GROTEXT

What does “Grotesque” mean in a literal sense? We know various optical principles regarding type recognition. We optimize type for micro sizes and the use on screens. We add ink traps to digital typefaces to refer to the golden age of print. In fact, we do cheat, cheat, cheat. So what if there was a typeface that was just “honest” – grotesquely ugly without any optical correction at all? Glyph width = glyph height (HET …) or glyph width referring to geometrical circles (SDO …); All diagonals refer to those of an equilateral triangle; Horizontal = vertical = diagonal stem thickness; And of course, everything aligned to geometrical center. And now look at that mess! It’s GROTEXT.

The 2022 Type Trends Lookbook

Today we would like to present you the new publication The 2022 Type Trends Lookbook by Zetafonts in which our founder Julia Kahl has also found a place with an interview. We are very happy about this feature and really like its outcome.

Zetafonts believes that typography can and should be a tool to design and communicate in a more responsible and conscious way. This is why they sponsor each year the work of the educational team of Typecampus, which analyzes visual trends as a way to reflect on global design culture.

They are proud to present you the results of this research: The 2022 Type Trends Lookbook. An inspirational guide to typographic and design trends, featuring work from type and design professionals, out now in digital format and free to download.

The release of The 2022 Type Trends Lookbook coincides with new dramatic and unexpected events—a period that demands awareness and knowledge by everybody working in visual design and communication.

Rather than just looking at the trendy surface styles, designers and brands are required to pay attention to the meaning of their visual choices. And whether this meaning is found in a shared dream or in a choral action, this book can be a useful tool to help your design become more critical and conscious of the world around us.

This year Zetafonts are also featuring new contributions, asking some of the most influential designers in the typographic world about their views on visual trends.

They interview and feature the work, among others, of Nadine Chahine (I love typography), Amber Weaver (Type01), Hector Ayuso (Offf! Barcelona), Francesco Franchi (La Repubblica), Julia Kahl (Slanted), Raissa Pardini, Tina Touli, TypeType, Valentina Casali (Sunday Büro), and Bill Gardner (Logolounge).

Check the full story and don’t miss the chance to get the digital edition!

Laute Wand

Listen closely and you can hear all sorts of noises and sounds. I made cards that can be arranged and put on a wall. They were printed with silkscreen on brown paper with a size of 44 x 26.5 cm.

The words were recorded as a video and played through a synthesizer which helped to create feedback and beautiful noise. Then it was just a matter of converting some stills into bold colors.

Nationalism in Europe

During the migration in 2015, for the first time since the founding of the European Union, there were increased controls at the borders within the Schengen area. Since the beginning of the corona pandemic in 2020, the situation at the inner-European borders has worsened again. Member states report a massive increase in the right-wing scenes in the wake of the pandemic. Due to the current developments within the EU, we have also asked ourselves whether the Schengen area is about to end, almost 25 years after its introduction. That is why we have decided to use our poster series to draw attention to the importance of open internal borders and to make a statement against rising nationalism and

Yummy Typefaces for Project “Pick Me”

These three different fonts are made for my master project, “Pick Me”, which is a graphic experiment, which is about eye-catching snack designs. Can’t these playful snack package designs be used for better snacks that aren’t unhealthy processed foods? These concerns inspired this project. For the design process, I collected around 80 snacks from all around the world and researched what typefaces they have on their packages. Then I decided to make three types of fonts. These three typefaces have strong characteristics but share one grid system, which is inspired by Le Corbusier’s Modulor. So they can be unique by themselves, but can be well-composed all together on a same product.

Something Changeable

I made this tool with processing in the class “Code && Type” at Bauhaus University. This tool reads a brightness value of a pixel from images and converts it to an SVG shape I put. The shapes are changed by mouse movement and also colors can be changed by key press. The changes of the letters make an interesting appearance by accident. And also, viewers can capture the moment they want.

Shake the World

Poster based on the inspirational quote “In a gentle way, you can shake the world” by the Indian Activist Mahatma Gandhi. Aiming to make people think and take action, this motivational poster suggests that each person should follow these powerful words, take action, and change the place we live, into a peaceful world. The main part of the poster is a long exposure photograph, a result of a paper with cutout typography, black background, and flash.

Hopes and Dreams

Which is the relationship between hopes and dreams? How can each one transform into the other through experimental typography? A visual journey that combines the physical and digital world with the use of photography (water drops on glass above typography prints) and digital design.

Break Down the Walls

In these difficult times, graphic design should be a powerful ’tool’ that can send strong messages and ’wake up’ humanity. Each one of us can act, express our opinion, make a difference; BREAK DOWN THE WALLS. A visual study that uses the grid and typography, to express and represent how the social boundaries can be overstepped.

“Letters are Signs for Sound”

“Letters are the signs for sound”, – Eric Gill. And that says it all. Typography hides so many different sounds; Magic. Using a plastic bag, water, classic music, and a camera to capture the vibrations that occur, and explore how the form of the letters can change based on sounds. Diving into typography literally and metaphorically.

The History of Typography

Aiming to travel the viewer through the magical world of Typography, the poster introduces older techniques and typographic elements in combination with modern approaches, as Typography in both past and present, has managed to make people think, changed their perceptions, and created a completely different world. A set of different digital and physical techniques, textures, and materials based on an experimental grid.

I’m Nervous

I write because I’m nervous. The last one and a half years have gone by too quick and slow simultaneously. An isolated life in a hail of information – every day accompanied by new bad news. In the process of writing I have found peace in these times. The text mirrors my own feelings concerning the pandemic. Feeling overwhelmed, personal loss, longing for a future and the past. The universe carrying on despite our insignificance in the chaos.The writing is reaching up to my neck – I’m camouflaging myself in it and bring my nervousness to the outside.
In writing, I have found a place where my nervousness dissolves. The writing itself has become my outcry – a peace of mind in hectic times.

neuratype_P

Now that it’s possible to let AI generate images out of text, I wanted to check out if it can generate letters. Neuratype_P is an experimental font, where every character was initially generated from a generative adversarial network, afterwards extracted and processed into a typeface in three weights, eg, iterations.

Didonist

A stencil variable font in which the construction of the signs is dictated by stencil features. The design of the sign follows the traditional forms and proportions of Didot-style typefaces, but cutting the ovals for technical stencil connections creates a unique style of typeface with a logic of humanistic contrast.

The main purpose of the typeface is to make the font parameters and contrast change according to the size of the letters. Not according to only optical size, but to a minimum stroke thickness of 1mm. The minimum technically possible thickness for a handmade stencil