This post shows both the rejected and the final designs for an exhibition titled Cultures and Histories of Indigenous People in North America, held in 2024 in the National Museum of Korea.

Design studio Everyday Practice (Joonho Kwon and Minjae Lim) wanted to visualise the Native Americans who dreamed of harmony with nature, the gods, and their neighbours, based on their arts and crafts. From the Monthly Design special issue ‘Why Did That Design Get Rejected?’:

We drew on their dress and jewellery to derive symbolic forms and common patterns, which were then rearranged and reassembled in a collage approach to reveal the identity of the exhibition. The poster is inspired by their costumes, with small particles reminiscent of intricately woven textile textures, creating visual interest.

However, due to the nature of the National Museum of Korea as a public institution that is visited by an unspecified number of people, the final design was decided to be a design that directly reflects the artefacts themselves, rather than a design that transforms the shape of the exhibits. Although we were unable to apply the multi-layered graphics and detailing that we had hoped to achieve in the original design, we were able to develop graphic elements based on constellation motifs that were subsequently placed efficiently in the exhibition space.

The Korean title lettering was designed by Tearong Kim and Minjae Lim.

Side by side: the rejected proposal (left) and one of the final designs on the right.

Le fiabe sono vere… Storia popolare italiana / Fairy Tales are true... Italian Folk History reimagines the Museo delle Civiltà’s folk art collection, making it more physically, intellectually, and culturally accessible.

The exhibition transforms the showcase from a protective device into an open, flexible archive. Objects are presented not as autonomous artworks but as carriers of collective memory. Drawers, sliding surfaces, and layered narratives invite direct engagement and multiple readings.

The printed catalogue, designed by Omnigroup and edited by publisher Treccani Arte, translates the exhibition’s structure into twelve standalone chapters, encouraging a non-linear reading within a unified narrative. Each booklet offers an in-depth analysis of the topics presented in the corresponding section of the exhibition, exploring Italy’s ethnographic heritage through cultural spaces such as the forest, the sea, the countryside and the village. Colour serves as a means of identification within the catalogue, echoing the thematic sequence used in the exhibition to guide the visitor’s experience avoiding hierarchical order.

In response to the metaphor used in the title, the fairy-tale narrative unfolds through a stream of object portraits, identified from among the more than 500 items on display, and weaves through the arc of Italian history in the 19th and 20st centuries under the lens of millennial traditions that can serve as a potential archaeology of the present.

The typographic identity of the catalogue is tuned around the unreleased serif typeface OT Kairo, used in a single weight and in a few text settings, in order to provide solid yet discreet support for the content, already populated by countless individual stories with the aim of providing a stable backdrop against which to articulate plurality.

There are two language editions, Italian and English, the latter of which is shown here.

Maxime Lancien, gallerist and publisher, runs Din Heol Books. Following the release of the second issue of Les Bonnes Choses in September 2025, he published Naïa in October 2025, a bilingual French–Breton publication designed with Studio Boulon.

Positioned between memory and creation, Naïa explores a dialogue between language and contemporary art, drawing on the collections of Breton museums and the notion of the Matter of Brittany. Folklore emerges as a key source of inspiration. This first issue features, among others, filmmaker Emmanuel Piton and writer Maaï Youssef, gathered around the theme of death.

The layout combines GT Alpina (Reto Moser, Grilli Type) and Gallmau (Malou Verlomme, Skritur).

Instrumental stoner doom from the sunny and shadowed sides of Uri folklore, following in the nebulous footsteps of the Venediger.

Modr have been making music together in various formations for many years. The band originated as a jam side project of the blues/rap group Schiibähunt, as well as from the circle around Vierschret, where the members of Modr, together with Myriam Planzer, interpret Uri legends through storytelling and music.

Drawing from the same reservoir of myths, Modr transform these stories into instrumental stoner doom. In doing so, they explore both the light and dark sides of Uri folklore: deep guitars, heavy drums, and memorable, melodic riffs define their sound.

With their debut EP, Modr delve deep into local traditions and follow the misty traces of the Venediger. The design of the record sleeve reflects the two contrasting vinyl sides: “Schattähalb” – electronically influenced and dark – and “Sunnähalb”, recorded entirely acoustically.

Handverksfestivalen is a free annual two-day festival at the National Library of Norway, celebrating craft heritage through workshops, lectures, and hands-on experiences. Smuss Studio was commissioned to design the campaign identity for this year's edition, themed ‘around the sea and its lores’.

The identity builds on the library’s base profile. It uses STK Bureau Sans for body text and navigation, and RG Gaueko as the expressive display face. Gaueko’s organic, curling forms and unconventional ligatures, rooted in Basque letterforms, give the festival its distinctive character across posters, pocket programmes, digital screens, and social media.

Collage-style illustrations and historical cut-outs drawn from the library's archives bring texture and a sense of maritime folklore to the system – balancing the mysterious with the playful.

This traditional Japanese folktales book was written by Yei Theodora Ozaki in 1908 and has been organized and illustrated in this 2024 edition by Janaina Tokitaka. It is published by Baião, an imprint of the Brazilian publisher Editora Todavia, dedicated to children’s literature.

Cy was chosen for this project primarily because some of its letters, such as N and A, resemble elements of traditional Japanese architecture, with the main reference being torii gates, which symbolize the passage from the profane to the sacred world.

Another notable feature of this typeface, highlighted in the project, is its playful and unpredictable nature, as the glyphs appear to alternate seemingly at random within words.

A low-grammage paper was selected for this project as a nod to washi paper, allowing the subtle transparency between pages to become part of the illustrations, linking elements across spreads and creating a unique composition.

Sebastian Vigueras. License: All Rights Reserved.

De Melodías y Colores, 1 February 2026

This post presents a series of concert posters designed for the Orquesta Típica de la Ciudad de México (OTCM) in 2026.

The poster shown above officially inaugurates the 2026 Season 1, presenting a renewed visual structure. The composition centers on La Giganta, the monumental sculpture by José Luis Cuevas, which serves as a powerful iconic element. The design employs a high-contrast photographic style in which the background image engages in a dialogue with a typographic composition of two fonts.

The typographic system is a sophisticated fusion of four distinct voices. The main title, De Melodías y Colores (“Of Melodies and Colors”), creates a rhythmic dialogue between Chicago – a robust, dotted typeface – and Origins, a fluid, handwritten typeface that mimics the expressiveness of a calligrapher’s stroke. This combination reflects the dual nature of the concert: the technical precision of the music and the vitality of the visual arts. Questa – here in the form of Questa Grande – is introduced as the new institutional serif typeface, lending a modern and elegant voice to the orchestra’s name. Finally, Cabin remains the official typeface of the Mexico City government for secondary information, ensuring that details about the guest conductor and soloists remain legible against the monumental background. This design establishes the template for the first season in 2026, prioritizing striking iconography and expressive typographic combinations.

Sebastian Vigueras. License: All Rights Reserved.

Amor en clave de sol, 15 February 2026

The visual narrative for the third poster centers on a dramatic sunset over the facade of the Museo de la Ciudad de México, where the sky's warm gradients are mirrored by the lyrical and romantic theme of the concert, Amor en clave de sol.

The typographic composition introduces a new, sophisticated hierarchy. The main title is set in Mon Nicolette, an expressive typeface by Mexican designer Cristóbal Henestrosa. Its fluid, calligraphic strokes and elegant swashes – integrated here with musical clef and heart motifs – capture the emotional essence of the repertoire.

Sebastian Vigueras. License: All Rights Reserved.

El México de sus compositores, 22 February 2026. This poster was designed together with Vania Rabago.

The fourth poster for the concert at the Alcázar of Chapultepec Castle utilizes a dramatic architectural photograph that emphasizes the perspective of the venue’s iconic checkered floor and classical arches. The deep vanishing point serves as a natural visual anchor, guiding the viewer’s eye through the historic corridor and toward the musical information.

The typographic palette is led by Gelica for the concert title. This choice brings a warm, retro-contemporary charm to the design, with its soft serifs and organic terminals providing a lyrical counterpoint to the rigid geometry of the architecture. The friendly and expressive nature of Gelica perfectly captures the passionate spirit of the repertoire.

Sebastian Vigueras. License: All Rights Reserved.

Mujeres que suenan y transforman, 8 March 2026

The fifth poster for the concert at the Ángela Peralta Open-Air Theater utilizes a striking high-angle photograph that captures the venue’s unique integration with the surrounding greenery of Parque Lincoln. The radial symmetry of the theater’s seating serves as a natural visual anchor, drawing the eye toward the stage and the performers.

The typographic palette is led by Instrument Serif for the concert title. This choice brings a classic, scholarly elegance to the design, echoing the operatic and historical legacy of the theater’s namesake. The serif structure of Instrument Serif provides a high level of sophistication that balances the organic textures of the surrounding trees.

Sebastian Vigueras. License: All Rights Reserved.

Natalicio del Benemérito de las Américas, 15 March 2026

This poster for the sixth concert of the 2026 season highlights the presence of the Orquesta Típica de la Ciudad de México (OTCM) in contemporary social spaces. The visual centerpiece is a panoramic photograph of Utopía Tezontli, a modern community center in Iztapalapa. The architectural geometry, with its white structural ribs and circular patterns, creates a rhythmic backdrop that symbolizes the utopian and transformative nature of the place.

The typographic strategy introduces Caligra, a contemporary Gothic typeface used for the main title. This choice creates a tension between the orchestra's historical roots and the modern, urban environment of the venue, while also evoking the complex framework of the building’s roof.

Sebastian Vigueras. License: All Rights Reserved.

Armoniás de primavera, 22 March 2026

The visual composition of the seventh poster is centered on an expansive landscape photograph of Parque Tezozómoc, featuring its iconic artificial lake and the pre-Hispanic-inspired topography. The open, bright blue sky and the reflection of the clouds in the water serve as a natural visual anchor, providing a serene and airy backdrop that reflects the “spring harmonies” theme.

The typographic hierarchy is led by a sophisticated pairing for the title: Amster, with its contemporary and sharp personality, and ATF Garamond, which provides a timeless, academic elegance. This combination creates a refined, editorial feel that contrasts with the organic, open-air nature of the park. The layout effectively utilizes the landscape’s “white space” to allow the intricate typographic layers to breathe, maintaining a balance between historical tradition and the modern urban environment.

Amundsen Sports’ Gommo & Goffa sweaters are presented as a tribute to Norwegian knit heritage, drawing on the traditional bunad and its regional embroidery motifs. The campaign introduces the patterns through simple, chart-like graphics labelled Hallingdal, Telemark, and Gudbrandsdalen, and then places the motifs back onto the garments in sunlit, documentary-style photography.

The storytelling frames the pieces as heirloom knitwear made to be worn and passed down, with copy that emphasises 100% free-range Norwegian wool and a Nordic winter use case. The visual system balances large, confident headlines with small informational lines and longer descriptive text blocks, keeping the tone refined and heritage-led.

Typography uses Store Norske Leif Mono, Store Norske Magi Mono and Store Norske Magi from Skriftkompani.

Illyricvm is a European historical-adventure film, co-written and directed by Simon Bogojević-Narath. From IMDb:

The year is 37 BC. A young Liburnian Volsus is taken by a Roman unit to help in what at first seems a simple task of collecting taxes, but the encounters with local Illyrian tribes soon lead to unexpected turns of events, as they show more resilience to subjugation than meets the eye. We see their archaic, emotional world of quaint and brutal laws and traditions through the eyes of this youngster, regarded by the Romans as a primitive barbarian, and gradually come to understand that their world is not all that different from our own.

Design for the film was done by Andro Giunio who used Rector for everything from the poster to the title credits.

The Kingfall typeface is used for headlines, initials, and chapter decorations of the manual book for the tabletop role-playing game from Mendercap. Dwellers Under the High Grave is a 56-page setting for the Ironsworn family of games, and Sundered Isles in particular. It draws inspiration from the early modern history, folklore and landscapes of Ukraine. Writing and layout by Michael Chumak, with illustrations by Roman Dubina. The text typeface is Equity.

Sebastian Vigueras. License: All Rights Reserved.

La Típica en la Vasconcelos, 5 October 2025

During 2025, the Orquesta Típica de la Ciudad de México (OTCM) offered a series of free concerts throughout the capital, for which these promotional poster was created.

The layout of the elements follows a vertical or radial hierarchy where photographs of musicians or instruments—such as the salterio or the marimba—act as indices of Mexico City’s sonic tradition. The use of illustrations or flat color shapes aims to modernize the Orchestra’s image, moving it away from a static perception and bringing it closer to a dynamic urban audience. Furthermore, the color palette likely aligns with the institutional identity of the Secretariat of Culture, applied with high contrasts to ensure legibility in public spaces. A system of visual weights was established where the OTCM name stands out above the time and location details, allowing for quick scanning. The typographic selection likely includes a seriffed, calligraphic typeface—Adobe Aldine—for headlines to evoke the history and elegance of an orchestra with over 140 years of heritage, complemented by sans-serif typefaces—Roboto and Cabin—for technical data to ensure clear readability at various distances. Finally, the management of leading and tracking is optimized to avoid dense typographic blocks, maintaining an “air” that allows the design to breathe.

Sebastian Vigueras. License: All Rights Reserved.

Ninfas y Nereidas, 12 October 2025

The poster for the Ninfas y Nereidas concert represents a transition towards a more layered and atmospheric visual language. The background is a rich, impressionistic tapestry of warm-toned flowers that anchors the composition, reflecting the floral tradition of the San Francisco Tlaltenco area.

The typographic system introduces Gabriola, whose fluid, stylistic alternates and elongated swashes mirror the “aquatic” and mythological theme of the Nereids. This expressive display face is used for the concert title, creating a sharp contrast with the structured, institutional presence of Adobe Aldine at the top. For the more complex information—such as the extensive repertoire list and venue details—Roboto and Cabin are again used to maintain high legibility against the textured background. The layout balances a large, centered photograph of the full orchestra with a clear, white footer for institutional logos, ensuring that the decorative elements do not compromise the informational clarity.

Sebastian Vigueras. License: All Rights Reserved.

Ritmos de Otoño, 19 October 2025

The poster for the Ritmos de Otoño (“Autumn Rhythms”) concert features a frame-within-a-frame composition that emphasizes the relationship between the venue and the season. The top of the layout is dominated by a lush, colorful floral arrangement that creates an organic border, contrasting with the bright blue sky.

The typographic hierarchy is centered and highly structured. The concert title is set in Adobe Aldine’s Display size, utilizing its graceful, flaring terminals to reflect the organic nature of the floral motifs. It is used for the “Orquesta Típica” name at the top, providing a stable, classical anchor for the design. A distinctive detail is the venue address, which is set in an arch following the architectural curve of the museum’s orange facade, effectively integrating the text with the photographic image of the building’s entrance.

Sebastian Vigueras. License: All Rights Reserved.

La muerte se quiere llevar a la Típica, 9 November 2025

This poster for the Día de Muertos special concert, titled La muerte se quiere llevar a la Típica, showcases a sophisticated integration of typography and architectural photography. The composition uses a diagonal perspective provided by the museum’s historic stone columns, creating a sense of depth that guides the eye toward the papel picado and the dark interior where the concert title is placed.

The typographic system relies on a high-contrast hierarchy to manage a large amount of information. The main header and the concert title are once more set in Adobe Aldine Display, whose classical serif structure is paired with a hand-drawn illustration of a skeleton, evoking the iconic style of José Guadalupe Posada. This choice reinforces the cultural heritage of the celebration. To balance the ornate title, venue details and technical data are organized using Roboto and Cabin, utilizing different weights and sizes to maintain clarity. A notable design choice is the placement of the location details on the stone pillar, treating the text as a physical part of the architecture. The color palette is somber yet accented by the vibrant colors of the traditional papel picado, ensuring the poster captures the festive yet solemn spirit of the season.

Visual identity for the exhibition Inezita Barroso: 100 anos de viola e pioneirismo for Sesc Mogi das Cruzes.

The show about Inezita Barroso (1925–2015) and “100 Years of Viola and Pioneering” is presented by Sesc Mogi das Cruzes to mark the artist’s centennial and bring together fifteen activities in her honor. The concept is anchored in enraizamento (“rootedness”), inspired by a statement Inezita made to Revista Brasil: “Something without roots flies away; the wind takes it and it disappears.” In her performances, Inezita was often seen wearing floral dresses, full skirts, and scarves, elements associated with traditional attire from Brazil’s countryside. The visual identity draws on this symbolic dimension by placing vernacular rural prints and folk embroidery at the center of the graphic system. The full booklet is available for download.

Fete des Bruyeres
2ème Dimanche d’Aout
Sur ce Site
Musique et Danse de Bretagne et d’Ailleurs

On our way from the parking to the cliffs of Beuzec-Cap-Sizun, Bretagne, we passed workers dismantling a stage from a festival that ended the previous day plus a sign explaining what we had just missed. Fête de Bruyères (“Heather festival”) is a local folk festival with dance and music held every second Sunday in August. The billboard shows a man in folk costume playing bagpipe and women in traditional clothing riding a horse carriage, with the côte sauvage (“wild coast”) as a backdrop. The airbrushed image is partly covered with vinyl lettering, using a different font for each line. It is signed by local sign firm Le Bars Publicité in the bottom left corner, but not dated.

Ferns, heather, rocks and sea: the côte sauvage.

The logo

As part of its rebranding to Corinth Folklore and History Museum (Greek: Ιστορικό Λαογραφικό Μουσείο Κορίνθου), the old Folklore Museum of Corinth (Kórinthos) needed a new logo. In discussions with the people of the museum it was clear that there was a need for a logo that could function in digital media as well as in print and in the building signage. There was a need to incorporate the new historical element but also keep the folklore side which has been the museum's main theme until now.

The museum suggested a collection of images of objects and fabrics that could be used a starting point of the design. Although there were many intriguing objects among the images, what struck me as the best starting point were the patterns of the fabrics. After some initial attempts at creating a geometric logo from these patterns I focused on the rhombus shape that appeared in most of the patterns.

The need to marry foklore and history lead to a more “typographic” solution. The logo was made using 19th-century-style typefaces that relate to the early Greek state established in that period, a significant historical moment for the city.. The final shape came from combining the initials of the museum’s name ΙΛΜΚ to create the rhombus shape.

Examples of logo application

Logo variations

The Spanish Pavilion at FILBo 2025 is conceived as a series of landscapes connected by the movement of mobile libraries. Common in rural areas, these institutions constitute essential infrastructure for universal access to knowledge. Modest in scale and materially austere, they operate outside the logic of economic profit, linking readers in peripheral communities through their circulation. Historically, mobile libraries have played a vital role in both Colombia and Spain, providing access to books for broad segments of the population and often serving as a first point of contact with reading.

The Pavilion understands the mobile library as a form of architecture that links two kinds of knowledge: the written word, inscribed on the pages of books, and orally transmitted craft knowledge, embodied in materials such as handmade felt, macrame, netting, or fique. This dual condition resonates with universal semantic connections between words like text, textile, and tale—coincidences that appear in Latin (textum) as well as in Amerindian languages spoken in Colombia, like Wayúu (süchi).

The visit to the Pavilion unfolds as a sequence of welcome, gathering, and farewell, articulated through different program elements. A large entry plaza introduces visitors to the curatorial proposal. From there, they access a series of spaces: an exhibition of Spanish photobooks; another on historical memory and graphic novels; a 240-seat auditorium; an 80-seat forum; and a large bookstore-reading area. Visitors exit through a second plaza that opens onto a terrace-canteen.

To design this project, Murray Branding & Design studio used Garaje (Thomas Huot-Marchand) and Renotype (Radim Peško) , two typefaces distributed by 205TF.

Photos by Javier Agustín Rojas (Pavilion) and Alexander Gümbel (artisans’ process)

The Mexican Folk Dances album was released in 1966 by Bowmar Records and features music for various regional dances from Mexico, performed by various artists. It includes a gatefold cover with step instructions and was used in some schools.

[More info on Discogs]

French and Spanish language versions of the main poster for the 2024 edition of the Festival Interceltique de Lorient, or Emvod Ar Gelted An Oriant in Breton, a festival celebrating Celtic culture that takes place every year in Lorient, France. That year was the first time that the festival wasn’t dedicated to any particular Celtic-influenced country but to the “youth of the Celtic countries”.

The posters were designed by Lorient-based design studio Orignal Communication and feature a gender-ambiguous young-looking character along with the typefaces Brassia, designed by Ariel Martín Pérez and distributed for free on Tunera Type Foundry, and Galica, the official font for the festival, distributed by JCFonts.

In 2024, publishing house Podpisnie Izdaniya issued Ирландские чудные сказания (“Irish Fairy Tales”) by James Stephens and Ирландские сказки и легенды (“Irish Fairy and Folk Tales”) by William Butler Yeats. The covers of both publications, designed by Vladimir Vertinsky in collaboration with artist Maria Sutyagina, feature Yuni Slab by Philipp Neumeyer.

Gods and Fighting Men by Lady Augusta Gregory was first published in 1904. In 2022, New Island issued a new hardback edition as volume 1 of Irish Myths and Legends. A second volume, Cuchulain and the Red Branch of Ulster, followed a year later. Both books use Almost Gothic, with graphic design by Niall McCormack.

This undated album with polka music by Vic Latauska and His Orchestra was released on Colonial Records probably sometime in the mid-1960s. The swirling caps used for “POLKAS” are from Kismet. Designed by John F. Cumming and first released by the Boston Type Foundry in 1879, it was revived for phototypesetting around that time. The sans is Standard Bold, the export name of Akzidenz-Grotesk fett.