Launched on January 1, 2022, the new graphic identity of the ArtEZ Business Centre marks a significant visual transformation aimed at aligning the institution’s image with its forward-thinking role in supporting students and alumni in the field of cultural entrepreneurship. From the second half of 2021, designers Dongbin Han and Benjamin McMillan were tasked with reimagining the visual identity of this vital part of ArtEZ University of the Arts.

At the heart of the new identity is Ok Kake, a bespoke typeface designed by Dongbin Han. This custom typeface is a modern reinterpretation of a historic lettering style originally created by Henk Peeters for the ArtEZ Hogeschool’s former name, Arnhemse Academie voor Beeldende Kunsten (AABK). Peeters’ distinctive approach to letterform design involved the creative manipulation of negative space, making each character both readable and visually dynamic through the interplay of positive and negative areas. This method not only defines the shape of the letters but also ensures that they are viewed as a cohesive whole, with each letter expanded into its own space. The accompanying typeface is Times New Roman.

The result is a design language that blends the past and present, using the legacy of Peeters’ innovative typographic work while charting a new course for the ArtEZ Business Centre's visual identity. The project reaffirms the institution’s commitment to fostering a thriving community of cultural entrepreneurs, all while maintaining a link to the rich artistic heritage of ArtEZ University of the Arts.

For this second edition of Moving Dots, Speaking About Dots, Knust Press from Nijmegen, the Netherlands, collaborated remotely with Corners Studio in Seoul, Korea, to make a publication featuring artwork by Dutch artist Rogier Arents and Korean artist Kim Seungwhan a.k.a. Bird Pit.

Both designers reflect upon the core theme of the project, the dot. The dot metaphor is to be found in many aspects of printmaking. Both literally as the primitive unit from which every image starts, but also technically, referring to the laser head burning dot after dot the image on the master page of stencil duplicators, or the halftone screen. What exactly happens in those dots, points, layers and gradients that are so familiar to us?

Bird Pit transformed the dots into characters of his colored pencil illustrations. They are creatures, precious fruits, but also playful tools and shapes that naturally surround us. Arents’s dots reflect the movements of the moon and its trajectory which leaves traces of its passage in the soft gradients.

Corners Studio was paired with Rogier Arents while Knust Studio collaborated with Bird Pit. They both worked within a set of basic rules that reflect in the book shape and composition. Being their first time working with stencil printing, the designers were guided through the translation of their artwork, suggesting color combinations and ways of working.

The result is a playful publication that can be browsed in any direction and orientation.

This project was made possible within the international collaboration program by Stimuleringsfonds.

Cover and poster design by Dongbin Han, featuring the first public use of Ok Pasta, in both styles, Al Dente and Al Forno. The accompanying monospaced typeface is Ok Abko.

Animated graphic with type that interpolates between Ok Pasta Al Dente and Al Forno, made in anticipation of the launch event which had to be postponed from December 2021 to February 2022.

Poster for the launch event in Nijmegen, with the original date

Animated graphic with Korean glyphs