th the Forward Festival Vienna 2022 takes place. Save your ticket now.

For eight years now, the Forward Festival has been the most important event for the creative industries in the DACH-region, bringing together top international creatives with local greats and up-and-coming young creatives from all areas of the scene. The topics range from graphic design, typography, and animation to advertising and creative entrepreneurship to photography and film. As a platform, Forward stands for broad cooperation between the disciplines and ensures networking within the otherwise often very diversified industry.

The One-And-Only Stefan Sagmeister to Host the Festival
Like no other, design legend Stefan Sagmeister managed to send the sold-out hall at the Forward Festival into ecstasy with his talks. This year he is not only on stage for a talk: as host he will guide the guests through the program for two days, giving never before published industry insights and seeking a dialog with all speakers in the elite timetable.

The Festival and the Network of Finest Creative Talent
For years, the Forward Festival has pursued the mission of bringing together creatives from all over the world and from a wide variety of disciplines, and to provide them with the most impressive and inspiring input possible for their future careers through active participation in the festival events. What Forward has developed over the years is a huge yet close and active network of international creative greats, local heroes of the scene, and a strong community of thousands all around. Founder and curator of the festival Othmar Handl says:

“The idea behind Forward was and is to initiate a unique platform where the creative community can share inspiration, give each other personal feedback, and drive the future of the industry. That so much more has come out of it now makes me incredibly proud. Experiencing all the stories that have already been brought to me about our festival gives us the strength and joy of organizing our events every year new—from long-term professional collaborations, to intense friendships, and even a very popular ‘Forward Baby,’ everything is already there!”

But also beyond the Festival, the founder and his agency Forward Creatives care about constant progress in the industry. Just recently, they launched a network for creative professionals which aims to improve cooperation between brands and creatives.

Forward Festival Vienna 2022

When?
October 6th & 7th, 2022

Where?
GARTENBAU Kino
Parkring 12
1010 Vienna
Austria

Tickets: On-site tickets from € 159.– and On-Site Student-tickets from € 79.–

Tickets for the event on October 6th at GARTENBAU Kino are limited and in high-demand, Livestream tickets are also available on the Forward Festival website.

Find their full program and get an overview here

Images: © Werner Streitfelder, Julian Mittelstaedt, Stefan Sagmeister, jmvotography, Erik Kessels, Niklas Schnaubelt, Kelli Anderson, Niklas Schnaubelt, Ada Sokol, Werner Streitfelder

German Design Awards 2023

Posted on by Tessa Breuer

Whether in editorial, corporate, packaging, UX design, or branding—a well-designed product can be a carrier of the transformation process. If sustainability is considered from the ground up in the design process, i.e. content and the message conveyed are in harmony with each other, the first step towards a credible and successful brand strategy has already been taken. The German Design Awards 2023 aim to promote sustainable transformation from a design perspective.

International companies, designers, architects and agencies can still apply for the German Design Awards 2023 until September 16th, 2022. The international awards by the German Design Council offer the winners the best-possible opportunity for publicity: They are proof of innovation capability and design expertise and demonstrate that the winners are well positioned and also able to differentiate themselves through sustainable design solutions. 

The German Design Awards exclusively honor projects that are leading the way in design. This is overseen by an international jury made up of leading figures from all disciplines of design. Those projects who convince the jury prove that they comply with the growing standards for a sustainable design process and resource- and environmentally-friendly production.

Honors will be given to the best work in the award disciplines Excellent Product Design, Excellent Communications Design, and Excellent Architecture, with a focus on sustainable solutions in all categories. Participants could register for the categories relevant to them. Additionally, there will be an extra category for Universal Design, honoring projects that excel through barrier-free use, flexible application, and intuitive operation.

The Awards
The winners of the awards gain visibility for their success and achieve access to networks, reach, an international presence and even better market opportunities. The awards ceremony in Frankfurt am Main in February 2023 will be one of the year’s biggest design events where international guests from various different industries will meet and converse. The winners of the Gold awards will also be showcased in an exhibition.

The German Design Awards are organized by the German Design Council and are among the world’s most renowned design awards. With roughly 4,500 entries from 63 countries, the German Design Awards 2022 again saw pleasing growth in international interest in the awards.

German Design Council—The Award Giver
The German Design Council has been operating since 1953 as one of the world’s leading centers of expertise in communication and knowledge transfer within design, branding, and innovation. It is part of the worldwide design community and has always contributed to the establishment of global exchange and networking thanks to its international offering, promotion of new talent, and memberships. With events, conventions, competitions, jury meetings, and expert committees, the German Design Council connects its members and numerous other international design and branding experts, fosters discourse, and provides important stimulation for the global economy. More than 350 businesses currently count among its members.

German Design Awards 2023

Registration deadline: September 16th, 2022
Jury meeting: October 20th, 2022
Awards ceremony: February 2023
Information and announcement documents

Submit now!

The Nest—The CalArts Poster Archive Print

Posted on by Clara Weinreich

The Nest—The CalArts Poster Archive Print is a book, conceived and designed by Scott Massey, about process—the process of designing, and how it changes both what we make and who we are. The Nest is also a book about memory—how memory builds up in layers and influences our experiences, as well as the things we make. The focus of The Nest is a series of posters created in celebration of the exhibition Inside Out & Upside Down: Posters from CalArts 1970–2019. The Nest documents Scott Massey’s use of appropriation, collage, layering and re-working to generate 200 unique and vibrant compositions that each tell a different story about creative discovery. 

The Nest was born when Massey, a CalArts alum, was commissioned by curator Michael Worthington to design and print a poster for the Inside Out & Upside Down exhibition. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the exhibition at the Redcat in Los Angeles, CA had been postponed. With the world still in the throes of the global pandemic, this was seen as a time to dig deeper, to reflect on what makes each of us unique and what inspires our lives. At the heart of The Nest is an interest in the way form-making can be influenced by not just the circumstances of the present moment, but just as much by history—from the Bauhaus to Swiss Modernism to the variants of Postmodernism that stemmed from CalArtsand Cranbrook.

Using elements that represent the history and range of the storied CalArts poster archive, this project is an exploration of aesthetic strategies brought to life by blending both digital and analog processes. Layer by layer, step by step, The Nest closely examines each phase of designing those 200 posters. It is a celebration of process and a deep dive into the ever-evolving design values that guide one along the creative process. The Nest is full of personal narratives, conversations about process, the always difficult journey of making, and how memories can guide and inspire. Through interviews, essays, and conversations among designers, The Nest looks to illuminate what it truly takes to start something and to keep going no matter the resistance, until you find your way out.

Conversations and writing by: Denise Gonzales Crisp & Gail Swanlund / Ed Fella & Martin Venezky / Bijan Berahimi, Stefano Giustiniani & Laura Bernstein / Ethan A. Stewart / Juliette Bellocq & Louise Sandhaus / Ian Lynam / Paul Sahre, George Bates & Scott Massey / David Karwan & Michael Worthington  / Joseph Conway / Martin Venezky & Jon Sueda

The Nest—The CalArts Poster Archive Print

Publisher: Slanted Publishers
Concept and Design: Scott Massey
Editor: Ethan A. Stewart
Release: September 2022
Format: 216 × 278 mm
Volume: 272 pages
Language: English
Workmanship: Hardcover
Printing: Offset with fluorescents and metallic spot colors by Stober Medien
Binding: Thread-stitching
ISBN: 978-3-948440-11-4
Price: € 45.–
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Exhibition at Wetter- und Klimawerkstatt Offenbach

Posted on by JohannaBieber

Weather, climate, and contemporary art: this field of tension, which is as extraordinary as it is highly relevant, is emerging in a distinguished art project of the Wetter- und Klimawerkstatt (Weather and Climate Workshop) in Offenbach am Main, taking place until October 29th, 2022.

The Wetter- und Klimawerkstatt in downtown Offenbach, which is a cooperative project between the City of Offenbach (Cultural Management and Economic Development) and the German Weather Service DWD, will present nine artistic positions in the upcoming special exhibition In der Mitte des Wetters—Über Klima, Kunst und Wetter (In the Middle of the Weather. On Art and Weather).

The artists will examine our way of life and the question of a climate-friendly society in different ways and, using clouds, smoke, the sea, air, earth, and weather, will tell of how we deal with the world in which we live. Humans have changed the world. The forests on our own doorstep are all too seldom cultivated according to the rules of sustainable forestry. Increasingly, the sediment layers contain “technical fossils” such as aluminum, concrete residues, plastic particles, and carbon compounds from the burning of fossil fuels. Due to the emission of greenhouse gases, the climate has changed noticeably worldwide since the beginning of industrialization. Our waste is not only found in the oceans—and our footprint includes the exploitation of other people around the globe. This has consequences for all of us; climate change with its consequences threatens us humans and also the animal and plant world. The exhibition is intended to stimulate discussion: How do we want to live together in the long term in our city and in a metropolitan region on the river?

The invited artistic positions expand the axes of vision and add very different facets to the dialog: Julius Bokelt, Swaantje Güntzel, Wolf von Kries, Elke Marhöfer, Marie-Luce Nadal, PARA, PRĦPOSITION, Sophie Utikal, and Raul Walch.

Exhibition at Wetter- und Klimawerkstatt Offenbach

When?
Until October 29th, 2022
Tuesday–Friday: 2–7 p.m. 
Saturday: 11 a.m.–6 p.m.

Where?
Wetter- und Klimawerkstatt Offenbach am Main
Frankfurter Straße 39 / Rathaus-Plaza
63065 Offenbach am Main
Germany

Free entrance

Famous Robberies / Let’s Play Indoors / In Great Numbers

Posted on by Julia Kahl

Summer is still in full swing, but the days are getting shorter and in autumn we spend more time at home again. Therefore we present you three wonderfully illustrated children’s books from Little Gestalten, with which you and your children will have a lot of fun:

Famous Robberies
The World’s Most Spectacular Heists

Stealing a world-famous piece of art from a museum or snatching diamonds under 24-hour surveillance: there is a certain fascination for impressive robberies. And the world has seen some truly legendary ones.

Famous Robberies tells the real adventures of those who walked through walls and did the impossible. It introduces the perpetrators of infamous hits like the Great Train Robbery, the Antwerp diamond heist, or the Citibank Hack. With chapters designed in retro-newspaper style, this book will fascinate children for historical events as much as for the investigations and reporting around them.

Editors: gestalten
Author: Soledad Romero
Illustrator: Julio Antonio Blasco
Release date: April 2022
Format: 22 × 27 cm
Volume: 64 pages
Features: Full color, hardcover, stitch bound
ISBN (English): 978-3-96704-728-8
ISBN (German): 978-3-96704-727-1
Buy for € 19.90

Let’s Play Indoors
Fun Crafts for Children

For children, the world is their playground! But sometimes the world is encased by four walls, so it’s time to get creative. Let’s Play Indoors! offers imaginative and resourceful ways to keep kids amused and inspired with games, crafts, and home-styled costumes inside the house.

This book encourages children to take the lead in deciding how to spend their time and is a perfect companion for rainy days or periods spent offline. With simple instructions on how to make paper masks and hand-dyed clothing as well as tips on how to wow friends and family with a shadow puppet performance, Let’s Play Indoors! ensures that time spent inside is never wasted.

This book showcases more than 20 traditional crafts with a modern twist. As well as presenting thoughtful activities that don’t need too much adult supervision or intervention.

Author: Ryan Eyers
Illustrator: Rachel Victoria Hillis
Format: 21 × 26 cm
Volume: 48 pages
Features: Full Color, Hardcover, stitch bound
ISBN (English): 978-3-96704-713-4
ISBN (German): 978-3-96704-712-7
Buy for € 14.90

In Great Numbers
How Numbers Shape the World We Live In

Over the centuries, people have conceived clever ways to use numbers so that we can understand the world around us better, build cities, find our way home, and much more. In Great Numbers tells the story of this groundbreaking invention.

Numbers are so important in our daily lives. How else would we ask for three scoops of ice cream? Or know whether we’ve got 60 minutes left to play with our friends rather than 60 seconds? Why does a minute have 60 seconds anyway and not 100? Where does zero come from and what language do computers understand?

Numbers are everywhere! In Great Numbers will introduce children to the fascinating world of numbers and explains how they help us in our daily life. 1, 2, 3, go!

Authors: Isabel Thomas, Robert Klanten, Maria-Elisabeth Niebius and Raphael Honigstein
Illustration: Daniela Olejníková
Format: 24 × 28 cm
Volume: 64 pages
Features: Full color, hardcover, stitch bound
ISBN (English): 978-3-89955-820-3
ISBN (German): 978-3-89955-819-7
Buy for € 19.90

Recap: Indiecon Festival 2022

Posted on by Julia Kahl

It’s quite a long time ago that we personally were part of Indiecon, the Independent Publishing Festival in Hamburg. More than ever publishers are permanently caught between repetition and reinvention—the topic of this year’s conference and fair with a more international lineup than ever before.

Independent magazine makers and lovers from all over the world shared their passion, stories and perspectives and made this event a place for discourse and cultural exchange. For the exhibiting publishers at Indiecon, there was a special opportunity to talk to independent publishing experts such as Kickstarter, DistriPress, Stack, funk magazine, and Athenaeum in a one-on-one setting with a focus on distribution and funding. Moreover there was a live printing Walk-in Workshop by Drucken3000 and Riso Germany where you could explore the possibilities of risograph printing and discover great paper at the Paper Bar by Inapa.

We really enjoyed the mix of upcoming talents presenting their zines with very small print runs and those who are already known but come up with interesting new projects regularly. Soon we will present you some findings on our channels 😉

Thanks a lot for having us, it was a big pleasure to be part of Indiecon and to meet so many people at our booth from all over the world. Thank you!

Slanted in Stockholm: Christopher West

Posted on by Vicky Blake

When visiting Stockholm in the summer of 2021, we took a close look at the contemporary design scene. We were happy to meet great designers from the local creative scene, among them Christopher West!

Studio Christopher West is a small independent design studio. The studio was founded in 2009 by Christopher West, after graduating from the Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. In 2012, he relocated from Amsterdam to his native Stockholm. The assignments come from a broad variation of clients within the fields of fashion, architecture filmmaking, music, and art, to name a few.

Christopher West’s work can be found in the Slanted Magazine #39—Stockholm. Additionally we shot a video interview to talk about his attitude and view of things. Take a look at our new issue and the video platform to encounter new ways of design thinking!

Portrait and studio photography: © Thomas Mandl
Product photography: © Christopher West

Typeface of the Month: Franzi Pro

Posted on by Vicky Blake

In September our Typeface of the Month: Franzi Pro is a sans-serif by the Vienna based type foundry Wannatype. 

The new sans-serif Franzi typeface family—as neutral as can be, but at the same time individual and striking. Its unmistakable character lies in the detail, with no effect pushing itself to the fore. As a wide-running typeface with a relatively large x-height (fig. 2), the typeface family is perfectly suited to small text sizes but, with its elegant details, it leaves nothing to be desired in display applications either (fig. 3).

A total of 20 well-developed fonts are available: ten weights from hairline to black, each of which can be upright and italic (fig. 4). The italics are softly and elegantly drawn, while the upright characters appear much more severe. The design appeal reveals itself in the two-storey ‘a’—a tribute to legibility in body copy (fig. 5); however, for those who prefer the geometric in applications, an alternative single-storey ‘a’ is also available (fig. 6).

All styles have small caps, superscript and subscript lowercase letters, lining, non-lining, and small caps figures, fractions as well as several ligatures, alternative fonts, symbols, and arrows. The Latin uppercase letters are also available as discreet swash variants. In addition to the extended Latin alphabet, the typeface family also includes the complete Greek, Cyrillic, and International Phonetic Alphabet IPA (fig. 7). Franzi is always a proper choice for striking poster designs or corporate communication (figs. 8–10).

Franzi was created as a further development of a commission to produce signs for a therapy practice in Vienna’s Franz-Hochedlinger-Gasse— hence the name, which is more common as an abbreviation for Franziska than as a diminutive for the male name Franz: Franzi is therefore a hybrid typeface name which has female tendencies.

Typeface of the Month: Franzi Pro

Foundry: Wannatype
Designer: Ekke Wolf
Release: June 2022
Format: otf, woff, woff2, ttf (variable font)
Weights: Hairline, ExtraLight, UltraLight, Light, Regular, Medium, DemiBold, Bold, ExtraBold, Black
Price per weight / family: € 24.– / € 200.– (complete pack oder variable font)
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GRAPHIT 2022

Posted on by aennsing

For the third time, the GRAPHIT 2022 — Festival for Illustration and Urban Sketching is taking place in Erfurt, Germany. GRAPHIT explores cultural, artistic and creative-economic aspects of drawing, reflects contemporary visual culture, and brings creative people together in a scientific festival format. The three-day symposium is taking place from September 23rd to 25th, 2022, packed with workshops, lectures, debates, and open workspaces.

GRAPHIT will be filled to the brim with lectures and workshops, invites lecturers, and speakers from near and far to Erfurt. Participants are not only given an insight into the creative world of the invited professionals, but are also offered the opportunity to leave their own comfort zone and explore other areas of design within the framework of the workshops. But even away from the regular program events, there will be the opportunity for an exchange of experiences, lively discussions, and joint creative processes.

The symposium will take place at Kontor, Retronom, and Schambrwoski. In a dignified atmosphere, perfect for these intensive creative and concentration phases, things will really get going, while also providing for all kinds of retreat and relaxation.

Participation in the symposium and individual event points is limited due to room capacities and is possible with a ticket. Tickets are available for the whole symposium (Friday to Sunday), for the whole Saturday or for the opening on Friday. The Battle on Saturday is also accessible via evening box office. Participation in the tour on Sunday is free of charge for those interested.

GRAPHIT 2022

Where?
KONTOR–Hugo-John-Straße 8 / 99086 Erfurt
RETRONOM–Snokksen e.V. // Johannesstraße 17a / 99084 Erfurt
SCHAMBROWSKI–Magdeburger Allee 90 / 99086 Erfurt
Germany

When?
September 23rd to 25th, 2022

Get your ticket here!