ConcreType: concrete letters
ConcreType is an original paperweight, bookend or, simply, a decorative object in concrete which, with its original materiality, enriches our perception of everyday life.
ConcreType is one of the many research and experimentation spaces within the design-associati studio. Bringing the typefaces we have developed over the years to three-dimensionality is more than an exercise in style. It is a study on the alphabetical sign, on matter, on shapes, on light and on the limitations imposed by the use of materials.
The “A” that we present comes from the research done in the lettering of the Italian cinema posters, of which we have developed the entire alphabets.

Birth poster

Theatre poster for a play based on Kafka’s unfinished short story “The Burrow”

Poster for a concert by the Swiss indie pop band Frederik at Neubad in Lucerne

I am fascinated by neon letter signs that partially burn out and mean something entirely different from its original intent. In this case, the New Jackson Hotel has become “New Jack Ho” which correlates with the hotel’s gritty 90s urban vibe.

The Japanese term “onomatopoeia” are words that represent sounds. One of the categories of onomatopoeia is “Giongo” which are sounds made by inanimate objects and nature. This project is a typographical visualization of what it means to “reverberate.” Letters are repeated in different sizes and forms to resonate as if in a series of echoes.

A study/doodle of real-time lettering using Touchdesigner.

“Attendance” is a typographic project for a club where performances take place in complete darkness. This is meant to allow visitors to experience the music optimally – without seeing, without taking pictures – just listening. I was inspired by radar devices – devices that allow us to estimate space without using the sense of sight. I focused on the radar output screens where a continuous circular scan appears and reveals the relevant information.

“Black Widow” is an experimental Hebrew typeface for modern illuminated initials. In order to make it decorative I created my own brief – each letter is built from just one curling line.
My inspiration for this project was the fashionable Cruella DeVil which for me symbolised a smoky decorative and lonely character, same as illuminated initials. The upper letter is “Alef” – the first Hebrew letter and the lower is “Tsadi” which is the 18th out of 22.

The impact of a drop reveals the shape of the Panton Chair.

this is a ascii renderer with chubby typo

Using a machine to make things shouldn’t mean that these things have to look mechanical. Design software should not default to mathematical perfection. Created lines, shapes, and colors should be more like objects in nature. They should have texture, depth, expressive irregularities. Type should look alive.

I constructed very basic glyphs from straight lines. Size, weight, rounding, and shading can be set per character. The points of a glyph can be shuffled randomly, generating a more complex and unique character.

I made the tool and I set the parameters. I push the system, sometimes to its extremes. I love how expressive it can become. But is it my expression, or that of a function?

We coded a little tool in Webassembly that combines Gaussian blur with Sobel edge enhancement. These are some random permutations of one image

Gray Scott Model of a Reaction-Diffusion System applied on type

For the theatre piece „Heute keine Disco“ (No disco today) a personalized logotype was requested. The theatrical performance, directed by Sabrina Fischer (Brino), deals with eight people who come together to discuss the club, safer-spaces and being queer.
The logotype was sketched up on paper during a rehearsal, aiming for a fragility yet boldness, representing said spaces. Through the process, the hairline was lost in order to make room for more stability and focus on the boldness of the logo’s character. Through the alteration of the poorly digitalized sketch in softwares which aren’t meant for type design, the logotype got its characteristic flash strokes.

The poster is dedicated to the album The Dream by Alt-J.

The translucent, invisible main typography of the poster refers to imperceptible dreams and imagination. Light and airy, the slightly rough writing of “Dream” is a sensual listening experience.

The poster is dedicated to the album “Catacomba” of the Moscow group “Red Banner Division named after my grandmother.”

The main typography of the poster is a metaphor that flirts with the name of the band’s album. An accident is a sensory experience from listening to songs.

Romance Of The Future is a reflection exhibition on the topic of romantic relationships in the future. Is love between humans and artificial intelligence possible? If so, what could it be? Is this relationship perfectly programmed or passionately unpredictable? What’s this? System error and glitch or a real surge of feelings?

The identity of the exhibition of relations of the future is built on the basis of a display variable font, which was created specifically for this project. The font reflects the combination of human tenderness and the unpredictable feelings of artificial intelligence. The character of the typeface can be defined as: a little nervous, romantic, tense, excited.

This project is the outcome of Haocheng Zhang’s ongoing research, understanding the body as an ‘important and fundamental dimension of self-identifying recognition,’ It is not only the physical body but also the notion of the body in a visual context. Breaking down traditional Western-type design constructs, the project explores types inspired by the human form. The Body Experimental Type was created using the body as a medium. Choreography and performance were used to perceive how the type changes and how movements convey the gravity and type emotion. The Body Experimental Type was purchased and used for its exhibition by the University of the Arts London – London College of Fashion.

Spaghetti, it’s a font inspired by Italian western movies. What surprise about the old westerns is the lack of special effects. Everything is done in analog, from sound effects to action scenes, where you can notice some beauties of imperfection. To enclose this experience, Spaghetti font has been completely drawn and painted by hand.

My goal in this project was to break down all the letters of the Hebrew alphabet to the point they can no longer be identified. This was tested by constructing the letters as cubes and placing them on a three dimensional fixed grid. Each of the letters was gradually rotated 360 degrees perpendicular to its horizontal axis.
I began with the third letter Gimel. Once all the letters were ready I played with
different compositions – some were readable and others looked like random cubes floating in black space.
For the presentation of the project I incorporated AR technology and motion to add extra dimension to the posters.

Using everyday ephemera objects like a bottle cap and paper clip to form the basis of its simple typographic form, Offset is a hand-drawn slanted typeface with two weights with interesting proportions, regular and offset. The latter weight was created to introduce fun and quirky imbalanced elements in contrast to its regular appearance.

Trisquare is an Experimental Display Typeface, which is inspired by the strokes of the Fraktur alphabet but developed through the composition of triangular and square shapes. It has a particular ancient soul with a digital taste. Trisquare is good to use for Branding, Signage, Packaging, Advertising, Headlines, Magazines, Book titles, or everything you want to use it for.