The idea behind this work is to see how simple shapes convert into a typeface. A small set of modular forms is used as building blocks, coming together to create letters in a playful yet systematic way. The project explores how repetition, rhythm, and small variations can transform basic geometry into a cohesive and expressive type system.
white noise
These typographic experiments investigate form and distortion though grids, spatial structures, and three-dimensional systems.
Set within generous white space, the works allow type to shift between signal, interference, and abstraction.
Making of 45 Symbols—Clay to Code
We’re very excited to share that 45 Symbols—Clay to Code is currently in production and approaching its final stages!
Edited by Olivier Arcioli, Pascal Glissmann, and Andreas Henrich, the book explores how research findings, personal experiences, and complex ideas can be translated into concise visual identities. Inspired by one of the most enigmatic objects in media history—the 3,700-year-old, still undeciphered Phaistos Disc with its 45 engraved symbols—the publication invites readers to discover how contemporary designers and artists develop systematic visual languages.
Over more than a decade, The Phaistos Project–Forty-five Symbols has evolved into an international design seminar series and a global community shaped by open calls, workshops, exhibitions, and risograph publications. The present volume brings together over 2,000 symbols, ranging from personal narratives to global themes, and documents collective experimentation, bold approaches, and intercultural dialogue. More than a finished archive, the book reflects an ongoing process of research and exchange.
Great care has been taken in the production of the book. 45 Symbols—Clay to Code is offset printed by Stober Medien and finished with thread-stitching by Buchbinderei Spinner, underlining the project’s commitment to material quality, craftsmanship, and longevity.
Preorder your copy now to make sure you have 45 Symbols—Clay to Code in your hands as soon as it is published.
Ledfan LP
The A sculpture is a free typographic project that combines sculptural design with light painting photography and led to the final result of a colored longtime-exposure . The abstract letter A is made of styrofoam which are originally inspired by leftover segments from a stencil (cutouts) which I adapted from a painting of Victor Vasarely. The 1,5m high sculptures´ setup was a complete dark studio, only lit by a handheld RGB LED light and I was manually changing the color during the capturing.
ExperimentalType
ExperimentalType
Black
In my work, I draw on systemic visions of the future, futuristic technologies, and space exploration. I propose alphabetic characters that have become structures—parts of a spaceship’s infrastructure or machine modules. “To boldly go where no one has gone before”
Cyber
My illustrations are inspired by a long-standing fascination with cyberpunk aesthetics and various science fiction narratives.
In my work, I draw on systemic visions of the future, futuristic technologies, and space exploration. I propose alphabetic characters that have become structures—parts of a spaceship’s infrastructure or machine modules.
Help others understand dyslexia
Help Others Understand Dyslexia uses typography as a tool for empathy. By intentionally breaking the traditional rules of legibility, I aim to disrupt the reading experience in a way that mirrors the frustrations many dyslexic people face. Through this experimental typeface (Flux), which distorts and manipulates letterforms, I hope to spark conversation and build greater awareness around dyslexia and challenge conventional design.
Bacchae
Conceptual poster developed for the stage production Bacchae, shown at at Olivier Theatre in London
Scorched Earth
Conceptual poster developed for the stage production Scorched Earth, shown at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn
Man and Boy
Conceptual poster developed for the stage production Man and Boy, shown at at Dorfman Theatre in London
Hamstrung
Conceptual poster developed for a theatrical production Hamstrung, shown at at Pleasance Theatre in London
Remembering Veronika
Remembering Veronika is a tribute to our late friend, visual artist Veronika Bažaliková (*1978 — †2023). It recalls friendships formed during summer art symposia in eastern Slovakia. The typeface used, Anonym, originated in this shared context. Created by digitising anonymous scratched inscriptions found on the walls of an old mill in the village of Košarovce during the OpenSpace symposium in 2014, it bears raw traces of presence, absence, and memory.
PUSH
Typography exploration based on a modular grid of cubes. Pushing between structure and movement, transforming letterforms into sculptural compositions.
Metamorphoses
Conceptual poster for a theatrical production Metamorphoses staged at at La MaMa ETC in New York
Now Here
Conceptual poster for a theatrical production Now Here staged at Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh
Weer
Experimental visual poster for the theatrical performance Natalie Palamides: Weer, presented at Traverse Theatre in London
Customtype REAL
The custom typeface “Real” is an expressive display font and, as a variable font for a selection of characters, can be adapted to a wide variety of end formats. As a monospaced font with around 180 letters and accents, numbers, and punctuation marks, it allows for concise visual presentations. Heavy, physical forms with deep white spaces and changing contrast points create a sense of movement and depth, light and shadow, refraction and distortion.
experimental type
websites and tools ive used:
https://www.tooooools..app
https://effect.app
photoshop, indesign,, illustrator, procreate
Experimental Type
This poster is the result of experimenting with outlines, repetition, and digital distortion. I explored different online tools to manipulate typography, breaking down letterforms into fragmented lines and textures. The process focuses on pushing type beyond readability, turning it into a visual pattern and atmosphere rather than pure information.
Auto Grotesk
Auto Grotesk bridges centuries of typographic production—linking the tactile liveliness of wooden letters with the precision of digital drawing. Conceived as a wood type for letterpress printing, it was shaped through digital drawing, prototyping, and laser-cutting.
Rather than a faithful revival, Auto Grotesk draws from multiple sources—echoing early sans serifs that paved the way for Akzidenz Grotesk, such as Bauer & Co.’s Cirkular Grotesk and Otto Weisert’s Breite Fette Grotesk. Each style is designed individually, like in traditional type cutting, preserving the charmingly naive irregularities—because let’s face it, perfect is boring. By dialing back optical corrections and mixing rectangular and circular shapes, the letters swing to a lively, unconventional rhythm—true to the material.
Designed to thrive in both print and pixel, Auto Grotesk softens the sharp sterility of contemporary sans-serifs, translating the quirks of ink squash and paper pressure into a smoother digital texture. Its variable axes of weight and pressure let designers literally tweak how the letters “squish,” carrying the spirit of the press straight into the screen.
Auto Grotesk is a love letter to imperfection: proof that progress and patina can coexist—and that, yes, even in the digital age, wood still leaves a mark.
Get the Auto Grotesk typefamiles here!
MULTIVERS
MULTIVERS is about modular letters that can have many variants (for fun) but keep their basic structure (for function). It’s like wearing different clothes while remaining the same person. The letters are based on a 3×7 grid. The modules for corners, T-junctions, inner lines and end lines are based on straight lines and arcs to keep the overall look somewhat coherent in this early stage of the project. The letter A has over 40 million variants, so the simple components create extreme complexity.
Counterfeit
Counterfeit is a type design exercise with the objective of using the least amount of modules for the letterforms. What resulted is that at large scale it becomes display, hard to read and decipher each glyph, but at small scales the gaps between modules close and becomes more readable.