A temporary urban graphic intervention transforms the water tank of the Papelera Building into a monumental artwork that poses a question to the city.

The project, developed by the students of the Official Degree in Graphic Design at IED Kunsthal Bilbao, in collaboration with the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and Estudios Durero, stems from a dialogue with the work of Barbara Kruger and translates a direct question to the public into the urban space: What is your role in the complexity of the present? Standing 10 meters high and 25 meters in diameter, the piece transforms one of Zorrozaurre’s most distinctive architectural elements, activating new ways for art, design, and the city to converge.
Focused on message, typography and letterforms, the workshop invited participants to experiment with scale, contrast and spatial impact.

1. Location
The intervention transformed the water tank of the Papelera Building – one of the most unique architectural elements of the IED Kunsthal Bilbao campus – into a monumental graphic display. The piece arises from a direct dialogue with the exhibition dedicated to Kruger at the Guggenheim Bilbao, expanding its presence beyond the museum and activating new forms of encounter between art, design, and the city.

2. Methodology

— The 12-hour intensive workshop began with a presentation outlining the co-creation process that participants would follow, culminating in the development of a shared statement, related to:

HOW CREATIVITY INFLUENCES AND IMPROVES YOUR LIFE.

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM CITY LIKE?

HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR GENERATION WILL HELP TRANSFORM THE WORLD WE LIVE IN

— The second phase focused on sketching typographic proposals, exploring structure, hierarchy and expressive potential.

— This was followed by research into colour, scale and the added geometric elements, considering how the message would be seen from the distance.

— The process concluded with final refinements guided by Laura and the preparation of the artworks at IED Kunsthal Bilbao.

3. Execution
Estudios Durero, a creative industry specializing in graphic communication and a leader in large-format digital printing, collaborated in bringing the final piece to life, contributing its experience in large-scale artistic projects and its commitment to sustainable innovation in processes and materials. For this occasion, in fact, they used an innovative material, Pureti Print, a transparent coating applied over the printed surface whose impact is equivalent to the purifying power of trees.

Goals
– To create a typographic mural.
– Define a unique and collective message.
– Define the typographic style appropriate to the message, available space and technique.
– The final result arises from the process and the balance between concept, creativity, time and technique.

Premises or conditioning factors
– Tank Size: 1o meters hight x 25 m Ø
– Canvas Size: 12 m x 7,6 m
– Visible area (frontal) 6,3 m x 6 m
– Collective message reduced to a maximum of 3 words
– 17 students who will share tasks
– Time: 12 for conceptualisation and artwork.

After two days of work, the result was:

Word
¿Y TÚ? TA ZU? (and you in Spanish and Euskera)
It resumes the idea of What do you do to get involved?

Typographic style
– Uppercase or tall letters for optimal legibility.
– “Sans Serif”style to let the verbal message take centre stage.
– Drawn ad hoc in ultra-condensed proportion adapted to occupy the frontal space.
– Colourful composition, to gain impact in space.
– Reinforcement of the meaning by using emphasazing graphic elements around that covered the less visible part of the tank.

Custom Typeface for the Kunstakademiet (the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts)

Kunstakademiet Display is a custom typeface created by Urgent.Agency for the design of visual identity of the Kunstakademiet (the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts) in Cophenhaguen, Denmark.
This typeface was developed to strengthen and unify the festival graphic identity and communication strategy. Laura’s role on this project was to refine the original characters, complete the alphabet with some missing characters and expand it with the accented characters.

The Inspiration (Why)

It began with the Academy’s core identity: a premier hub for contemporary art that is public, open, and in a state of constant flux. The design doesn’t just sit on a page; it moves with the institution. The inspiration stems from the cycles of creation. Art is never static—it repeats, it evolves, and it breaks its own rules. We wanted to build a visual language that felt like the building itself: a structural foundation that exists only to be filled with new, unpredictable ideas.

The Typeface (The Core Tool)

The custom typeface serves as the project’s backbone. It is a Living Framework designed to balance architectural weight with airy openness.

• Display but also for text: Kunstakadsemiet is grotesque typeface with a medium weight. The letterforms are rooted in the geometry of the Academy’s history but feature wide, inviting apertures that feel contemporary and breathable.

• High Legibility: The typeface maintains its legibility while becoming a graphic texture. Its perfomance on screen and in small sizes is really good, and for titles the user only has to use negative tracking.

CASEWELLS is a custom typeface designed for the brand identity of a new food hall being built in the heart of Bury town centre. The creative director of the brand identity is Dave Sedgwick from StudioDBB, located in Manchester.

The typeface

It has references to the subtle hand painted element of the original sign with ever so slight curves in the straight lines. The subtle curves help give a warm and welcoming feeling. The design draws inspiration from the original sign while incorporating elements that echo the architecture of the new building. The bespoke typeface feels modern yet rooted, reflecting a space that is flexible, welcoming and also full of character.

The design approach in David Sedgwick’s words

“CASEWELLS takes its name from a piece of Bury’s culinary history. The original Casewells was the home of the town’s first black puddings, made right in the heart of the town. The name carries the legacy of local craft, flavour and tradition, while the rediscovered sign and bespoke typeface bring it boldly into the present. Today, CASEWELLS isn’t just a nod to the past, it’s a place where history, community and modern life can all come together. Original in spirit, reimagined for now.

— Every element of the brand has been carefully crafted to celebrate Bury’s rich history while looking confidently to the future. The name and logo are inspired by an original sign. During my research into the town’s food history, I discovered CASEWELL’S, the very place where Bury’s first black puddings were made. I even tracked down some old photographs showing the original sign above the door and Mr Casewell himself.The sign has since been lovingly restored and returned to Bury, creating a meaningful connection between past and present. While I explored a number of naming options, it quickly became clear that Bury will always be synonymous with black pudding. Casewells allows the town’s heritage to shape its future.

— The colour palette is drawn from the textures of Bury itself: soft creams, olive stone and rich greens, evoking the warmth and materials of the town’s markets and mills.

— A series of eight textile-inspired patterned lines runs throughout the brand, referencing the warp and weft and the way the community’s stories and experiences are interwoven.These lines also mirror the eight pillars forming the entrance to the new space. A subtle nod to the architectural and social fabric of the town.

The food hall is due to open later this year and this initial work represents just a small part of a project I’m thrilled to be part of. Much more will come as the building progresses.”

Casewells – Originally Unique.

Custom Typeface for Last TOUR and Bilbao BBK Live 20

Sumendi is a custom typeface created by Laura Meseguer for the 20th anniversary of the Bilbao BBK Live festival. Designed to meet the unique demands of the festival communication design, Sumendi combines condensed proportions and high-impact display features, making it ideal for visual communication in music events.

This typeface was developed to strengthen and unify the festival graphic identity and communication strategy. Its versatile design allows it to perform across posters, banners, merchandise, and digital media, maintaining consistency and recognition in every application.

Design Goals

To mark its 20th anniversary, they decided to take a big step by showing a new identity through a customized typeface designed to unify the brand’s global communication. It is named Sumendi, designed under the art direction of Eider Corral and Josema Carrillo. The goals were:

• Create a display typeface with strong personality
  Ensure legibility for multi-artist festival posters
  Provide a flexible family for diverse applications
  Reflect the energy of music and nature, inspired by Bilbao’s landscapes

Type Design Solution

Sumendi comes in two variants:
Plain: clean and legible, perfect for extended text
Loud: bold and expressive, ideal for titles and headlines
Its condensed proportions maximize space on posters, while subtle organic details add a unique character.

Key Features

Sustainable, Nature, Green, Mountain, Forest, City and Identity where the key words that had to be reflected in the letter shapes and the visual identity, together with some typographic requirements:

1. Vertical Emphasis for “Compact Power”
— Vertical Emphasis: Sumendi features condensed character proportions designed for compositions with a strong vertical solving the “Tetris problem”.
— Space Optimization: These condensed letters allow designers to pack extensive lineups into single lines without the text appearing thin or weak.
— Uppercase Focus: The design prioritizes uppercase characters to create a dense, rhythmic “wall of type” that commands attention and allows to be applied over background images as a tool to articulate and “personalize” the typographic voice.

2. Visual Punch-out and Hierarchy

— Plain and Loud Styles: The family offers a cleaner, highly legible Plain version and a high-impact Loud version for big headlines.
— Heavyweight Impact: Sumendi is a high-impact display typeface.
— Background Legibility: This density creates a solid block of color that acts as a physical “punch-out” against complex background images, ensuring the lineup is readable from a distance.
— Systemic Utility: The typeface serves as a tool to articulate and “personalize” the typographic voice across all sub-brands under the BBK Live umbrella.

3. Identity-Driven Details

The typeface blends Grotesque and Geometric models, incorporating sharp, nature-inspired features:

— Aesthetic Ink Traps: Sharp cut-outs at stroke connections provide a sharp, modern feel while ensuring clarity when printed.
— Elbows and Contractures: Unique “elbow” terminals on inclined stems and intentional narrowing (contractures) reinforce the jagged, mountain-inspired aesthetic of Mount Kobetamendi.
— Weight Contrast: Punctuation and diacritics use a lightweight stroke, providing a delicate visual counterpoint to the heavy letterforms.

4. Advanced OpenType Functionality
The typeface uses complex programming to maintain its “sustainable/nature” look without becoming messy:

Discretional Ligatures: It includes a formula that limits the use of ligatures to one per word. This prevents the text from looking overly “decorated” and maintains balanced word spacing.
Stylistic Sets (ss01 & ss02): The Loud style features “Wild Alternates”. These allow for variation in characters like A, V, and W, mimicking the natural irregularities found in a forest or mountain environment (sloped on the right or on the left). By having multiple versions of the same letter, the designers can “tune” the text so it never looks repetitive or “canned.” It feels bespoke, much like a curated festival lineup.
Case-Sensitive Punctuation: Brackets, “at” symbols, and hyphens automatically shift their vertical position when used with all-caps text to maintain perfect alignment.

5. Integrated Brand Functionality

Sumendi is a “smart” font that automates brand consistency:

— Automatic Logos: Standard ligatures automatically trigger the BBK and LIVE logos when the names are typed.
— Case-Sensitive Punctuation: Brackets, hyphens, and “@” symbols automatically shift their vertical position to align perfectly with all-caps text.
— Wild Alternates: Stylistic sets (ss01 & ss02) offer variations for characters like A, V, and W, allowing for a bespoke, “hand-tuned” feel that mimics natural irregularity.

6. Character set
The character set is Latin Plus, covering Western, Central, and Southeastern European languages. This is essential for an international festival attracting global talent and audiences.

The resulting typeface can be described as a sans serif typeface with two variants — Plain and Loud —. It’s contemporary in spirit and slightly condensed. Formally, it combines elements of grotesque and geometric typefaces, incorporating distinctive identity-driven details such as: aesthetic ink traps, angled joints, or elbows, used as terminals on some inclined stems, lightweight punctuation and diacritics, alternate characters, and intentional constrictions. These features provide strength, clarity, and a strong sense of identity to the BBK Live brand, supporting both the identity redesign and the brand’s global communication.

See more examples of Sumendi in use at Bilbao BBK live Instagram account

Communication design for Colita. antifémina Exhibition

The exhibition Colita. Antifémina—co-organized by DHub, La Fábrica, and the Círculo de Bellas Artes—highlights the value of a project launched by the photographer Isabel Steva Hernández (better known by her pseudonym, Colita) and the writer Maria Aurèlia Capmany. In 1977, the duo joined forces to create Antifémina, considered the first openly feminist graphic book of the Spanish Transition era.

Despite the fact that the publisher quickly withdrew it from the market, the work became a cult classic for its critical and vindictive spirit. Years later, Colita herself and Francesc Polop—director of her archive and curator of this exhibition—recovered the project. The book was subsequently re-edited and published in 2021 by Terranova and, in 2025, by the Barcelona City Council

The exhibition asserts the ongoing relevance of the book’s critiques and reflections. Through this work, it celebrates the legacy of two brave female intellectuals who fought to dignify the female experience and to speak openly about feminism.

The communication design

The concept for the communication design resides in the restoration of historical memory, “enlightening” the original 1977 publication, by using the same green color and placing the lettering at the center of the identity. The visual identity centers on the revival of the original green color palette and the reconstruction of its iconic lettering. To achieve this, the typography was meticulously redrawn and paired with a contemporary companion—Neue Haas Unica Bold—chosen for its historical connection to the original typeface. This cohesive identity was then adapted across all digital and print formats required for the campaign.

Custom lettering and title design for Brindis, an Exhibition by Aryz.

The Museu de Granollers presents Brindis, the latest solo exhibition by Aryz (Octavi Arrizabalaga, Palo Alto, 1988), a project that acts as a “hinge” between stages: an exercise in transition, exploration, and language. Brindis is conceived as a space for celebration and pause, where the artist displays fragments of his process and reveals how he approaches the search for his own visual language and the recurring themes of his studio work. As he did in his previous exhibition Preludio, the artist continues to pay homage to the craft, highlighting his interest in printing techniques—such as lithography and engraving—and, naturally, in painting itself. The title, Brindis (Toast), alludes both to the shared gesture and the suspended moment that precedes something new.

In Brindis, Aryz ironically revisits an open critique of the art system and unfolds a gesture of celebration: a toast to the creative process, to the craft, and to the millennial practice known as painting.
— Museu de Granollers

The typographical choice

The typographic design is deeply integrated with the conceptual framework of the show. Laura proposed the artist to design a rational sign, sober in form but with a more playful arrangement:

— The Title (BRINDIS): This is the focal point, featuring a customized geometric sans serif, based on Futura, with ornate swash details (notice the “B” and the “D”, and the loops at the “R” and the “S”).
The lettering was cut in wood and painted in Aryz’s green feels both retro and artisanal, echoing the artist’s tribute to traditional “craft” and techniques like lithography and engraving; but also the more festive approach of BRINDIS. In a sense, it is an“appetizer-exhibition” an hors d’œuvre in the most literal and symbolic sense: a small preliminary tasting, a transition between reviewing the past and opening new paths.
— The Artist’s Name (ARYZ) and the Subtitle (HORS D’ŒUVRE): Set in a clean, spaced-out Futura that represents the modern, and contemporaneity of the artist’s studio work. By using Futura—a quintessentially modernist, geometric typeface—the design creates a direct conversation between the Museum of Granollers and the artist, as they use it for their own identity.

Do not miss this exhibition—it is a pure joy. It has been a privilege to collaborate with such an admired and illuminating artist. What began as a message, written in a moment of genuine admiration, led to a reply that brought us all the way here. 🙂

Custom wordmark design for Almarge’s visual identity.

Laura collaborated with Ingrid Picanyol on the design of the custom wordmark for Almarge’s visual identity. Almarge is a highly-regarded, Michelin-recognized Mediterranean and Catalan restaurant in Badalona, Spain, widely recognized for its “friendly cuisine” (cuina amable), blending traditional Catalan roots with modern, market-fresh techniques. From Ingrid’s initial sketches and references Laura did the lettering. 

“al marge” “on the edge ” Almarge is a made-up Catalan word meaning “on the edge” fused into a single term. The name Almarge itself is a clever synthesis: it pays homage to the couple’s professional origins at Alkimia and Alkostat, while also signifying their move to the “margins” (outside the main gastronomic hub of Barcelona).

In the words of Ingrid:

The visual identity for Almarge is built around a central idea: inhabiting the edge. The name — merging “al marge” (“at the margin”) into a single word — opens a conceptual field that speaks of limits, tension and deliberate positioning. A space that is neither neutral nor comfortable, yet precisely because of that, meaningful. From this premise, the project unfolds through two key exercises.

The first is the design of a custom lettering, developed specifically for the restaurant. The letterforms balance tradition and contemporaneity: they carry echoes of classical, almost artisanal script, while being resolved with a clear sense of present-day sharpness. The result is a mark with physical presence and character — capable of inhabiting architectural signage, print and material applications without falling into nostalgia or decorative excess. The second exercise focuses on the typographic composition of the texts, particularly within the menus. (…)

Typographic Identity

From the outset, the wordmark was designed to inhabit the “edge”—both semantically and physically. The lettering draws inspiration from the visual language of vintage hand-painted signs: a fluid, high-contrast cursive script, that evokes a sense of warmth, reflecting the core concept of “friendly cuisine.”

The shadow isn’t just a product of the physical sign, it is a core element of the brand’s storytelling and aesthetic experience. It functions as a deliberate typographic device—a second layer of meaning built into the mark itself. In the tradition of lettering, the drop shadow serves to anchor forms in space, granting flat characters a sense of weight and architectural presence. This reinforces the significance of the piece.

Breaking and Remixing Letterforms and Layouts
An Homage to the Transparency of Typography
by Laura Meseguer & Serena Gramaglia

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1. The Spirit of the Workshop

Typography is a vehicle for communication. When we challenge its conventions—when we break, distort, and reconstruct it—we enter a realm where typography is no longer just about legibility, but becomes a medium for expression, experimentation, and visual storytelling.

This workshop, held at ISIA Urbino in 2025, is titled “Breaking and Remixing Letterforms and Layouts”, and is both a tribute and a challenge to the traditional function of typography. Designed and led by Laura Meseguer and Serena Gramaglia, it proposes an intensive, 28-hour deep dive into the transformative processes of deconstruction and reconstruction through the lens of graphic design history and artistic influences.

The foundation of the workshop lies in this question: How can we create something entirely new from existing typographic and layout conventions? Through this exploration, participants are invited to develop their own voices as designers by translating the spirit of various historical art movements into contemporary typographic works.

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2. Objectives and Methodology

At its core, the workshop is an exercise in visual reinterpretation. Each pair of students is assigned a paragraph from The Crystal Goblet by Beatrice Warde—a classic text on typographic clarity—and one historical artistic style. The aim is to deconstruct both the textual and visual content and then reconstruct it through an experimental approach using type, composition, and layout.

Rather than creating from scratch, participants are guided to look backwards—to visual styles such as Victorian Art, Medieval Art, Russian Constructivism, Cubism, African Art, Art Deco, Art Nouveau and Punk. These movements serve as the framework through which typographic exploration is made.

By creating from these powerful visual sources, students are not merely copying styles—they are decoding and reinterpreting them. What results is a hybrid: a contemporary visual object rooted in history but driven by experimentation.

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3. Structure and Timeline

The workshop unfolds over four intensive days. Each day represents a different phase in the conceptual and production process.

→ Day 1: Deconstruction

→ Day 2: Reconstruction

→ Day 3: Layout

→ Day 4: Exhibition and Celebration

This structure reinforces a balance between theoretical depth and hands-on creation, mirroring the creative cycles of professional design practices.

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4. Theoretical Groundwork: Deconstruction and Reconstruction

Deconstruction in this context doesn’t refer merely to destruction, but to analytical dissection. Participants learn how to isolate the elements of a design—typography, color palette, composition, tone—and evaluate their function. This phase is meant to create visual literacy, helping participants read and understand visual languages across history.

Reconstruction is the creative synthesis of these insights into a new typographic piece. It is not a reproduction of a style, but a translation of its essence into the language of type and layout. Participants develop highly personalized visual responses, each grounded in historical context but realized through their contemporary interpretation, with analogical and digital tools.

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5. The Artistic Movements as Pedagogical Tools

Each selected art movement acts as a design constraint and a source of visual richness. They are not treated as aesthetic trends, but as systems of meaning-making. Here’s a brief look at how they are integrated into the workshop:

Medieval Art: Illuminated manuscripts and symbolic compositions, with strong hierarchy and structure.
Victorian Art: Dense ornamental typography and symmetrical frames inspire layering and complexity.
Art Deco: Geometric elegance that lead to structured sofisticatead compositions.
Russian Constructivism: Diagonal grids, collage, energy into design.
Cubism/African Art: Fragmentation, geometry and multiplicity.
Art Nouveau / Psychedelic Art: Organic forms, fluid typography, asymmetries encourage abstraction.
Punk: DIY, textures, anarchic layouts, expressive freedom.

Through these inputs students can learn about multiple design registers—from elegance to rebellion, from clarity to chaos—each encouraging a unique voice and method of visual thinking.

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 6. Outputs: Exhibition and Publication

Two actions emerge from the workshop, and both are part of the same reconstruction process where the original text is not only redesigned, but reframed in context.

The Exhibition: A spatial recomposition of *The Crystal Goblet*, collectively installed by the students. The exhibition space becomes a walkable text, allowing viewers to experience the transformation of content and style across time and personal perspective.

The Booklet: A collective publication documents the final works and includes parts of process—moodboards, sketches, and conceptual notes. This becomes a physical archive of the workshop and a outcome that students and institutions alike can reference in the future.

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7. Why This Matters

This workshop emphasizes critical thinking through making. It shows that typography is not neutral; it is a mirror of culture, a reflection of technology, and a canvas for expression.

By embedding history and theory into practical work, the students discover new skills and perspectives. They learn how to see, question, and remake—relevant competencies for graphic design discipline.

This workshop is about translating and remixing—about finding personal and collective meaning through the shared language of typography and design.

What do Le Corbusier and Brise have in common?
Like the brise-soleil that filter sunlight in his buildings, Brise plays with fullness and emptiness, with rhythm and pause. Both are architecture— one of space, the other of letters and signs.

Brise carries the movement of air. In French and German, it means “breeze” — a drift slipping between buildings, filtering through spaces. In architecture, brise-soleil structures break sunlight into patterns of shadow and clarity. The same principle shapes stencil type: deliberate breaks hold the form together, allowing it to breathe.

Inspiration: Architecture and Rhythm

The guiding principle of BRISE comes from the architectural structure of the brise-soleil (sun-breaker), which aims to fragment sunlight into patterns of shadow and clarity. This same principle shapes the stencil design: deliberate breaks hold the form together, articulate it, and literally allow the character to “breathe”. In BRISE, the cuts are not flaws or voids, but precise intentions. They are pauses that give the structure its rhythm and establish a perfect balance between weight and air. This transforms it into a typeface that, while rooted in industrial function and signage, has become an expressive language—fragmented yet entirely cohesive.

Family Versatility

The BRISE family extends from subtle text uses to impactful display expressions:

• Text Styles: Ideal for body text requiring flow and legibility, while maintaining a distinctive touch.
• Display Styles (Bold to Extreme): More condensed and assertive, designed for headlines and branding, with a strong, airy presence.
• Variable Font: Explore without limits the extremes of weight (from Light to Extreme) and usage transitions (Text to Display). Furthermore, it introduces a Condensed Display Bold as an unexpected disruption in proportions, maximizing its creative potential.

BRISE is perfect for projects in branding, editorial design, packaging, or digital environments where a character with personality, texture, and a subtle dialogue between control and freedom is sought.

License Brise here: https://type-o-tones.com/fonts/brise

By Laura Meseguer – Originally published in April 2013 for I Love Typography

Introduction: A Typeface Inspired by Fluid Handwriting
Magasin is a high-contrast, wavy display typeface influenced by fluid handwriting and calligraphy. As an amateur calligrapher of Copperplate, I have always been fascinated by the expressive movement of script-based typefaces. This led me to design Magasin, a typeface that blends script-like qualities with geometric structure while adding a retro-chic touch.

Origins and background
My first approach to this project began with the lettering I designed for BoMo, a graphic design studio, in spring 2011. It’s based on a brief: feminine, professional and sensibility. The solution came as a well-crafted series of ‘calligraphic letters’ with high contrast, the B, the M and the o, combined as two connected syllabes. During the design process I discovered the significant potential that this idea could have if it were developed as a typeface. Thus, almost one year later, I began to sketch it, and two years after I released it!. It evolved from the initial three letters of the logo but with differences: slightly less condensed proportions, different designs for the two upper case letters and a new construction of the connecting strokes. 

It combines a sense of script with geometric and slightly condensed structure resulting in idiosyncratic curves, yet with a retro-chic twist. These might probably be the most attractive features, because all together they give a very strong identity to words.

During my research I review a lot of previous & excellent typefaces sharing a similar idea, but any of them had this sense of a connected and upright script. Somehow, Magasin explores and pays tribute to the charm and playness of typefaces that were designed during the 1930s. Some inspiring references are Corvinus, released by Bauer in 1935 (designed by Imre Reiner in 1934), Quirinus (Alessandro Butti,1939) and Fluidum (1951), a kind of non-connected script version of Quirinus, also designed by Butti for the Nebiolo foundry.

The design principle
Magasin is based on the idea of designing a display typeface inspired by
the pointed pen calligraphy with geometric, upright and connected construction and high contrast. What I wanted to show is the obvious accuracy that can be seen in any calligraphic work, but with a close attention to the creative combination of linked letters when creating words, bringing a lettering flavour. 

The construction principles are: 

1/the wavy shapes to emphasize the ryhmth

2/the four different way of links, always merging in the half of the x-height

3/the loops and drops evocating the pointed pen calligraphy letters 

4/ the angled ending stroke

The process
The first versions of Magasin were more experimental; I gave an extraordinary leadership to the connexion strokes, and characters as ‘m’ and ‘n’, had a different starting stroke, but soon I found it problematic.The following versions were based on the exploration and refinement of some characters and the different connexion possibilities, with the goal of balancing the spacing, a process that also led to the design of alternative glyphs.

At a certain point, I was not sure if it could become something usable or just a personal amusement; some connexions were looking really weird but others just came automatically and in a very beautiful way. So I wrote a list of necessary ligatures to balance the text flow, and another of the non-convenient combinations that later became ‘exceptions’ in the programming. I also designed a reduced set of secondary alternates (ss02) and an out-strokes version of the ‘c’, ‘ç’, ‘e’ and ‘q’, to gave a better ending to sentences or words. Therefore, it implied a bunch of OT programming for a correct use and performance. In the specimen I designed, that’s thoroughly explained, and downloadable at Type-Ø-Tones.

The Capital and Swashes
The capital letters appeared much later, they are a bit experimental and very much inspired by the Copperplate Calligraphy mixed with some ‘Cancelleresca’ features.

While testing it, I realized that Magasin could be very useful in a lot of applications, and for many various moods; moreover, the swash capitals were intentionally designed to ‘pimp’ words and provide many possibilities, but normal capitals can also perform better in certain situations.

Notes
See more specimen images on the flickr collections by Indra Kupferschmid, or see also the special Corvinus set from the Herb Lubalin Study Center, and the ‘caratteri nebiolo’ set by :nike