French CD single front cover

This single from Dimitri from Paris’ retro-inspired debut album Sacrebleu features two frilly fonts: Holiday – and specifically its Extra Flair style – (song title, speech bubbles) and Viola Flare (Dimitri credit, stereo indication). Non-frilly Helvetica Compressed is utilized for the back cover and spine.

The song’s accompanying animated music video, with a plot that’s a cross between Pepé Le Pew and To Catch a Thief, has a mademoiselle pursued by a stereotypical Frenchman during her Paris sightseeing. All the while, more examples of Holiday and Viola (with liberal use of alternate glyphs) are present in almost every scene.

Based on the glyph sets I have seen for Holiday, there are no diacritics provided in that typeface. So, the é and ç in the title are likely custom modifications. Note the discrepancy in the title’s diacritics on the single cover and throughout the music video.

Visual credits on the single are given as follows: “Cover art Genevieve Gauckler. Characters by Kuntzel + Deygas.” I take ‘characters’ to mean the cartoon characters and not typography, as the music video is listed among Kuntzel + Deygas’ music-related work on their website.

[More info on Discogs]

UK CD single front cover

French CD single back cover

Poster for the Grugapark Essen

Since May 2025, Grugapark Essen has a new visual identity, which was developed by smile. Visual Communication from Essen, Germany. Grugapark and the name “Gruga” originated from the first Great Ruhr Horticultural Exhibition in 1929. Over the years, not only has the park itself changed, but also the way it communicates. What has remained the same is its significance to the people of Essen and the Ruhr region as an oasis of rest and a place of discovery. The aim of the rebranding is to create a visual system that positions Grugapark as a vibrant brand, bundles its versatility, and can be used adaptively for different communication occasions. The new design organizes, simplifies, and connects – while further developing a system around the existing trademark of the park – the Gruga Tulip.

As the Grugapark is a municipal park, the city of Essen set a number of guidelines in advance of the development that had to be incorporated. These included, for example, the use of the city’s typeface – Rotis SemiSans – and the city logo in its original position.

The geometric structure and colors of the Gruga Tulip and logo of the city of Essen serve as the basis for the development of a system of pictograms and patterns that reflect the park's wide range of recreational and leisure activities. In a modular system, these elements can be combined depending on the occasion to promote events, attractions, or visitors’ personal “Gruga moments.” Six recurring symbols indicate the respective themes being promoted. The monthly overview uses those pictograms to assign them to thematic areas.

The brand tagline “Where relaxation and adventure become one” highlights the duality of the wide range of activities of the park. The tagline is also Grugapark Essen’s main promise (benefit) to its visitors: creating memories and inspiring enthusiasm for green spaces. The campaign slogan “My Gruga moment” focuses on personal experiences within the new image. Every visit, every photo, every little detail can become your own Gruga moment. The emotional appeal is conveyed through large-format, tranquil photographs that show authentic moments in the park. They not only create atmosphere, but also form the backdrop for clear text and information structures.

With this rebranding the redesigned identity combines the history of the park with its present-day diversity, giving Grugapark Essen a distinctive identity in the heart of the city.

Poster for the park festival at Grugapark Essen

Campaign “My Gruga moment” for the Grugapark Essen

Route flyer for the animal route at Grugapark Essen

Monthly flyer for the Grugapark Essen

Route flyer for the sport and health route at Grugapark Essen

I began collaborating with Sean Mason on the design of his sophomore album in October 2024. He reached out to explain his plan for a complete rebrand of his visual identity. Sean is a visionary Grammy-nominated jazz pianist, composer and bandleader, and a recipient of a Bessie Award and Bistro Award.

The challenge was to translate the pianist’s spiritual and creative rebirth into a singular visual identity; to visually represent the joy, but also the difficulties, of that process.

The primary inspiration was the Ivy aesthetic, championed by Miles Davis in the 1950s and 60s. Sean attended Juilliard and moved to NYC in 2018. He then came back to his roots, his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. His music is deeply rooted in the cultural heritage of the South. Thus, it felt fitting that the album packaging hinted at the colors of the American flag. Sean’s musical style is very reverential, often paying homage to old school jazz, hard bop and gospel music. I wanted the visual aesthetic to mirror his respect for the jazz tradition. Therefore, in all the promotional materials and the album packaging, I incorporated typographic references ranging from the early 20th century to the 1970s.

[More info on Discogs]

Front and back cover

Inner gatefold

Inner sleeve

These sheets include logos of publications that reviewed A Breath of Fresh Air, some of which use additional fonts like Gill Sans, Clarendon, and Frutiger that are not part of the album design.

Fonts from the Flea Market #1443

Georges Chelon (b. 1943) is a French singer-songwriter who released his debut album in 1965. In 1968, EMI Records brought out this compilation album to introduce him and his chansons to a German audience as well. Chelon’s name is set big and tight in caps from West Barnum, an exclusive by Photo-Lettering. Apparently it was important to the marketing department to make the singer’s country of origin crystal clear: not only was Chelon’s face colored in red, white and blue; a tricolore band was added to the sleeve as well.

Front cover for Our Biggest Hits. “THE DRIFTERS” and “‘OUR BIGGEST HITS’” are set in Egyptienne Bold Condensed (width stretched to 133%).

Our Biggest Hits (1964) is the fourth studio album by the Drifters, released by Atlantic Records. It was reissued as Under the Boardwalk, immediately after that single became a hit.

This use is specifically for the original cover, designed by Loring Eutemey and used for both albums. Subsequent repressings of Under the Boardwalk used a different design, also by Eutemey.

[More info on Discogs]

Back cover for Our Biggest Hits. “THE DRIFTERS” and “‘OUR BIGGEST HITS’” are set in Haas Inserat-Grotesk / Neue Aurora VIII (width stretched to 150%). The track list is set in Anzeigen-Grotesk / Neue Aurora IX, with side headers in Grotesque No. 9 (italic) and the writing credits underneath each track set in News Gothic (italic). The liner notes, written by Bob Altshuler, are set in Primer (normal, with song and album titles in italic). The credits, including a typo regarding the catalog number of Save the Last Dance for Me (as Atlantic’s 8000 series only went up to 8305), are also set in Primer (italic). The address info is set in Clarendon.

Front cover for Under the Boardwalk. Mostly the same design as Our Biggest Hits, except for “UNDER THE BOARDWALK” which is of a normal width (as well as losing its quotes).

Back cover for Under the Boardwalk. Mostly the same as Our Biggest Hits, except for “‘OUR BIGGEST HITS’” being replaced with “UNDER THE BOARDWALK”. The track list is also different: “Drip Drop” is removed and replaced with “Under the Boardwalk” as the opening track. The catalog number typo in the credits has been fixed.

The Family in the White House by William Hirsch and Maurine Dawson is a comedy album released in 1963 on Kent Records. It is not a historical account of a specific family residing in the White House, but rather a record of comedic material.

[More info on Discogs]

That Summer in Paris is a book by Morley Callaghan (1903–1990). In 1929, the Candian novelist “spent some months in Paris, where he was part of the great gathering of writers in Montparnasse that included Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and James Joyce.” [Wikipedia]

His “Memories of Tangled Friendships with Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Some Others” were published in 1963. This is the cover of Dell’s paperback (Laurel Edition 86649) from 1964, featuring all-caps Futura Black in the French national colors.

Pepsi also extended its “Love It. Live It.” campaign to a series of limited-edition cans, distributed in over sixty countries.

In 2018, as part of its official partnership with the UEFA Champions League, Pepsi launched the campaign “Love It. Live It. Football.” using the Sofia Pro typeface family as its primary typographic element. This worldwide campaign featured iconic players such as Lionel Messi, Marcelo, Toni Kroos, Carli Lloyd, and Dele Alli. The slogan “LOVE IT, LIVE IT” appeared in all-caps Sofia Pro Black, giving the brand a bold and cohesive visual presence.

Pepsi rolled out this typographic identity across all visual materials, including packaging, limited-edition cans, and a commercial aired in multiple countries. The ad showed the players taking part in an impromptu street match using paint-filled blue balls, symbolizing the energy and passion of football.

To enhance the visual impact, black-and-white portraits of the players were shot by photographer Danny Clinch and then transformed into unique artworks by local artists from the players’ home countries.

The logo for the UEFA Champions League Final in Kiev (not part of Pepsi’s campaign) is based on Oksana Text.

In 2018, during the UEFA Champions League final in Kyiv, Pepsi brought its “Love It. Live It.” campaign to life through a unique immersive experience designed by creative director Edmund Sorrell. The core concept offered a 360° interactive journey, taking fans from spontaneous street-style play to the intensity of the stadium, allowing them to experience football in an authentic way and feel closer to their football idols.

A 360° interactive football game takes players from honing skills on the streets to the pressure of the stadium.

Pepsi also extended its “Love It. Live It.” campaign to a series of limited-edition cans, distributed in over sixty countries. Each can featured the portrait of a star player such as Lionel Messi, Marcelo, Toni Kroos, Carli Lloyd or Dele Alli, combined with graphic elements inspired by their cultural backgrounds. Designed as collectible items, these cans reinforced the campaign’s visual identity while offering fans a tangible way to celebrate their love for football.

Totem created with Sofia Pro for the VIP hospitality at UEFA Champions League Final in Kiev by Design Group Italia.

The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon, or TriMet, is a transit agency that serves most of the Oregon section of the Portland metropolitan area: Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas County.

TriMet provides various services, including the TriMet MAX light rail, WES Commuter Rail, and bus services.

TriMet’s third-phase logo, which came out in 2002, features TheMix in a bold weight and all-capital letters. Their slogan and much of their branding use Source Sans. On the website, Source Sans is paired with Zilla Slab for headings.

The TriMet logo on the new MAX car design introduced in 2015. Station signs use TheMix as well.

Timeline of the TriMet story featuring the original logo with hyphen. The website typography pairs Source Sans and Zilla Slab.

Russian Post logo with the double-headed eagle of the Russian coat of arms

The logo of Russian Post (Почта России) is based on Roslyn Gothic. It is used to design advertising branches, stickers, and brand logistics vehicles. It’s unclear who designed the logo. It was probably introduced in 2002, when the current company was established, and was definitely in use in 2003.

The logo of the affiliated Post Bank (Почта Банк) is based on Roslyn Gothic, too.

Square version of the Post Bank logo

An illuminated sign with the logos of both Russian Post and Post Bank, seen in 2019

A Kamaz K5 postal truck

A GAZelle post delivery truck, photographed in November 2020

Post Bank sign in an office in Moscow, 2016

Post office in Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, in 2015

Post office in Yakutsk, Siberia, documented in 2008

The Russian Post logo on a Tupolev 204S, spotted in 2017

The second book by Gerald Jay Goldbert (1929–2020), The National Standard was first published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston in 1968, with a jacket design by Milton Glaser.

Shown here is a different edition; Ballantine’s paperback from 1972, with uncredited layout and typography. Alex Gnidziejko provided the cover art. Title and author name feature Jazzbeau, released in the early 1970s as part of Photo-Lettering’s Decotypes. The synopsis is set in Vogue with its alternate monocular a.

Poster (40″×60″)

The poster for Alan J. Pakula's 1974 film The Parallax View uses Electus for the film title and Warren Beatty's top billing, while Helvetica Medium is used for the tagline and the Medium and Bold weights of Folio Condensed are used for the credits.

From Wikipedia:

The Parallax View is a 1974 American political thriller film starring Warren Beatty, with Hume Cronyn, William Daniels and Paula Prentiss in support. Produced and directed by Alan J. Pakula, its screenplay is by David Giler and Lorenzo Semple Jr., based on the 1970 novel by Loren Singer.The story concerns a reporter’s investigation into a secretive organization, the Parallax Corporation, whose business is political assassination.

One Sheet (27″×41″)

Percy Faith’s 1959 arrangement of an excerpt of “Theme From A Summer Place” from Max Steiner’s score for A Summer Place won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1961. Gothic Condensed No. 529 is used with its alternate R.

[More info on Discogs]

A graphic track list released for Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album alternates between Resistenza’s handwritten uppercase Sandwich Marker and Linotype’s Anzeigen-Grotesk. Beyonce name is set in Rise Bold, with squeezed letterforms. Tri Kuncoro’s slab serif is similar to the one used on the ribbon worn by Beyoncé on the album’s front cover.

[More info on Discogs]

Poster made as a personal project to commemorate the release of Beyoncé’s album Act II: Cowboy Carter. The design is inspired by Chitlin’ Circuit posters. Printed copies are available from my print store.

The bold and vibrant identity system created for the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF)'s 2022 Bastille Day Celebration seamlessly transitions between various formats. It includes eye-catching street banners, intuitive directional signage, tickets for wine & champagne tastings, and social media posts.

Against the backdrop of Madison Ave, between 59th and 63rd Street, NYC, this identity system captures the essence of the event with movement and life. The typographic style features "dancing letters" which interact with abstract geometric shapes, adding a dynamic energy. The festival drew in a crowd of over 25,000 attendees, marking a truly memorable celebration.

Street banner, hanging above Madison Avenue

Roll-up banners for the wine & champagne tasting

Tickets for champagne and wine tasting

According to their self-description, “the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter provides independent, non-partisan analysis of elections and campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, Governors and President as well as American political trends.” Founded by Charlie Cook in 1984, the CPR is another US political website using Merriweather and Open Sans. The logo is in all-caps Avenir.

Bringing It All Back Home is Bob Dylan’s fifth album, and his first to feature electric instruments.

The artist name and album title are set in the bold weight of Times New Roman, tightly-spaced and center-aligned above the striking cover photograph by Daniel Kramer.

[More info on Discogs]

The back cover typography uses a mix of Akzidenz-Grotesk (a.k.a. Standard) and Optima.

Vol. 1, May 1968 [More info on Discogs]

In 1968, Reprise Records released a two-volume compilation of greatest hits by Dean Martin (1917–1995). For the first volume, art director Ed Thrasher specified Tempo Black for the title, paired with Futura for the song names. Tempo was Ludlow’s response to Bauer’s Futura. Its Black weight is even heavier than Intertype’s Futura Extra Bold.

For Volume 2, which followed half a year later, he didn’t rehash the design, but came up with a variation: this time the titling face is Filmotype Gem, an extrabold sans with straight-sided rounds. The track list is shown to the left and right of Martin’s portrait, set in Franklin Gothic Extra Condensed.

What unites the two cover designs are the photographic portraits of smiling Dean Martin with his signature bow tie, the color palette with red white and blue, and a typography that uses two sans serifs in all caps.

Vol. 2, Aug. 1968 [More info on Discogs]

Time to be serious. In 2021, Fondation La France s’engage (“France commits itself Foundation”) dropped its previous playful identity for a new brand: reliable, serious, corporate.

The new logo symbolizes the rising associations awarded by the foundation, from their local scale (the figurative France) to a country-wide scale (the hexagon). The territory become more powerfull with vibrant new colours, inspired by the French flag, and slight twists in the layout.

French initiatives, French design, French typeface: we selected the beautiful Plaax Ney from 205TF to accompany this new identity.