Ode an das Handwerk / Ode to Craftsmanship was shown at Japanisches Palais, part of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden:

The special exhibition Ode to Craftsmanship, featuring films made by Donata Wenders between 2019 and 2023, provides a portrait of skilled crafts in Saxony. Commissioned by the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, ten installations have been created, focusing on crafts that are characteristic of the region, some of which are at risk of disappearing.

The identity by Office Kay Bachmann extends across posters, booklet, leaflet, postcards, a signage system, flags and ads.

The display titling is set in Ninna (designed by Margot Lévêque), an ornamental typeface whose swashed capitals are each conceived as an illustration rooted in the decorative arts. Secondary headlines and the date are in ABC Synt by Dinamo. The text typeface is Baton from Fatype.

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.

Since 2019, Para by Rellence and Simplon Norm from Swiss Typefaces have been used in the visual identity of Schutter Widmer (until 2024: Schutter Widmer Krieger). The Swiss violin-making atelier is known for its uncompromising craftsmanship and deep respect for traditional lutherie.

Translated into the English from the website of design studio Brink:

The visual identity, whose key visuals are created by the violin makers themselves, focuses on color, texture, and typography. Conceptually, Brink starts at the origin and does not incorporate finished musical instruments into the design elements. Instead, cross-sections of the wood pieces from which the instruments are built are shown. The wedge-like formal language is also visually reflected in the word and image mark: the edges and terminals of the brand typeface are drawn in a wedge shape.

“There are no seasons, no rush, no trends - only the natural rhythm of making things that feel true,” the founder told us. Drawn to the deep resonance of human presence and imperfection, we arrived at the name for a “meaningful things store”: Zoia’s Fingers.

The identity had to accompany the carefully made objects, delicate yet playful across its range of applications. We keep our fingers crossed for Zoia, and for all her thoughts, gestures, and feels.

The logo is composed of Eyja, and short copy is set in Herbik. Both are available from Counter Forms. On the website, type is set in Libre Franklin from Impallari Type.

This one goes out to John who’s looking for more in-use examples of Daisyland.

For ages 8–80
A good beginner’s book. easy enough for children, appealing enough for adults.
Clear Project Instructions · Knotting Diagrams · Full-Color Photos

On 23 pages, the DIY book presents patterns titled Neat Knots Wallhanging, Wings of String Butterfly, Fish Story, Twice as Nice Plant Hanger, Beaded Beauty Belt, Beach or Books Tote, Jump Ropes, Message Center, Mr. Happy, Ring Around a Towel, and Pretty Hang-up.

Kids Can Macramé was edited and art directed by Mickey Baskett, with photography by Jimmy George and illustrations by Jackie Stephens. Cathy Bonds, Rose Brinkley, Michelle Menough, Carol Millsaps, and Lynn Witbeck are listed as co-authors.

All of the typefaces were available from VGC for the Photo Typositor. Daisyland – an ornamented variant of Erwin by Murray Fuchs – and Jerry Matejka’s Soul were originals by the Florida-based phototype company.

Eve Harlow has authored a variety of books, including The Anchor Book of Crewelwork Embroidery Stitches and The Anchor Book of Freestyle Embroidery Stitches. Her books are highly regarded for their detailed instructions, explanatory diagrams, and trace-off
patterns, making them valuable resources for both experienced and new embroidery enthusiasts.

The book shown here is a guide to sewing, knitting, and fabric creativity, with 352 pages of projects and information to get anyone started. The specific edition was published in 1979 by Galley Press, with Cathay Books, Grosvenor St, London. It was previously published by Hennerwood Publications Ltd. in 1973.

The jacket typeface is ITC Serif Gothic’s Bold weight; the inner flap of the book additionally is set in the Regular weight. The spine has ITC Serif Gothic as well.

L.A. Burdick Chocolates is an artisan chocolate company founded in 1987 by Swiss-trained chocolatier Larry Burdick, known for helping introduce fine, cocoa-forward chocolates to the United States. Their website features Octave Display in Regular and Italic for the primary typography with Commuters Sans being used in all caps for the navigation, buttons, and small headlines.

Creating with Paint, 1967, with illustrations by Peter Landa

Can you bear more Caruso Roxy? Here’s another Use of it – it’ll be the last one from my side for a while, promised.

It’s my personal favorite: a series of creative activity books, authored by Grace Mintonye and James E. Seidelman and published by Crowell-Collier Press in New York from 1967 on. The titles pair all-caps Roxy with lowercase Barclay, and are embedded in gorgeous, topical jacket designs. The interiors – not shown here – are beautifully designed, too. If you’re into crafts and/or this mid-century aesthetic, make sure to browse your thrift store for a copy.

Creating Mosaics, 1967 (second printing from 1969), with illustrations by Harriet Sherman

Creating with Paper, 1967, with illustrations by Marjorie Borgos Blumenkopf

Creating with Clay, 1967 (second printing from 1970), with illustrations by Robert William Hinds

Creating with Wood, 1969, with illustrations by Lynn Sweat

Creating with Papiermache, 1971, with illustrations by Christine Randall. This title uses the Light weight of Roxy.

Shopping Cart Art, 1970, with illustrations by Kaye Sherry. This one was handled differently, probably because of the longer title: caps from Roxy Light are paired with lowercase letters from Gonzales El Royal. The “Creating” part was dropped as well.

Pomme d’Api is a French monthly children’s magazine edited by Bayard Éditions, known for its illustrated stories, games, and iconic characters like Petit Ours Brun.

The typeface Borel Display was used throughout the main story “Agata détective : enquête au manoir” to give the narrative lettering a lively, handwritten feel suited to the magazine’s target age range of 3–7 years old.

Additional typefaces used by the magazine and shown in the images include Uniform Rounded, Futura, and Mr Dodo.

Source: www.junges-schloss.de Junges Schloss. License: All Rights Reserved.

Poster for Bunt (“Colorful”), the current participatory exhibition

We love seeing Kit Rounded used like this, unapologetically playful.
⁠
The Old Castle in Stuttgart revamped their children’s section. Junges Schloss (“Young Castle”) is voiced with Kit, softly welcoming yet structured enough to hold its own in a centuries-old space.⁠

Darden Studio’s Kit Rounded is used for everything from the website and the logo (with Atkinson Hyperlegible for “LandesMuseum Württemberg”) to posters and teasers for the museum’s hands-on exhibitions and events.

Source: www.junges-schloss.de Junges Schloss. License: All Rights Reserved.

Website detail with menu. Body copy is in Open Sans, with some bits in Arial Black.

Source: www.junges-schloss.de Junges Schloss. License: All Rights Reserved.

Website detail

Source: www.junges-schloss.de Junges Schloss. License: All Rights Reserved.

Poster for Sommeroase, the holiday program for summer 2025

Source: www.instagram.com Junges Schloss. License: All Rights Reserved.

Source: www.instagram.com Junges Schloss. License: All Rights Reserved.

Source: www.instagram.com Junges Schloss. License: All Rights Reserved.

Source: www.instagram.com Junges Schloss. License: All Rights Reserved.

Source: www.instagram.com Junges Schloss. License: All Rights Reserved.

Source: www.instagram.com Junges Schloss. License: All Rights Reserved.

Source: www.instagram.com Junges Schloss. License: All Rights Reserved.

Source: www.instagram.com Junges Schloss. License: All Rights Reserved.

Source: www.instagram.com Junges Schloss. License: All Rights Reserved.

The Entrelacs cross-residency is being coordinated by the small troglodytic village of Villaine-les-Rochers in Touraine, France. This annual residency aims to draw a reflection on the new uses and know-hows of basketry. It hosts artists and craft practitioners who collaborate on contemporary creations. The main goal is to protect the local basketry production and to raise awareness about the art of basketry in France.

The poster, journal and brochure produced for each residency were created with modesty, efficiency and lightness. The intention was to put the work of the residents at the center of each piece of communication. The identity is carried through the sturdy and organic Droulers typeface and the kraft ribbon, acting like a wicker twig to intertwine the many communication devices.

This first edition sheds light on Clemence Althabegoity and Catherine Romand (from Romand’art Basketry), winners of the 2024 Liliane Bettencourt prize for l’Intelligence de la Main (“Intelligence of the Hand”) with their wicker shade structure Tresser l’Ombre (“Weaving the Shade”).

Gossip is a craft and a kind of labour that women have used to create and sustain social networks for centuries. In spaces like quilting bees and sewing circles, gossip has been a form of resistance where women exchanged knowledge and wove their stories together both literally and metaphorically. There’s a deep connection between textiles, computing, and discourse.

Part of a larger Gossip research project, these textiles were machine-knit using both punchcards and by hacking the machine for manual fair-isle techniques. The double sided vest shows the icon and font set in-use in multiple sizes. The font derived from the conceptual idea around gossiping in women’s craft spaces, designed for piecing together in different optical sizes (resolutions), is realized here in two forms of wearable textiles.

All was knit in locally sourced wool and with self-drafted patterns.

Heritage Meets Modernity

In 2025, Voodoo Voodoo partnered with Altesse Studio, a Living Heritage Company founded in 1875 and known for French artisanal brushmaking. Following the launch of Altesse Studio in 2022 and its two lead collections – Prestige, a handmade luxury line, and Beauté, a premium performance range – Voodoo Voodoo was brought in to create a cohesive foundation that could unify the collections and balance heritage with a modern perspective.

The project was guided by a brand platform rooted in longevity, intention, and ritual. Voodoo Voodoo refined the brand architecture, simplified product naming, and crafted a voice that is confident yet approachable. Every design decision – from typography and colour to art direction – was made to convey the brand’s craftsmanship while elevating the experience of daily care.

Typography sits at the heart of Altesse Studio’s refreshed identity. Avenir provides modern clarity, while Right Serif in Light and Spatial Fine styles introduces editorial rhythm and depth, and Founders Grotesk Mono adds precision, echoing the craftsmanship of the brushes. The brand is unified through Altesse Burgundy, a rich, resonant tone that anchors every application. Art direction highlights light, texture, and ritual, emphasizing the tactile quality of the brushes and the intimate gestures of use. Together, type, colour, and imagery establish a distinct visual language that balances tradition with modernity.

The identity was applied across digital touchpoints. The website was designed as Altesse Studio’s digital flagship – not just an e-commerce hub, but a calm editorial environment where heritage, innovation, and storytelling coexist. Extending the typographic and colour systems, it mirrors the brand’s philosophy of intention and ritual, serving equally as a space for commerce and a stage for storytelling. Social media was structured with editorial templates and thematic curation, consistently communicating the brand’s craftsmanship, rituals, and contemporary lifestyle.

Through these interventions, Altesse Studio now presents as a modern luxury heritage brand with a flexible foundation for growth. The refreshed identity allows the brand to communicate with clarity, engage audiences meaningfully, and carry forward its legacy, while remaining true to its artisanal roots.

The book История Русского Изразца (“History of Russian Tiles”) examines the development and cultural significance of traditional Russian ceramic tiles. SFT Royalbrick was originally designed specifically for this student project made at the Moscow State University of Printing. Tasya Petelina’s typeface draws inspiration from vintage brickmarks. Its distinct forms are used for chapter titles and visual accents, supporting the book’s historical narrative without dominating the overall design.

Graphic design of the seventh album for the Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris, published at the occasion of the exhibition Du bol! À travers les collections asiatiques du musée des Arts décoratifs (From the bowl! Through the Asian collections of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs), shown from 7th June to 9th July 2023 and curated by Béatrice Quette.

I designed a series of booklets for the museum, with recurrent parameters (format, kind of papers, 2two main typefaces). Each new issue welcomes a new typeface for titles. This one is typeset in Immortel Infra for running text and in NEXT Book for titles. For this one, I also used LL Supreme in its lighter weight to match NEXT Book, only for the page number because those of NEXT Book are too exuberant.

Loveable Stuffables from 1977 and the follow-up Stuffable Playmates from 1979 are two craft books with patterns for home-made stuffed dolls. They were published by Zim’s Inc., an arts and crafts supplier that closed in 2008 after 62 years in business.

The typeface used on the covers and for the names of the stuffed creatures are set in all-caps Revue. For “Loveable Stuffables”, some letter parts of Colin Brignall’s 1969 Letraset classic were extended to form over- and underlines.

The artwork (presumably of the dolls and animals) in the first book is credited to David Roberson, with photography by Kelly Petersen.

The Labor of Love is a thesis on the relationship between motherhood, labor and craft, submitted by Anjali Arasasingham at Parsons School of Design. The editorial production is a Coptic stitch hardcover book that interrogates the different facets of maternal labor, drawing connections between housework and typically laborious feminine craft. Taking typographic and compositional inspiration from birth certificates and family scrapbooks, the design represent the oppressive/labor intensive systems built around motherhood but also its inherent beauty.

PoW Covenant Mono Regular is used for the body text, with Mrs Eaves XL Serif for the titles.

In 2021, we developed a comprehensive corporate design program for the Deutsches Schloss- und Beschlägemuseum (“German lock and fittings museum”) in Velbert, ranging from a permanent exhibition and website to advertising materials.

A lock connects inside and outside – this is exactly the principle behind the new layout system. One part of the objects on display remains concealed within the form, while the other part protrudes beyond the form. In this way, the design allows maximum flexibility with a high recognition value.

Ina Bauer created the scenographic concept and design for the exhibition Auftrag Kunst. Gestalten für die Kirche nach 1945 / Art commission. Designs for the Church after 1945 that is currently on display at Goldschmiedehaus Hanau. Bauer comments:

The exhibition shows various objects of liturgical equipment and once again: The Catholic Church – master of the show.

This project features Cortese (Mark van Leeuwen) as the titling typeface, along with Arbeit (Samuel Oakes) for text.

Cover by Beatrice Olimpia Bonato

Fanfaretti magazine #1 is published by Fanfaretti, a design studio based in Amsterdam.

Fanfaretti is an independent timeless magazine about all things creative. It highlights craftsmanship, aesthetics, and a positive outlook on life. It is grounded in printed matter, with an interest in lifelong explorations of everything beautiful.

The first issue highlights artists, designers, and crafts(wo)men who work and live in Amsterdam, alongside a variety of European photographers and writers who address the theme of localism in their own context.

The Fanfaretti Headline font has been specifically developed by Jolana Sýkorová of JS Type. It is used in every text that relates to Amsterdam or the Netherlands, both for this and upcoming issue. In the magazine, she explains the thought and story behind it:

Initially, I planned to create a font by digitizing one of the many lettering designs found on Amsterdam buildings. However, I got tired of it quickly as it’s something that’s been done many times. I continued to search for something more related to localism and the form of a magazine itself when I arrived at the Wendingen magazine. Between the years of 1918 and 1933, there was a local magazine published in Amsterdam about art and architecture called Wendingen. It became an important platform to present artists and architects associated with the Amsterdam school movement. Contrary to its architectural focus, Wendingen showcased a playful design including lively lettering. These playful letterforms served as the starting point to the Fanfaretti Headline typeface. The idea was to keep “a bit” of that Amsterdam school feel but bring it to 2024. The result is a geometric, uppercase-only font with an irregular contrast and spirited design.

Other fonts used are Sweet Sans for chapter marking, and as the inherent font of Fanfaretti (so, when we are posing a question as Fanfaretti magazine, we always use Sweet Sans). The choice to use it fell because of its heritage of antique engraver’s lettering templates, being embedded in the crafts of letter making. Simultaneously, it works excellently in any digital form. Its versatility, timelessness and heritage goes well with both the studio and the magazine.

The Joly family (used for headlines not related to Amsterdam, and for answers) is inspired by the Dutch heritage, and nicely contrasts with Sweet Sans. To quote from Blaze Type’s description:

Joly takes its inspiration is the 18th century Dutch type. It began as a research revival project, as one does when exploring type design history, and rapidly turned into a full contemporary type design project.

You can get a copy of Fanfaretti online or at the local Athenaeum in Amsterdam, at PaperCut in Stockholm, at Magculture in London, and at Maison Flore in Paris.

Full list of contributors/features: Beatrice Olimpia Bonato, Jolana Sýkorová, Emmanuelle Oddo, Colette der Kinderen, Florent Tanet, Nienke Sikkema, Studio Wild, Rae Blooms, Lingua Planta/Merle Bergers, Sensitive Boy Pottery, Clemente Vergara, Silvia Leitmannova.
Editing by Laura Josephine O'Brien. Design by Angela Blumen.

The next issue is coming out in March 2025 with the theme “Details.”

Fanfaretti Headline for “GLASS BLOWING ”

Text on glass blower Nienke Sikkema

Fanfaretti Headline for “Amsterdam Localism Series”

Image by Florent Tanet

Image by Kevin Avedissian. Text by Emmanuelle Oddo.