Conquering the extremes: LIQUIFER Systems Group, a design and research firm based in Vienna and Bremen, has been addressing the issue of human life on planet Earth and elsewhere in the universe for two decades. Their work demonstrates how considerate technology-based design solutions and careful use of available resources can enable us to live in space.

LIQUIFER. Living Beyond Earth – Architecture for Extreme Environments is the first book to present the practice’s groundbreaking work. It features 177 color and 62 b/w illustrations and was published by Park Books. It’s the first published book to use the typeface Micronova. The serif typeface is Lexik, likewise by Binnenland.

A ± Z Abwesenheit – Zufall / Absence – Accidental is an artistic research work of Micha Payer and Martin Gabriel.

This monograph by and about the artistic duo Payer Gabriel is an antidisciplinary encyclopedia that literally unfolds its etymological meaning – as a circle of learning in which variable forms of knowledge that mutually inform and reference each other, often in playful ways, circulate.

A ± Z is set entirely in Lexik, featuring the first time use of its Greek extension that was published in 2024. A ± Z has been awarded as one of the Most Beautiful Austrian Books of 2023:

This publication is enchanting. The successful interplay of different types of paper is not only visually impressive, but also invites you to flick through the pages and literally immerse yourself in them thanks to its interesting feel. The skilfully arranged interplay between the text sections and photographs, sometimes as lithographed illustrations on thin-print label paper, surprises and delights book lovers. The ingeniously inverted linen cover alone makes this work stand out.

The bilingual book (German and English) has 246 pages and is illustrated with 74 color plates
It was printed by Gerin in Wolkersdorf on Arena Bulk 90 g and Uniset Supra 80 g papers, and published by De Gruyter in the edition:angewandte series.

First use of Lexik’s Greek extension (added in 2024) in the word εγκυκλοπαίδεια.

In 1971, Swiss graphic designer Roland Hirter created the logo for Schwager Tapeten, a store selling wallpapers and related products. The wordmark features lowercase letters from a multiline typeface that Hirter was designing at the time.

As seen on the original drawings shown below, this typeface started life in the era of phototypesetting and dry transfer lettering. It was meticulously drawn, with compass and technical drawing pen. By around 1972, Hirter had completed all letters of the Latin alphabet, including an uppercase and also numerals. However, he hardly ever used it himself and the typeface remained unreleased.

When Roland Hirter quit working around 2015 and cleared out his studio, he intended to throw away the original artwork. It was me – Roland’s son Thomas – who saved them. For the typeface’s fiftieth anniversary, I digitized all the original glyphs.

Since today's technologies allow for a faster work process compared to the seventies, I expanded the font to cover most of the Latin script. Even more, I added a total of ten stylistic sets to offer alternative glyphs for different letters and figure sets. Attentive observers will notice, however, that Roland Hirter also drew different variations of some glyphs, such as the lowercase letters h and t and the numeral 7.

More than half a century after its first application, the typeface is finally available. It was released in February 2023 under the original name Linea 72, in the two original styles, Regular and Kontur.

The original drawings for the uppercase glyphs, part 1

The original drawings for the uppercase glyphs, part 2, plus a sample for the Kontur version in which the inner lines have been eliminated

The original drawings for the lowercase glyphs, part 1. Note how h and t are different from the glyphs in the Schwager Tapeten logo.

The original drawings for the uppercase glyphs, part 2

The original drawings for the numerals – and the typeface’s name, Linea 72

Copy and paste the old way: a proof from the early 1970s. The sample text “I love Letter-Press” suggests that Roland Hirter submitted the design to Mecanorma’s permanent contest, in which the French Letraset competitor sourced new designs for their Letter-Press range of dry transfer typefaces.

From Hallo Kultur:

With “Hallo Kultur!”, the cultural scene at Lake Zurich is joining forces and making itself visible with joint event series on an annual theme. The series 2022 illuminates finiteness in its infinite facets. Exhibitions, readings and other events allow the visitor to look at the topic from different angles, and raise your awareness of what ultimately counts in life.

The announcement website and the printed bookmarks make one look forward joyfully to a new printed publication. Author Jürg Halter, photographer Rob Lewis, and printer Lorenz Boegli team up for an exciting project. The first episode of Ajouts, a multifaceted journal, is expected to be released in autumn 2021.

Designer Dani Rolli made prominent use of Lexik, in the Medium Italic style with a beautiful gradient on the website, and the Medium weight with a slight intervention for the logotype. The bookmark is screen-printed by award winning printer Lorenz Boegli with Colorstream iridescent colour that changes from decent brown to bright green.

Parliament: A photographic index

We live in an age of omnipresent and calculated images; what opportunity do photographers have to approach a historically charged prestigious building without the risk of being instrumentalized? Is it possible that photographs and artistic work in an empty building can say more than that the building is temporarily no longer used for its original purpose?

In a cooperation project of the University of Applied Arts Vienna with the Directorate of the Austrian Parliament, students of the Department of Applied Photography and Time-Based Media had the opportunity to investigate the historic building shortly after the parliament had moved out, and to find answers to these questions.

The result is a photographic investigation about interaction of architecture, art and politics. 782 images from the Austrian parliament building in vacancy, printed in web-fed offset on newsprint.

Authors: Parliament Directorate, Republic of Austria; Pascal Petignat, University of Applied Arts Vienna

Work in progress: unbound sheets before the binding.

The two makers at refurnished+, Friedrich-Wilhelm Graf and Roland Jaggi, follow the clear intention to (re)use and (re)produce sustainable and fair materials, resources and products. All through the plain and unpretentious website they use Lunica Regular.

These three storage boxes of copper by refurnished+ are engraved with Lunica Light and Thin Italic. The boxes come in three sizes: box №1, 90×60 mm for business cards, box №2, 215×77 mm for pencils, cutter, etc., and box №3, 215×154 mm for DIN A5 papers.

Since Lunica is a monolinear typeface, it is ideal for all kinds of engravings.

SPIEGEL, ANTIK! (“Mirror, antique”) is a collection of accidental selfportraits.
This is the cover of an art book by Olivier Rossel. Published by Edition Haus am Gern.

The graphic design studio Unfolded from Zürich designed a flyer series that covers events for the Department of Art & Media Bachelor’s program at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK).

Keychain with Victorinox bottle opener/screwdriver and Lunica Regular on anodised aluminum plate from plus.refurnished.ch:

1 × Victorinox Kapselheber A.8223 (Innerschweizer Wertarbeit)
1 × Standard Schlüsselring 25 mm, Stahl gehärtet und vernickelt (unbekannte Herstellung)
2 × Industriebeschriftungsmarken 25 mm, Eloxaldruck (Ausserkantonale Wertarbeit)
= Schlüsselbundtaschenöffner Annex

The Refurnished logo is in Bolek.