VMP (a.k.a. Vinyl Me, Please) released The Story of Vanguard, a box set presenting “a story told through six albums of peerless folk, with an eye towards historical accuracy and faithful mastering.” The vinyl albums in the set were lacquered from the original master tapes of Vanguard Records, a label known for both the music library of its 1950s–60s heyday, as well as for its memorable cover designs created under the art direction of Jules Halfant.

Designer Clay Conder paid homage to that history with dramatic use of Ballast and sparing subheads in Franklin Gothic Condensed. VMP’s house typeface Studio carries the main running text (printed in blue!) for the booklet of extensive liner notes.

Clay Conder shared these comments by email:

Since the aim of this project was to bring the wonderful Vanguard catalog of 50s and 60s folk music to a new, modern audience, I wanted a font that felt fitting for that era, but with a quirkiness that brought it into the current day. For that, Ballast was the perfect fit. It has all the elements of a classic slab serif like Egyptienne Bold Condensed, but with fun fresh touches that I really enjoyed playing with.

NOIA is a magazine born in 2021, during lockdowns across the world. As a reaction to that moment in which we were all stuck, NOIA uses boredom as fuel for fostering collaborations and creating novelty. The first issue focuses on the idea of radical actions and creates a discourse around what is the act we, as a society and as individuals need to perform in order
to challenge the status quo and create a real change. The magazine is composed of two parts, one is a curated series of articles, interviews, essays, the other is a collection of diptychs created from the combination of different artworks from different artists.

Aesthetics of Sustainability. Material Experiments in Product Design was published by Triest Verlag together with ECAL:

This volume summarizes the results of “The Aesthetics of Sustainability”, a research project led by ECAL/Ecole cantonale d’art de Lausanne. It brought together master’s students of product design, established materials specialists, manufacturers and researchers with the aim of exploring and defining the aesthetic potential of a new generation of sustainable materials.

The result of this research-through-design project is a series of fourteen case studies involving the development of materials made from textile waste, recycled paper, rubber granulate or vegetable fibers such as algae, rice husks, hemp, flax and wood. The resulting new materials can be shaped, pressed, woven or welded. A selection of these materials will be presented through experiments and prototypes of products.

The aim is to offer future designers a range of practical tools and applied knowledge about the methods of analyzing and processing seminal materials, utilizing their advantageous qualities and developing functional, yet aesthetically intriguing objects. The materials further aim to provide proof that sustainable materials are a great market opportunity for manufacturers and consumers alike.

With contributions from: Christophe Guberan, Chris Lefteri, Ala Tannir and graduates of the Master’s Program Product Design of ECAL.

Editor: Thilo Alex Brunner
Editorial Coordination: Margherita Banchi

Book design: Federico Barbon
Lithography: Carsten Humme, Leipzig
Typeface: Studio by Think Work Observe
Papers: Favini Shiro Alga Cart 120 g/m², Favini Crush Kiwi 250 g/m²
English. 272 pages, ca. 150 images, 19×26 cm, Swiss brochure with flaps
ISBN 978-3-03863-062-3

About Mailam:

Drawing from a combination of traditional & local materials, Vietnamese folklore, military history and whimsical childhood memories, Mai reimagines Vietnam’s heritage for a contemporary, global audience.

The design of the Mailam's website is concentrated on the use of Apoc (Blaze Type), Studio (Think Work Observe), and a smooth range of pastel colors. Thanks to a modular grids, the layout of the images and the typefaces gives a lot of dynamic creating some delays to the pages.

Makina is a fashion brand for women – ambitious, curious, aware. The idea for the branding is based on portraying a woman as a person with a rich, complex character, which can not (and should not) be trivialised. Identity thus creates a visual and linguistic frame inviting the audience to interpretation, motivates them to fill it with an image according to personal preferences.

Clean typography does not distract, and its high readability complements the experimental treatment of the brand’s language. The slim and solid structure of Studio reflects the strength and subtlety of femininity emanating from Makina.

Positioning itself between drawing, sculpture and writing, the work of Gianandrea Poletta is defined by the artist's own life experiences. In his first artist's book TABOO, published by Cura.books, a selection of short stories written in the first person, lo-fi cell phone pictures, and a rich array of ink and marker pen drawings, are brought together in a sequence that overlaps mediums and temporalities. For Poletta experience underlies and triggers his entire production process, from his chronicle writings from the underground of Milan to his livid gestural drawings depicting ambiguous figures. The artist is not afraid of telling the truth and TABOO is as much a “bildungsroman” or coming of age book as it is an exercise in anarchy and freedom.

The book includes an introductory text by Attilia Fattori Franchini.
Drawings & photos: Gianandrea Poletta
Design & typesetting: Federico Barbon
Typeface: Studio by Think Work Observe
Paper: Arctic Volume White 130, 300 g/m²