The OKOK-Meter is a series of interactive instruments that measures the user’s “OKOK-ness” based on their behavioural patterns. Based on the readings, the meters playfully dispense a reading slip that displays results assessing their state of OKOK-ness with oKoK, a fictional unit of measurement.

Working closely with OKOK Services to visually explore and interpret what “OKOK” could be, MPTY reimagined OKOK Services having a non-creative arm which designed, manufactured and produced OKOK-Meters, with METER being an acronym of Measuring Equipment for True Emotional Reading.

The meters
The art direction and design of the meters – from functionality, form and typefaces, to naming and instructional copy – took inspiration from the utilitarian vernacular and details of meters, gauges, and apparatus.

Studying devices of different shapes and sizes, past and present, analog and digital, the neutral and functional visual language of the meters were playfully contrasted with unconventional shapes and colours, and the inclusion of subtle “faces” in each meter. Outlined versions of the meters were also created, reminiscent of technical drawings used for communicating how something is constructed.

A functional and information tone, similar to labels seen on appliances and electronic products, was applied across the naming, numbering system, labelling, and usage instructions.

Logotype and logo lockups
The custom-drawn logotype drew reference from information systems from factories and laboratories. With it being monospaced, it allowed room for different stacking and configurations of the letters O and K.

Graphic system
Following the designs of the meters, the established visual language was extended into a graphic system. A set of modular brand assets was derived, enabling flexible and further implementation into selected applications.

Collaterals and merchandise
A limited range of printed collaterals and merchandise was produced to complement the direction, including t-shirts, caps, namecards, and stickers.

TorinoDesign.info is a list of design professionals from Turin (Italy) and its province. Much like a paper phone book, it collects over 360 freelancers, studios, and junior designers (recent graduates or without VAT), listed based on the professional category and the services offered.

What's refreshing about old phone books is the plainness used in displaying names and phone numbers: tens of thousands of names, sorted alphabetically. This is a rare sight in the age of algorithms, where computers decide how and if information are shown. That’s why the directory does not give visibility to the linked portfolio websites according to search engine algorithms, but lists everything democratically by alphabetical order.

Being dedicated to Torino, it makes sense for the website to pay homage to fonts originally designed in the same city, specifically by Aldo Novarese at Fonderie Nebiolo. Pairing Forma DJR and Canada Type’s Recta Condensed, TorinoDesign.info achieves the same kind of typographical contrast found in phone books.

The title of the website, doubles as main logo thanks to the custom arrow which is also used for all the links within the list.

This interior of a San Francisco Bay Area edition of the “white pages” was shot by Peter Dawson who wrote the following for The Field Guide to Typography:

“Commissioned by AT&T to design a replacement for their existing phonebook typeface, Bell Gothic, the brief required a typeface that would provide increased legibility and a saving in the amount of paper used. Carter’s solution was to create a condensed sans serif (Bell Centennial) that would work at very small sizes (6 point), thus allowing for more characters to be placed on a single line. This not only stopped the running of addresses on two lines but also negated the need to abbreviate the majority of them, thereby reducing the page extent of the new phonebooks. The smaller extent helped the company save millions of dollars.

With printing a typeface on lightweight and porous newsprint stock at small sizes comes the problem of ink spreading and filling in, and a subsequent drop in character legibility. Carter introduced oversized ink traps into the letterforms, which would fill in and negate the ink spread when printed. At larger sizes, these character traits are very pronounced but when small they are hardly visible.”