“Joyeux Noël et allez l’OM” (“Merry Christmas and go OM!”) is a monochrome cyan poster paying tribute to a selection of players who have passed through Olympique de Marseille over the years. Rather than ranking or judging them, the poster treats these figures as part of the club’s collective memory, players who, for better or worse, contributed to shaping its identity.

The typefaces used are Aabak, Mattone, Carta Nueva, and Ronnia.

Isaac Julien: I Dream a World is the first US retrospective for the British artist known for his immersive, multichannel video installations.

Julien's films revisit the past to create spaces of cultural memory that invite us to reframe our priorities in the present. In response, we wanted to source typography that was historically-grounded. As a newly acquired FAMSF artwork and one of the centerpieces of the de Young presentation, Lessons of the Hour (2019) served as the catalyst for typographic research. “Lessons of the Hour” is a poetic meditation on the life and work of writer, orator, and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. We chose EK Roumald as a typeface that recalls the Scotch Roman typographic tradition of Douglass’s time. Roumald’s contemporary features – most notably its curvature and the softness added to the counterforms to create an almost blurry feel – also served as an appropriate nod to the dreamlike quality of the artist’s work. In constructing the title lockup, we explored treatments that were fragmented, generating a sense of movement or choreography across the page. This was intended to reference the kind of visual rhythm the artworks possess in the multichannel installation format.

The presence of mylar in Once Again... Statues Never Die (2022) led us to incorporate reflective materials into the title wall graphics using chrome vinyl. The gallery didactics were primarily housed in a central atrium, where individual films or pairs of videos branched off in a “choose your own adventure” style. The FAMSF design studio commissioned the fabrication of photographic facsimiles to accompany each didactic text and embedded these aluminum mounted prints into the surrounding text. The composition of text and image employ the same visual rhythm and movement that inspired the title lock-up.

Sorayama is a catalog compiling works by Japanese artist Hajime Sorayama, known for his unique drawing style and depiction of the fusion between man and machine. The monograph contains a variety of works from his earliest to his most recent creations, and showcases his artistic evolution over the years, including famous series of works such as his Sexy Robots. It was published by Hioshina in a Normal and a Special Edition. The latter comes in an aluminum relief box.

The choice of typography is in keeping with Sorayama’s retro-futuristic spirit. The simple and minimal cover shows only the artist’s name in Microgramma larga, or Medium Extended – a typeface dating back to 1952 but which may have embodied a certain futurism in the 1970s and 1980s.

Title page

The captions inside the book are set in Microgramma, too, using one of the digital versions that add a lowercase to the design (which originally was caps-only).

Type and typography for the Rane Seventy A-Trak Signature Edition using Rauschen B, Max, and a custom typeface (with border outline). Design direction by David Macklovitch and DJ A-Trak. Photography by Tim Saccenti.

The Rane logo is based on Peignot.

The new Nexflix mini-series by Ryan Murphy (also known for The Politician) celebrates the life of American fashion designer Roy Halston Frowick. The title sequences and closing credits make use of Eurostile Extended, just like the original Halston brand logo.

1983 Chevy “Good Times Estate” Van.

Good Times, Inc. was a custom van (or “conversion”) company established in Texas sometime in the early 1970s and active until at least 1989. Their logo – also used in a variety of chrome badging – was based on Orbit. This face by Lettergraphics is very similar to Village, one of the Photo-Lettering designs from the 1968 Psychedelitypes series.

Getting there is half the fun, but getting there in a flurry of funky fun is even better. One way to get it on is in a Good Times, Inc., customized van. The work is done in a factory in Arlington and the 70-man assembly line turns them out at a 10-a-day clip.

“We sell every one we turn out and there’s a waiting list,” according to Billy Walker, president of the two-year-old company. At something like $7,250 a unit, that grosses close to $1 million.

The vans (Fords, Chevys or Dodge) are dolled up to suit the owner’s taste – anything from plush GT unit featuring carpeting, waterbeds, stereo, etc., to a sedate Stadium Van ideal for family outings. Or, you can do it yourself at a Walker subsidiary, Van World, where you can get any accessory. — D Magazine, Feb. 1975

1983 Chevy “Good Times Estate” Van.

1983 Chevy “Good Times Estate” Van.

Runnin Board on 1983 Chevy “Good Times Estate” Van in ITC Pioneer.

1977 Dodge “Good Times” Van.

Good Times, Inc. brochure.

Good Times, Inc. brochure.

1982 Good Times “Personalized Coaches” brochure.

Good Times “President” badges.

Good Times badges (closeup).

The Mastrena is built exclusively for Starbucks who began to roll it out to all of their locations around 2008. The logo is based on Magneto, a typeface which in turn was inspired by the logo of another appliance: a 1950s refrigerator.