In a Baroque church in the canton of Jura, the artistic duo Boudry/Lorenz has created a rollercoaster that also serves as a sound piece voiced by Colin Self.

The visual communication gives a feeling of psychedelia in reference to the sculpture. The geometry of the kaleidoscope could be a nod to the structure of the luna park ride, or the echo of Self’s lament in the space.

Making full use of the variable capacities of Purple Haze, the design uses several weights and instances overlaid on top of each other, and printed in a restricted set of spot colours, creating additional tones as a result of the transparency of the inks. The supporting typeface is an early version of Display Grotesk, designed by Chi-Long Trieu and set to be released with Dinamo.

When things go down, hopefully they go up straight after.

Vasilis van Gemert is an artist interested in things that always repeat, yet are always different. He mostly uses web technology to make his art, but uses other code as well. Van Gemert is a lecturer at the CMD School of Digital Design in Amsterdam, where he teaches the next generation of digital product designers about designing and making websites that work for everybody. On top of that, he helps students at the Master program Design Research at the Piet Zwart institute to consciously shape their future practice.

His homepage is a collection of links, set in Electric Blue by Font Spectrum, designed by Daniël Maarleveld and Edgar Walthert and released via Future Fonts. The site employs a hover effect that utilises the multiplexed weights of the variable font, layering a lighter weight over the current one to create an inline effect. As the CSS wizard he is, Vasilis has programmed the colours to subtly shift over time or randomly recolour upon page reload. The website is fully responsive and will adapt to different screen dimensions.

In 2023, Henie Onstad presented the second edition of  New Visions, the Henie Onstad Triennial for Photography and New Media. The triennial takes the pulse of experimental practices within contemporary photography and new media. The second edition of the triennial presented works that push the boundaries of photography and automated image-making, to examine acutely relevant issues such as resource extraction, energy distribution and data harvesting. ANTI have designed the exhibition and the accompanying catalog.

The title of the triennial refers to Hungarian artist and photographer László Moholy-Nagy’s text “A New Instrument of Vision” (1932), which greatly influenced the development of experimental photography in the 20th century. In the early decades of the last century, photography enabled new perceptions of an increasingly mechanized and industrialized world. Similarly, today’s artists use photography to explore the entanglements with machines and processes of automation and extraction. The identity signals dynamism, fluidity and changeability. The holographic cover reflects the nature of photography, by capturing the light and its surroundings.

The New Visions catalog was edited by Susanne Østby Sæther. It includes a foreword by Caroline Ugelstad, a curatorial statement by Inga Lāce, Reem Shadid, and Susanne Østby Sæther, and an essay by scholar Eglė Rindzevičiūtė, in addition to artist presentations. Publishing by Henie Onstad Kunstsenter and Mousse Publishing.

The text typefaces used in the catalog include Helvetica (or similar) and Freight Text, with some words in PicNic.

Album artwork for the Sydney-based ambient/experimental musician Winter Drones.

We wanted to contrast an album that was quite reflective and topically heavy with typography and design that was a little more playful. I enjoyed using this typeface, playing around with it a little to find a nice balance.

Hearing Things is available now via Bandcamp.

[More info on Discogs]

After the long anticipated font update from v0.1 to v0.2, Harald Peter Ström could finally add a CV to his personal website. Before that, the designer of Konst & Teknik used Electric Blue only on his front page. He requested the urgently needed diacritics on Future Fonts right after the release of version 0.1. “Guuuuys, i love this so much but my name doesnt work properly… any chance of a scandi version soon featuring åäö ÅÄÖ ? /peter stroem”

Font Spectrum’s Daniël Maarleveld and Edgar Walthert just have been really busy with other thing to finish the entire set of accents. Just dropping a few Middle European ones, as a patch, did not seem right for everyone else.

Recently, Harald Peter Ström added an animated loader to his CV page which makes use of the transforming abilities of variable fonts. The loader revolves through the weights in a wave motion.

The Index and Work pages use Weiß-Antiqua for everything. The bouncing “2025” device that references the iconic DVD logo screensaver has numerals from ABC Walter Neue.

When entering the website, all the pills rotate before they find their horizontal position. The background color changes according to the width of the browser window. If one does note interact with the page, everything gets blurry.

The animated GIF was made with a QuickTime screen grab and then made into a GIF with the help of ezgif.com

CV page of Peter Ström, entirely set in Electric Blue. The bottom of the page is faded out and gets thicker on scroll – one of the advantages of variable fonts.

The index with Harald Peter Ström’s work features Weiß-Antiqua (URW’s digitization).

Another sub-url called work.peter.stream. Weiß-Antiqua is one of the classic typefaces that still looks en vogue thanks to its slightly eccentric details.

Branding agency Chapoo from Antwerp created the identity for the joint venture between Umicore and Volkswagen’s battery maker PowerCo. The corporate identity makes heavy use of the typeface Purple Haze by Font Spectrum, adding some custom icons and animations to the variable font.

The logotype of ionway is a mixture of a Purple Haze-like i with the rest of the word set in FF Mark Heavy by Hannes van Döhren and Christoph Koeberlin. FF Mark also does the heavy lifting in print materials. On the ionway website, however, the typeface has been replaced with Open Sans, while Purple Haze is used for titles. Readers can speculate themselves why this might be the case.

The typeface creates a futuristic look that fits the scientific and progressive targets of electrifying our private and public transport systems. The name “ionway” is a combination of the raw battery material and the company’s end goal: thanks to high-performance lithium-ion batteries, travelling with significantly lower CO₂ emissions.

Annual report for 2023 with a festive cover featuring Purple Haze

Custom animated icons, made by the Antwerp based branding agency Chapoo

The logotype with an i built from intersecting circles similar to the ones in Purple Haze. The rest is set in FF Mark Heavy.

Construction sketch for the logo

An overview of the brand guidelines

Austrian festival Electric Love is a major electronic music event known for its high-energy atmosphere and dynamic visual identity. For its visual identity, Moodley crafted a bold and electrifying design that encapsulates the festival’s vibrant spirit. The visual system relies heavily on expressive typography, dynamic color gradients, and fluid motion to reflect the festival’s fusion of music, technology, and community.

The festival's branding uses a combination of Gustavo and Purple Haze to create a striking and futuristic aesthetic in promotional materials, stage visuals, and digital assets. These typefaces contribute to the electric and immersive feel of the festival’s communication, enhancing its identity with sharp angles, neon-inspired hues, and a sense of movement.

For the logo, FK Screamer was chosen to embody the raw energy and bold personality of the festival. An italic version with a few graphic glitches creates the wordmark.

Opened in 2005, La Cartonnerie is a contemporary music venue in Reims, France, comprising three stage areas and six rehearsal studios. With the “Scène des musiques actuelles – SMAC” label, it offers concerts, artistic support, workshops, youth programmes, exhibitions and is behind the Elektricity and La Magnifique Society festivals, as well as summer highlights such as JUMP!

During 2023 and 2024 the venue made heavy use of Font Spectrum’s Purple Haze typeface. The in-house designer Lucie Pochet at La Cartonnerie works with the Paris-based Aletheia Aagency, a collaborative design practice of Anthony Vernerey and Hugo Dumont. Each of the seasons is introduced by one of their animations. Purple Haze is supported by Électro-bibliothèque’s EB Trainer Grotesk.

Winter 2024 animation in complementary colours orange and cyan

Automne 2023 animation. The animations for Le Cartonnerie’s season 2023–2024 using Purple Haze are done by Aletheia, a collaborative design practice of Anthony Vernerey and Hugo Dumont, based in Paris.

Inaugural animation introducing the new style, using the heart icon, included in Purple Haze since version v0.3

Ensemble Nieuwe Theaterwerkers is a network created by and for theater students, emerging autodidacts, and recent graduates—a network for new theater makers. Comprising at least two and potentially all theater professionals within the field, the group consists of current and former students who are committed to engagement, bringing diverse perspectives, fostering connections, and uniting their strengths. Their aim is to cultivate a diverse and inclusive network that takes root in all directions, encompassing all ethnicities, genders, sexualities, social classes, and educational backgrounds within the theater sector.

Based on the colorful identity designed by Franziska Froebe, Max Gruson designed the website, including some exciting hover effects. The Ensemble was among the first users of Purple Haze to request single weights. Online tools like Adobe Express or Canva do not support variable fonts yet.

The logo on the hero page is reacting to mouse-over. Together with the gradation, following the cursor, it is exciting to play with.

The hover effect on the number 177 pushes Purple Haze to 900 on both axes, leading to an extrapolation. Font Spectrum endorses such use!

The Preview SeongSu is an annual art fair held in Seoul, South Korea. Their visual identity was designed by NYC based Jun Ki Hong. From his case study:

Since its debut in 2021, The Preview Seongsu has been at the forefront of the evolving art market, reflecting the shifts driven by a new generation of artists, collectors, and galleries. This year’s showcase is more dynamic and enriched, featuring galleries and artists who have grown with the fair and are poised to continue evolving in the future.

With the theme Together We Grow, growth is visually expressed through a variable format, where the repetition of circular forms echoes like rhythmic chants. Bespoke Korean lettering and unique glyphs add depth to the display typography, creating a sense of harmony and contrast. The vibrant color palette energizes the identity system, amplifying a visual narrative that draws viewers in, inviting them to engage with the interplay of form and meaning.

While version 0.5 of Purple Haze introduced icons like the four-leaf clover, manicules, smiling face, and heart, the designer expanded the symbol set even further. Additionally, the necessary Hangul characters were created. (Attention: there is no Hangul in the retail version of Purple Haze). The animation of these new glyphs deviates from Purple Haze’s style, instead forming dot by dot. Another modification to the existing font is the replacement of the periods and eyes of the smiling face with a single black dot. Supporting text is set in Documan (Latin) and TlabModernRound (Hangul).

Hosted by ShinhanCard
Organized by ARTMEETSLIFE(AML)
Design by Jun Ki Hong (jun.works)
Photography by Fall Min Studio, Dan Ah Studio

In this booklet, information is set in Helvetica and Yeolrin Gothic.

One of the most exciting uses of Purple Haze so far would be the French television show Netflix Club. It features Jennifer (Françoise) Aniston and Adam (Hervé) Sanders who are starring in the Netflix movie Murder Mystery 2 which is set in Paris.

For the motion graphics the designers Pierre Dixsaut and Nicolas Malinowsky are blowing up the variable typeface to its max. This probably also inspired the striped balloon tent that is hosting the cast and presentators.

On July 5 and 6, Cēsis hosted the tenth edition Lampa, an annual conversation festival in Riga, Latvia, which aims to strengthen democratic values and encourage respectful discussion on issues of relevance. To mark the anniversary of the festival, graphic designer Valters Kalsers and creative director Dārta Apsīte created a bold visual identity for the event that combines strength and vitality.

The idea of seeing strength is continued in the visual identity of this year’s edition. It is based on the variable typeface Purple Haze by Font Spectrum, which allows the text to be transformed into a kaleidoscopic illustration. In an article by Paula Gāgane for Fold magazine, graphic designer Valters Kalsers explains:

As words are integrated into the typography of the identity, they take on a visually powerful and decorative meaning, changing not only their size but also their function — taking on a broader visual and conceptual scope.” The playful and dynamic nature of the typeface accentuates the symbolism of the festival theme: to see and believe in strength, one must become more observant and careful.

Secondary text is set in Pangram Sans Rounded, and the festival logo pairs Camphor with artificially slanted Letter Gothic.

Taken from the Lampa Festival Instagram account

Foam Talent 2024–2025 uses Font Spectrum’s Purple Haze as a central branding tool, supported by Phil Baber’s Maria and Klim’s Signifier. T

The Magazine is art directed by Studio Hamid Sallali with design support by Ayumi Higuchi. Based on Studio Hamid Sallali’s design of the magazine, Vanlennep developed the exhibition and exhibition poster. Website by Build in Amsterdam. The exhibition can be visited in the Foam photography museum and as a digital exhibition.

Description of the project from Foam:

Drawing from a rich pool of 2,480 submissions across 106 countries, the 20 selected artists encapsulate a wide array of visions and perspectives.

Central to the exhibition is a strong engagement with pressing societal themes, as artists question themselves and the world, exploring allegories of individual and collective existence. Their practices act as conduits for reflection, challenging viewers to ponder the layered relationship between personal identity and the wider social narrative.

Spanning various mediums and techniques, from photography to installations, the works embody a dialogue between the past and the present. Each piece is a thread in the larger chronicles of cultural and historical significance, drawing on the power of photography to narrate and connect.

A selection of pages from the A4 handouts printed for each exhibition

ISSUES is a contemporary art gallery in central Stockholm, initially set up as an ambulancing space in 2014 by Oscar Carlson, Johan af Geijerstam, Julia Eriksson and Peter Ström.

Between 2014 and 2021 the gallery produced thirteen shows around Stockholm, where the geographical location was of equal importance as the artist. For Issues #3 in 2015, Ryan Trecartin’s work CENTER JENNY was shown in the local Mediamarkt store on all 196 TV screens simultaneously. For Issues #4 in 2017, a group exhibition took place in an (at the time) empty space on Södermalm shaped like a display window, where the artworks were rotated every fifteen minutes in order to let that specific space come to its fullest.

Because of these new physical and geographical locations, the visual identity for the gallery was changed each time, adopting different typographic references to the current space.

In 2021 a more permanent space on Vattugatan 13 was found, turning the gallery into a commercial one in a fixed location – at least for the time being.

A permanent design system was introduced with the new space, where the location was less important – almost the opposite, as the new space was in a location almost unheard of even for the most hardcore Stockholmer, in an area filled with governmental buildings.

The design system takes its starting points in concrete poetry and early computer art (mainly ASCII) using Vincent Chan’s Quadrant Text Mono, complemented with the addition of a typeface and treatment picked for every artist – giving each artist their own visual identity connected to the space. Each typeface and treatment picked either refers to the artist’s practice or is connected to the idea of a place in downtown Stockholm – or in some cases, both.

The grid is based the word “ISSUES” written 16 by 10.5 times on an A4 sheet — because, you know, too many ISSUES…

The visual identity for ISSUES 4 took its typographic starting points in the typeface Eurostile found at the logo of a left over vacuum cleaner in the space.

The new space at Vattugatan 13 uses Quadrant Text Mono on all its signage and printed matter, as well as on the website and social media.

Insta stories using frame-by-frame tap animations, mixing ASCII and logo typography in ABC Honeymoon

Selected front and back covers from the A4-sized catalogue that comes with each exhibition.

Covers featuring Brush Script, Crowbar, Horizontal, and Jannon

Insta stories featuring P22 Arts and Crafts, Antique Olive Nord, Purple Haze, and PC Myungjo

For most of the shows, merchendise has been made in order to promote the shows with and to the local community and scene that ISSUES is part of. Reflective wests for Henning Hamilton using ABC Maxi Round, gym bottles for Hampus Wernemyr in Jannon, hats for Zoe Barca in Monaako, and candy, T-shirts and mugs in Quadrant Text Mono.

For DOWNTOWN ISSUES 2 in September 2023, one T-shirt with a typographic identity was designed for each participating artist printed in a single copy only. Seen here is a selection of the almost 70 T-shirts in total.

A few examples: The typography for Elis Monteverde Burrau with Tesla references the big amount of Teslas in the neighbourhood (and indicates where this Swedish poet might be heading in the future?). The typography for Georg Nordmark in Amsi references local pet food chain Arket Zoo because of Georg’s interest in animals in his art. The typography for Militza Monteverde Burrau uses Dinamo’s ABC Honeymoon and connects to her organic sculptures in glass. The typography for Ilja Karilampi links to his meme lord status via its use of Impact. Siri Carlén was treated with the never-to-be-released Småländsk Antikva by Konst & Teknik – which started around the same time Siri was a student of Konst & Teknik at Konstfack. Viktor Fordell got a Ford logo knockoff typeface because of... you know... Ford.

The non-personal T-shirts come with one front cover and three different back versions: The big 2 is based on the most downtown building Stockholm offers, parking house Parkaden and its beautiful brutalist numbering system and fascade. “DOWN TOWN” refers to local clothing brand Our Legacy WORK SHOP that is often seen on T-shirts around town. A version of the T-shirt with all the artist names overprinted was made in an extra limited edition of only five copies. All T-shirts printed in white ink on black fabric by Everynight Studios.

Fonts in USE!

“Prism” is the theme of the seventh volume of Atmos magazine. The graphic design was handled by creative director Eric Hu, with creative direction by Rana Toofanian. On Twitter, Hu showed a number of spreads while declaring his love for designing printed matter:

While I love working with type for the web, print allows me more a nuanced expression…details like the shape of a block text for example, being specific where each line of text ends so I can create a shape that feels satisfying to read up close but beautiful from afar.

The magazine was printed in seven versions, each with a different cover. Cover and interior use three typefaces: Exposure by Federico Parra Barrios, Union by Radim Peško, and Purple Haze by Font Spectrum.

From Atmos:

A prism is a multidimensional body that refracts, disperses, or in some cases, distorts light. Atmos Volume 07: Prism, then, is a study of light, color, dimension, and perspective. It asks such questions as: How do we find the light in a world that can feel so dark? How do our identities shape the lenses through which we experience reality? How do we move past binary thinking and embrace a more prismatic or nuanced view of the world? How do ideas disseminate and refract? What role does transparency play in that process? What symbolism do specific colors hold, in both the human and natural world?

An overview of the cover variants

Advent Zagreb is a traditional holiday event that takes place during Advent and Christmas in several places in the centre of Zagreb with a rich cultural and entertainment program. It starts at the end of November and lasts until the beginning of January.

Voted the best Christmas market in Europe for several years, it continues to offer Christmas food and drinks such as mulled wine and “fritule”, traditional Croatian products, activities and concerts, creating a festive atmosphere throughout the city.

This year's events visual identity has been created by design studio đkć, using Purple Haze from Font Spectrum as the main tyeface, and as an inspiration for the overall identity. The idea behind the design was to convey the feeling of joy and abundance one has during the Christmas time. Purple Haze was the perfect fit, creating this kind of “oversaturated” feeling itself. The moiré effect that happens inside its letters was elaborated into a system of patterns and symbols that have been used in the print campaign, on the website and even in animations, allowing to slowly “wrap” the whole city, right in time for Christmas. Next to this variable font, the designers use Gela from Polytype.

đkć is a design studio based in Zagreb, Croatia, specialised in creating thoughtful and innovative visual identities, books and exhibitions for a broad range of clients in the cultural field.

Big Advent Zagreb letters in front of Restorant Klub Književnika in Zagreb

Flag for Advent Zagreb using the inner moiré of Purple Haze as background pattern

Poster wall including four custom made symbols created by đkć design studio

The Christmas tree in the background is decorated with ribbons that use the hazy pattern.

Event poster combining Gela with Purple Haze

Big extruded letters based on Purple Haze on Ban Jelačić Square in Zagreb, Croatia

Advertising with custom Star of Bethlehem

After nine editions of semi-private sessions for which a set of eight invitation cards were distributed by hand, “We are listening to a record” is going public.

Since 2019 Stephan Blumenschein has organized this gathering of listening to a record in different spaces in Amsterdam and Vienna. The publication We Were Listening To Records is giving a taste of the past events and presents reflections and intentions that developed along the way. Designed by Bram van den Berg and with an essay by artist Flora Valeska Woudstra. She writes: “In my experience, trip time appears from and through listening to the body, the act of listening opens something up, lifts some of the veil of normative time, just as it does during the we are listening to a record session.”

Stephan Blumenschein (1983) is an Amsterdam-based artist. In his practice he takes up the spatial as a subject through the investigation of physical as well as imaginary spaces. He focuses on the spatial experience and the way the “social” is defined by how we work with and through space. How we enter and manoeuvre through the different layers and relations of space, leave and return again? His work has been shown and published a.o. at P////AKT, Marwan, New Jörg, ventil-records and A*Desk.

Bram van den Berg is an Amsterdam-based graphic designer who graduated in 2015 from Gerrit Rietveld Academy. He works mainly in the cultural sector and has a strength in using typography as a central voice in his design.