Le colosse qui a obscurci le ciel (“The Colossus That Darkened the Sky”) is an encyclopaedia about volcanoes that examines how mass media portrays disaster and horror. Created by Elina Kerivel for her Bachelor 2 project at ENSAV La Cambre in 2023, the book uses photography to compare documentary images of volcanic events with how they're shown in the media.

Volcanoes are both fascinating and destructive, but Le colosse qui a obscurci le ciel questions why we’re so drawn to their darker side. Through a collection of images and texts, Kerivel explores the gap between scientific documentation and the sensationalised coverage we typically see in news media.

The typefaces she used are Uncut Sans and (the Latin part of) GenA Koburi Mincho.

Made as student project at the ArtCenter College of Design, this 64-page book offers an in-depth exploration of yellow journalism, combining ironic imagery with thought-provoking captions to challenge readers' perceptions of sensationalist media. Each image is carefully paired with insights into common logical fallacies, creating a compelling narrative that critically examines the mechanics and impact of fake news. By deconstructing these deceptive tactics, the book invites readers to engage with the content on a deeper level, fostering media literacy and skepticism.

The design draws heavily from traditional newspaper aesthetics to reinforce the theme. The use of Garamond Premier provides a classic, authoritative tone, while the incorporation of a grainy texture evokes the tactile feel of old-school print media. This juxtaposition of traditional elements with absurd, exaggerated visuals highlights the inherent contradictions of yellow journalism, amplifying its critique.

The layout balances structured grids with dynamic compositions to guide the reader’s eye, ensuring each page is both visually engaging and informative. Strategic use of white space and high-contrast imagery creates tension, further emphasizing the dramatic and often misleading nature of sensational headlines. The book not only serves as an artistic exploration of the subject but also as an educational tool, equipping readers with the knowledge to identify and question false narratives in their everyday lives.

Studio Size crafted a holistic brand identity for Determ, an AI-powered media monitoring tool previously known as Mediatoolkit. The new name ‘Determ’ suggests that the tool aids users in determining relevant information, empowering them to be more determined in making decisions.

The new visual identity captures the brand’s digital essence while also reflecting the vibrant, fast-paced world of real-time media monitoring. The motto ‘Make Sense’ encapsulates the brand’s mentor role, guiding users toward informed, better decisions.

In addition to creating a new visual and verbal brand identity, our project scope also included motion branding, audio branding, data visualization, and merchandise design.

Through which framing do we perceive images? How does their reception change depending on editorial decisions? How comprehensively is our perception of global events influenced by their media treatment? Which forms of contextualization come closest to what is actually happening? Can there be reporting that objectively reflects this? – Mira Anneli Naß

For politically read conceptual artist and photographer Jonas Höschl, the design studio Complex Pleasures created a unique artist book. The publication gathers numerous theorists, artists, as well as authors who, in our increasingly fragile present moment, respond to Höschl's work, and the media theoretical questions it provokes. The book's design combines Helvetica Now and Times Ten for a classic, plain layout with a modern and bold twist that puts the focus on the theoretical texts. In addition, it features illustrations by Karin Kolb, which float around somewhere between political protest banners and associative symbols.

Politik von Medienbildern ("Politics of Media Images") is available via Hatje Cantz.

From design studio Snøhetta:

Available in three different font sizes, the wooden types are produced in more than 18,000 specimens assembled throughout the eight stories of the 23,000 m² building.

Meticulously milled from thick wooden slabs of poplar in a local workshop just outside Paris, and coated by a thin delicate layer of ink-black paint translating the Salmanazar font, each individual type represents a specific character.

Each type could be used to physically print a singular letter on a sheet of paper, and the tactility of each type clearly expresses the wayfinding’s reference to traditional handicraft.

By subtly merging modern references with the touch and feel of a time when the employees of Le Monde still could hear the cylinders of their rotary press roar in their offices at noon sharp, the modular wayfinding intelligently synthetizes past and present in a physical expression of effortless flexibility.

Message. Tech. Human posters.

Message. Tech. Human is a typographical project made at ArtCenter College of Design. It uses posters, motion, and collaterals to execute the core methodology from either an artist, a musician, a photographer, a philosopher, a theorist, a poet, or a critic. Marshall McLuhan is a personal choice for this specific project and his theories potentially allow the designer to embed his critique/comments on media and mediums.

Message. Tech. Human intends to execute and critique on McLuhan's theories, “The medium Is the message”. It is using posters, broadsheets, and motion graphics as “mediums” to question about whether the design and quantity of information would change the definition of "mediums". Will the unconventional styles of design change the “poster” into an editorial spread? Can a broadsheet be a poster?...

Typographic choices for Message. Tech. Human are taking considerations of the topic, which relates to media and history. Brrr and Clifton are both quirky and funky. The proportion of their letters are visually stable in terms of their width, correlating with figures of televisions and digital screens. Chap, in the meantime, plays the fun part along with the illustration, bringing out a sense of humor. Arnhem is a choice of being timeless and classical.

Poster, motion, and collaterals.

Broadsheets.

Broadsheet 1: challenge the format and content of a broadsheet. Can a broadsheet be a poster?

Broadsheet 1.

Broadsheet 2.

Broadsheet 2: a commentary on Marshall McLuhan's media theories.

Broadsheet 2.

This photozine was an academic project for a class of photography applied to design, at ESAD Matosinhos. We had to create a narrative using photography, and then lay it out in a coherent format. The story I chose to tell was the excerpt of Simon Reynolds’ Retromania that you can read on the green page.

The narrative parts from the identification of massive entertainment with chewing gum; something you consume repetitively and which loses its flavor soon. From there came out the story of a girl chewing bubblegum that goes through different emotional stages.

I chose Aneirin for the resemblance of its serifs to bubble gum, and then Avara to antagonise the round shapes of the bubbles. Every typographic element is stretched or justified in order to convey the idea of padding content.

Anzeigen-Grotesk, reversed and on an angle, in a number of contrasting sizes, for the cover of the first edition of War and Peace in the Global Village. The title pages are set in various weights of Akzidenz-Grotesk. Helvetica is used for text.

International Mass Media Research Center (ed.): Marxism and the Mass Media: Towards A Basic Bibliography (New York, 1980)

The verso is not set but typed (Elite on an Olivetti I suppose).