The Field Meridians’ Observer is a printed, quarterly neighborhood newspaper highlighting local news and seasonal perspectives. Published at the turn of each season and distributed for free to the Crown Heights community, local neighborhood stockists include the Brower Park Library (155 Brooklyn Ave) and Another World (629 Nostrand Ave) and The Word is Change (368 Tompkins Ave). The first issue is tied to the winter solstice, including a warming soup recipe, a piece on the joy of winter birding, and a calendar of the season’s best activities. A digital copy of the first issue is available here.

Jordi Ng designed the newspaper, which is typeset in International Edition and HAL Repost. Céline Hurka created a customised masthead, drawing bespoke initials of the Repost caps spelling “OBSERVER”. The pictograms are taken from Noto Sans Egyptian Hieroglyphs and Noto Sans Symbols. The issue also features illustrations by Lillian Ansell, Thomas Colligan, and María Medem.

An entry with Egyptian hiero

CorContainer.nl is a Dutch container rental company operating in a sector where visual identities are often purely functional. The branding was designed to stand out – primarily through typography and color – while remaining appropriate to the construction environment.

The identity is built around GT Flexa, a typeface that balances strength and clarity with a friendly, distinctive character. Headlines are set in GT Flexa Black in uppercase, forming bold, compact typographic statements that function almost as graphic elements. For body copy and supporting text, GT Flexa Regular provides legibility and warmth, offering a subtle counterbalance to the heavy display style.

A vibrant purple – rare within the industry – reinforces recognition and sets the brand apart from the typical blues and reds associated with construction.

Application shifts depending on context. On containers, office units, and site cabins, the branding is deliberately understated, functioning more like a garment label: present but never intrusive. In contrast, promotional materials – posters, cycling jerseys, coffee cups, and other brand touchpoints – allow the typography and color to take center stage, building visibility and recognition.

The result is an identity that is both bold and considerate – distinctive when needed, restrained where appropriate.

Mimesis explores creative authorship and the shifting role of technology in artistic processes. The project originated from a poetry night held on 30 June 2023 at Limestone Books in Maastricht, where seven poets shared their work alongside an “eighth poet”: Scott the Dot-Matrix Printer, operated by the DuctTape Collective, who generated live printed interpretations of each performed piece.

The book is a collective work by Florian Cramer, theo ploeg, LDH, María Voth Velasco, Jody Aikman, Jean-Shelia Messi, Britt van Baaren, Malu Ebenau, DuctTape Collective, Scott the Dot-Matrix Printer, editor Merle Findhammer and designer Doğa Gönüllü – with support from the Stimuleringfonds Creative Industries.

Mothering Myths: An ABC of Art, Birth and Care is a 300-page book by Laurie Cluitmans and Heske ten Cate. It was designed by Bart de Baets in a softcover 24×32 cm format and published by Valiz (Amsterdam):

Motherhood is a theme that touches upon the core of life, but has nevertheless been kept in the private sphere, haunted by clichés, stigmas and myths for a long time. Motherhood has always been seen as trivial, not as a subject for real art. At the same time, artists with a womb faced the cliché that they had to decide between making art or having a child, as they both would take up all the time and energy of the mother.

Mothering Myths unravels these clichés, stigmas and myths, through the lens of art, and a transhistorical and intersectional perspective, at the same time being very playful and open to many interpretations. It breaks the perspective of the individual mother-figure and makes space for collectivity, different forms of ‘mothering’ and political questions around self-determination. Mothering Myths presents the emancipatory nature of the artist- mother, the voluntarily childless woman, the non-female mother and the raven mother, through concepts as kinship, revolutionary parenting, womb consciousness and reproductive justice.

Branding, web, and packaging design for Coaltown, a coffee roaster based in Wales, with creative direction by Smörgåsbord Studio and featuring VFX by Dima Rodionov. The rebrand was launched in January 2026. From an Instagram post by Smörgåsbord announcing the project:

An exercise in evolution, not revolution. Coaltown’s foundations were already strong; our role was to refine and elevate. We began by rearticulating the brand strategy, clarifying Coaltown’s purpose and its reason for being. From there, we shaped a new visual language.

We chose to ‘celebrate the slab’. Coaltown’s logotype had long relied on a serviceable but unremarkable slab-serif typeface, so we sought a more crafted, characterful successor. That search led us to ‘Successor’, by New York–based Commercial Type.

Drawn by Tim Ripper and released in 2023, ‘Successor’ is a contemporary interpretation of the nineteenth-century English slab-serif – often referred to as Egyptian or Antique. Slab-Serifs dominated poster design from the Industrial Revolution through to the early twentieth century, when the Welsh coal industry was at its height. With 16 weights and cuts, it allowed the entire brand to be built from a single type family.

‘Coal Black’ remains Coaltown’s signature colour, complemented by five rich, muted tones inspired by the ‘House Coffee’ range. We’ve also introduced ‘Purpose Orange’ as an accent, drawn from the National Coal Board’s iconic donkey jackets – worn by miners from the 1960s to the 1980s and long a symbol of working-class identity.

The graphics investigate what creativity in a post-AI world looks like, by going beyond the aesthetic of prompted images. Inspiration instead comes from behind the scenes, including AI datasets, labelling systems, computer vision and semantic segmentations. It abstractly compares human and computer vision, proposing a play of blurred student portraits intersecting with layers of information. Another layer of the campaign lies in its making. The graphics were created through hand movements using the P5 (Processing) Hand Pose Model.

A key role is played by the highly recognisable typeface Tiny, used in different weights and as a core element of the campaign. Its outlined use in white contrasts with the strong and saturated colours of the images.

“On the Uses of Absence” is the title of Soapbox, issue 6.0:

Can we speak of a turn to absence? Across the contemporary academic conjuncture, theory is reapproaching the absent in its varying figurative and fleshly forms – revalorising the presence of absence as a critical matter. Whether in queer theory, trans studies, Black studies, Eastern European studies, or literary studies, enduring scholarly investments in re-presenting and re-presencing the absented body have become supplemented by an affirmative interest in staying with absence as such. This scholarship locates absence at the heart of myriad resistances against exploitation, appropriation, undoing, and normativity. For its seventh issue, Soapbox: Journal for Cultural Analysis has invited scholars and artists alike to submit work on the uses of absence in and outside of theory today. As an object of study, a critical figure, and rhetorical tool, absence is given a shape, meaning, form; it is put in writing, where it has a function, a flavour, and a politics. Absence, in other words, fails every time to be purely nothing. How, then, to think the contradiction and the provocation of a contemporary aesthetics of absence?

The graphic design was made by Alice Machado and Paolo Barbieri. They used Adriane Text by Marconi Lima, Harber by Benoît Bodhuin and Modulo – an uncredited and unreleased design by Nebiolo, used here in a version by Alessio D’Ellena and Alberto Malossi.

The fifth poster in this ever-extending series, which began with The Annex of Universal Languages, was initiated by Akiem Helmling, the curator of Alphabetum in The Hague. This poster was created in collaboration with Tim Brookes from Endangered Alphabets, who researched and wrote the 20 dream-stories presented in this publication.

From September 6, 2025 to January 25, 2026, Alphabetum hosted an exhibition of the same name, where the illustrations, writing systems, and their creation myths were presented. The translucent flags created a dreamscape that invited the audience to browse through and become immersed in the work.

In creating this poster, I prioritized Noto Sans and Serif versions of the writing systems where available, secondly looked to existing Unicode proposals, and as a last resort, quickly digitized blurry images. Eleven of the 20 alphabets and syllabaries have already been added to the Noto type family, while others had Unicode proposals clean enough to use. In the case of Bété, I reached out to ANRT alumnus Adam Yeo, who provided me with his digital interpretation of Frédéric Bruly Bouabré’s handwritten script.

The poster has been offset printed – locally in the Netherlands – with Pantone Gold and Black and was mechanically folded by a bookbinder in Haarlem.

Like the other parts of the series, this edition also uses my typeface Logical which, thanks to its inclusion of icons that can be transformed from words, initiated this whole adventure. Handing a specimen of Logical to Richard Niessen in 2018 caused him to invite me to participate in his Palace of Typographic Masonry by adding a new room. Logical has been released by Bold Monday and combines the warmth and legibility of humanist typefaces with the technical look of typefaces like DIN and Isonorm. Its markdown-inspired syntax to transform words into icons via OpenType features makes them easily accessible even in software without a glyphs palette. The underline feature, which ensures that descenders are not cut off, also gets heavy use in the referenced links below each panel.

The view when entering Alphabetum in The Hague. The publicly accessible library invites visitors to read books, have a coffee, or discuss language with others. Its brutalist yet warm architecture makes every visit to Alphabetum an enriching experience.

The poster side of the panel illustrates 20 out of 22 visions displayed in the exhibition.

Each of the 20 panels describes an origin story of the writing system presented below. The small number in the top right indicates the number of active users.

Another view of the exhibition in Alphabetum with the beautiful Foscarini Allegro Assai suspension lamp.

Behind the flags, each writing system is featured on two black A3 panels. On the left, the text and information provided by Tim Brookes; on the right, an example or the full set of glyphs.

This handmade book reinforces its main theme – memory – with 3D printed typography, making it an object of remembrance. Type was embedded between the book’s cover and fabric layers, allowing typography to function as a tactile element rather than a purely visual one. It prioritizes touch, weight, and texture, to mirror how memories are often felt physically and carried over time.

Vera, the author, explores the intricate relationship between memory and fashion, examining how vintage clothing serves as a vessel for nostalgia and personal history. It touches onto the ways material objects become carriers of remembrance, particularly in the context of immigration, where garments can hold the weight of past identities and lost places.

Fashioning Memory is Vera Abdulina’s Bachelor thesis in KABK’s Photography program.

Amsterdam-based agency ON A DAILY BASIS developed the visual identity for De Hallen, a cultural landmark and former tram depot.

From film and food to design and craft – this is the place where creative makers, local entrepreneurs and cultural initiatives come together.

The system is built around the concept of “connection,” inspired by the unique symbols and colors of Amsterdam’s tram network. This modular language uses three geometric forms – a square, an arch, and a triangle – derived directly from the venue’s architecture to represent the diverse initiatives and communities that gather within the space.

The identity is set in Bugrino by Muhittin Güneş, with support from Overused Grotesk by RandomMaerks. Graphic design by Sjondebaron, Keren Avrich, Kirsten Bolwerk, and Maikel Timothy Botterman at ON A DAILY BASIS (ODB). The website was realized by Boring.

Exhibition poster and workshop promotion for Flos Mortis, a project by Zaad. From voordekunst’s website:

Zaad is an annual permaculture magazine project—visually entertaining and intellectually educational—that promotes home gardening (organic farming) & home cooking by focusing on a single vegetable per issue. Our 1st issue (launching in 2026) focuses on the tomato!

Flos Mortis is a photography exhibition on the theme of Death, organized in collaboration with photographer Sungjae Joo and presented in July 2025 at projectspace 38/40, Amsterdam Noord.

Turnpike is a brand base in the Netherlands focused on selling barbecue tangent products: sauces, spice mixes, charcoal, etc. Agency Nattevingerwerk rebranded Turnpike mid 2025 and created a cohesive identity for their product line.

The logo is set in the textured brush script font Edo, echoing craft / grunge notes that are also present in the set of pig illustrations that serve as the backbone of the brand visual language. Then the whole languages uses the duo NaN Rage Poly and NaN Rage Slab in different weights and widths for all texts.

I have included a generative AI image created by the agency for their portfolio for the sake of documenting and archiving this use in the graphic design field today. Which leads to another question: are the pig illustrations maybe also generative AI?

Generative AI image created for the agency portfolio. Note the hallucinated brush script on the left character bra.

Quirinale is the typeface used for a 1980 album of Gustav Holst’s The Planets as performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra with conductor Seiji Ozawa (1935–2024). The standard cover features a photograph by Ruud Nooy, showing a golden statue of Mercury with winged hat and money bag in the right hand.

The same typography in a different arrangement was used for an alternate cover, this time together with an image of Earth, Moon (?), and a space probe, possibly Pioneer 10.

[More info on Discogs]

Alternate cover made as a promo and/or for the Japanese market

An assemblage of artistic reflections and perspectives that grew through and together with the collective experiences of inhabiting a garden in Villa Romana, Firenze.

The book design uses Ouvrières by Laure Azizi (in affamées and agricultrices styles), Grancy by Minjong Kim, BianZhiDai (in Base and Ring styles) and Kiddo by notyourtypefoundry, FA_AAAIEMOADDP and FA_PTGWDOBSHK by Full Auto Foundry, and OPS Cubic by OPS Type. Lincoln/MITRE was used as well, but isn’t shown in the images.

air–condition.ing* is a small scale design studio that tailors visual communication—primarily digital, and occasionally spatial—for ethical businesses, impact-driven non-profits, independent creatives, scholarly organisations, cultural and research institutions of any scale.

The studio’s portfolio website, developed by Nikolai Sivertsen, pairs two type families: Waldenburg – Medium and Bold – plus Lincoln/MITRE.

Reading is hard, but writing is harder.

De Situatie is a literary platform and publication founded by PIP Den Haag, aimed at promoting the art of storytelling among young audiences by providing space for emerging writers and type designers alike.

For this second publication they selected ten texts selected from De Situatie’s annual writing competition. For each text, All Sizes selected a unique typeface in close collaboration with type designer Céline Hurka. None of these typefaces had been published before, allowing writing talent and design talent to meet on equal footing.

The texts are interspersed with half pages that are tilted in the reading direction, inspired by the dwarsligger concept—originally designed to make books readable with one hand. Within the context of De Situatie, this device also functions symbolically, reflecting the platform’s slightly off-axis position within the literary landscape. All editorial texts are placed on these half pages, reinforcing the relationship between form and content.

More information on the All Sizes website.

Klaar by Luka Appelberg

Klaar by Luka Appelberg

Spencer Platt, Spencer Ellen and Spencer Persis by Kaat Vandenbroeck

Spencer Platt and Spencer Ellen by Kaat Vandenbroeck

Gauche by Céline Hurka and Jan Egbers

Arête by Huw Williams

Arête by Huw Williams

Heline by Morgane Vantorre

Dargon by Anne-Dauphine Borione

Kabreet by Andrea Hayek

LNT Natalia Mono by Nóra Békés

Segmentor by Mălin Neamțu

Heline by Morgane Vantorre

Heline by Morgane Vantorre

Prepis Skoropis by Luboslav Boyanov

Prepis by Luboslav Boyanov

Pasara and Pasara Display by Tina Božan

The Dutch tile manufacturer Mosa uses TheSans, designed by LucasFonts, for its brand identity since 2011. The typeface is used consistently throughout all media, including printed materials such as catalogues, books and flyers, as well as signage, banners and letters on buildings and showrooms. It is also used for digital media such as websites and apps.

Outside of the factory building, Maastricht

Mosa stand at a trade fair

The Mosa website also features articles that use TheSerif.

Mosa Design Store

Carnival flag in front of the factory, Maastricht

Source: archive.org Internet Archive. License: All Rights Reserved.

Harpers is a geometric sans that hasn’t been featured on Fonts In Use before. Designed by artist and illustrator Adrian George (1944–2021) for the British edition of Harper’s Bazaar, it was shown in the Modern Publicity yearbook of 1969 under the name Harper. The typeface with the long extenders was available from London-based Face Photosetting and appears in their catalogs as Harpers. Shin Oka, who refers to the typeface as Bazaar, made a digitization in January 2019.

The lighter weights of Germanic Sans (Headliners, c.1970), a related design in two widths and several weights, come pretty close, see for example the G with large aperture and low bar, the angled e, the g with semi-circle descender and angled ear, and the lazy s/S.

License: All Rights Reserved.

Glyph set of Harpers from a c.1981 Face catalog

No designer/typographer is credited. The illustration by Chesley Bonestell (1888–1986) is titled Saturn as it appears in the dark sky of its satellite Japetus and was first shown in Life magazine, May 29, 1944. Palace Script is used for the import note on the golden sticker.

This recording of The Planets by the London Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Bernard Haitink (1929–2021) was issued by Philips Records in 1970. From Geoffrey Crankshaw’s liner notes:

“The Planets” suite was composed between 1914 and 1917 and received its first public performance in 1918 under Adrian Boult. Holst was always keen on astrology and the idea of a musical representation of the different “characters” of the planets held irresistible attraction for him. But there was much more to this vast conception than the mere satisfaction of an astrological whim. The work would never have held such wide appeal if its content had been limited to celestial portraiture. Deeper issues are involved. Holst was a man of vast culture, rich humanity, and powerfully experienced national affections. He was an expert in Sanskrit literature, an enthusiast for English folk-music and, withal, a visionary. All these facets of his protean make-up are fused in the unique totality of “The Planets.” For the most remarkable aspect of the work is its universality. The seven movements combine, though with no thematic linkage, to produce an effect far greater than consideration of each part would suggest. As the stillness of Neptune’s closing bars draws us towards infinity we feel that a vast journey has transpired – and, even more significantly – that a wider exploration awaits us.

This recording is the first to use the newly revised score, published in 1969 by Messrs Curwen and Sons, which incorporates amendments made by the composer himself on the margins of his own score. These are mainly concerned with the dynamics, and represent the fruits of experience in the handling of the vast orchestral tissue. Even more recent corrections — including one vital “wrong note” — are listed on a slip issued with the new edition.

[More info on Discogs]

Source: www.ebay.it Photo: 3roby3 (edited). License: All Rights Reserved.

Clover was an Italian record label active in the late 1970s and early 1980s. For several of their maxi singles, they used a generic “12″ Special Disco” sleeve. The exclusively typographic design features Bronisław Zelek’s New Zelek (Mecanorma, 1974) and Colin Brignall’s Harlow (Letraset, 1977). The Clover logo seen on the label is in James H. Moore’s Moore Liberty (VGC, 1973).

The record included in the bag shown above is “Nowhere to Hide” / “Magic in the Groove” by French disco act Voyage. Label text is set in Simoncini’s Permanent.

The same design was also used by Dutch label CNR, starting in 1978. The only difference is the text “45 toeren” (Dutch for “45 rpm”). Their logo is in Microgramma. CNR also had color variants of the sleeve design.

[More info on Discogs]

Source: www.discogs.com License: All Rights Reserved.

Source: www.discogs.com License: All Rights Reserved.

Source: www.dba.dk License: All Rights Reserved.

Source: www.discogs.com License: All Rights Reserved.

Source: www.discogs.com License: All Rights Reserved.

Source: www.discogs.com License: All Rights Reserved.

Source: www.discogs.com License: All Rights Reserved.

Vasilis van Gemert is an artist interested in things that always repeat, yet are always different. He mostly uses web technology to make his art, but uses other code as well. Van Gemert is a lecturer at the CMD School of Digital Design in Amsterdam, where he teaches the next generation of digital product designers about designing and making websites that work for everybody. On top of that, he helps students at the Master program Design Research at the Piet Zwart institute to consciously shape their future practice.

His homepage is a collection of links, set in Electric Blue by Font Spectrum, designed by Daniël Maarleveld and Edgar Walthert and released via Future Fonts. The site employs a hover effect that utilises the multiplexed weights of the variable font, layering a lighter weight over the current one to create an inline effect. As the CSS wizard he is, Vasilis has programmed the colours to subtly shift over time or randomly recolour upon page reload. The website is fully responsive and will adapt to different screen dimensions.