You Can’t Make This Up was an exhibition by and about the work of Silke Schönfeld held at Hartware Medien Kunstverein (HMKV) in Dortmund:

You Can’t Make This Up is a fitting title for Silke Schönfeld’s solo exhibition at HMKV. Her films are political reflections that often take place in unexpected spatial and temporal contexts, seamlessly moving between documentary and fiction.

Ten Ten developed the appearance of the exhibition, consisting of high-contrast typography combined with stills from Silke Schönfeld’s films. Various media such as exhibition signs, catalog, posters and digital campaign motifs were created for this visual identity.

Exhibition view and signage

Designed by Gerard Sierra and Cristina Lavilla, this poster celebrates Els Tres Tombs de Constantí, a traditional Catalan festival honoring Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals.

For the poster design, two typefaces were selected to craft a balance between tradition and modernity. The title and key details feature Glucosa, while the rest of the text uses Owners Text.

Glucosa (2024) is a fresh release by Jordi Embodas (tipografies), with contributions from type designer Gerard Sierra (gs-type.com). This contemporary typeface manages to stay clean and structured on a macro level while introducing a distinctive organic quality. Its soft, rounded corners and squared dots create a unique sense of warmth and sweetness, almost as if the characters have been dipped in honey. The balance between firm strokes and subtle softness makes Glucosa a versatile yet characterful choice for headlines.

Owners Text, designed by Jeremy Mickel and released in 2021 through MCKL, is a sans-serif grotesque that offers a modern yet understated presence. Its clean, functional design pairs perfectly with the playful elegance of Glucosa, ensuring a seamless reading experience for the supporting text.

The combination of these two typefaces reflects the dual nature of the festival itself: rooted in history yet alive with contemporary vibrancy.

B Side is the title of Henry Taylor’s current solo exhibition, on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Los Angeles, through April 30, 2023. Taylor is an artist and painter who lives and works in Los Angeles. The accompanying catalog was edited by Bennett Simpson, with contributions by Wanda Coleman, Karon Davis, Charles Gaines, Harmony Holiday, Bob Kaufman, Walter Price, Bennett Simpson, and Frances Stark; and features a conversation between Henry Taylor and Hamza Walker.

For the book design, Polymode picked two typefaces of local origin that both haven’t been featured on Fonts In Use before. For the title as well as headings and captions, the choice fell on Owners. This sans-serif family was drawn by Jeremy Mickel, taking inspiration from a quirky handdrawn grotesk he spotted on signs in public parks throughout Los Angeles. Extended to a whopping 110 styles, it was released in summer 2021 through MCKL, named after a word included in one of those signs. There are two subfamilies, Owners and Owners Text, both of which are used for the catalog.

The seriffed typeface used for text is an interesting one, too. Reynaldo (2018) is the work of Benjamin Woodlock, founder of the LA-based Abstract Office. Woodlock describes it as “an athletic slab-serif […] inspired by the antics of 19th century Clarendons”. With its sturdy serifs and the mix of sharp and rounded details, it looks a little like Dutch chocolate letters that were briefly exposed to the California sun. Reynaldo has a peculiar family structure: it comes in Serif (upright), Italic (right-leaning), and Lefty (left-leaning) styles, each in four weights. See more images on the Polymode website.

Owners is also used for the wall texts in the exhibition itself, as well as for posters sold by the museum, see the end of this post.

Poster featuring Henry Taylor’s See Alice Jump, 2011, © Henry Taylor, courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo by Joshua White.

Poster featuring Henry Taylor’s Cora, (cornbread), 2008, © Henry Taylor, courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo by Jeff McLane.

Inside the exhibition at MOCA

Owners in use for wall texts in the exhibition