Description of the project by HumDrumPress:

Utterances: Composing a Care-Informed Research Practice in the Cracks is a humble offering towards an alternative artistic-research practice that is guided by an ethics of care.

Utterances proposes the ‘check in’ as an invitation, as well as a structure, dialogue, and reality that begins with the lived experience of the body, combined with the visceral experiences of sharing intimate spaces together. This approach opens space for collecting impressions, allowing for tensions and gaps, speaking and being silent, presence and non-presence, note taking and taking note, all as an ongoing process of caring coalition building.

The book features an eclectic palette of typefaces, spanning Authentic Sans 60 (Christina Janus, Desmond Wong), DINdong (Clara Sambot), Euripides (Tanvi Sharma), and Victor Mono (Rune Bjørnerås) to Velvetyne's collection showcasing Abordage Regular (Eugénie Bidaut), Compagnon Regular (Juliette Duhé, Léa Pradine) and Italic (Valentin Papon), and Director (Justine Herbel, May Jolivet).

Utterances was written by The Promiscuous Care Study Group and co-published by HumDrumPress and Meteoro Editions. The cover measures 140×195 mm with inner pages measuring 110×155 mm. It has 60 pages and was printed by Offsetdruckerei Karl Grammlich GmbH.

From a design perspective – of objects and spaces – this book proposes a reconfiguration of the collective understanding of spaces dedicated to mental health and challenges us to think about how the discipline is involved and inscribed in this context. The exercise of dialogue and observation, carried out through a series of proximity visits to treatment centers, shapes a fictional journey described through texts and images that narrate four moments in the hospitalization process: Know, Treat, Inhabit and Care.

The bilingual book (Portuguese and English) was published by Vai Vem.

As its name suggests, Folder Records merges the flair of analog archives with the groove of music in a time of digital manifestation. The visual identity, developed in collaboration with Pira, mirrors that contrast. The colour palette references an “office core” atmosphere with pastel tones and bold RGB accents.

The logo, set in PF Mellon with its playful positioning of the “DE”, was inspired by the tactile motion of flipping through records, while the monospace Director alludes to a bygone era when typewriters clattered away in the background.

Equally important alongside the bold, condensed PF Mellon was the use of publicly accessible digital imagery from libraries, museums, and other archives.

The Society for Media Studies (Gesellschaft für Medienwissenschaft, GfM) held its annual conference at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz from September 25 to 28, 2024. This year’s theme was “assembling” (versammeln), focused on media, orders, forms and critical practices of gathering. The concept encompassed images, data and bodies as well as political collectives, archives, architecture, and infrastructure.

Katharina Koch and Marcel Backscheider were responsible of the design, which included posters, tote bags, T-shirts, badges, and social media content. It was set in HAL Four Grotesk (HAL Typefaces) and Director (Velvetyne Type Foundry), designed by May Jolivet and Justine Herbel as part of the Reviving Ange Degheest project at EESAB Rennes.

kkie is an indie/artisan fragrance brand established by Frankie, a self-taught perfumer. By offering an array of olfactory palettes, kkie invites you to embark on a personal journey of scent exploration, allowing you to curate a unique world of fragrance that resonates with your individuality. With a strong emphasis on quality, kkie formulates its fragrances using carefully curated ingredients; including naturals and safe synthetics from Givaudan, Firmenich and more.

The first mini album from kkie is ‘BASE’, it is dedicated to all the quiet moments as every track from this EP is transparent, skin-like and muted. This debut collection includes six fragrances centered around ingredients typically used as base notes in perfumery: sandalwood, cedarwood, white musks, oakmoss, oud and vetiver. I wanted to create something uncomplicated yet still intriguing and enjoyable. They can be worn on their own or as a primer for layering. This olfactory palette is all yours.

Art director: Phong Anh/Frankie
Cinematographer and photographer: The Inner Cheese Studio, Vy Lam, Bánh
3D: Nam Anh Lê
Graphic designer: Phong Anh/Frankie
Editor: Phong Anh/Frankie
Model: Hưng Bùi
Hair stylist/make-up artist: Nolan
Stylist: Mio
Assistant: Trâm Lê

Kunst og krig / Art and War was a symposium organized by Arctic Art Institute and Deichman. It took place at Deichmanske bibliotek in Bjørvika, Oslo, in October 2022.

The aim of the symposium is to discuss the nuances of the current situation with artists who are critical of the Ukraine war and establish a platform for stories, which are rarely communicated in the major mainstream media.

The typography pairs Director and Roboto Flex.

Presentation with Director and Roboto Flex at the Deichman Bjørvika, Oslo, in October 2022

Two partly hand-drawn posters made to promote a group exhibition of works made outside business hours. It was shown at my design studio in Chicago. Some people brought in pottery, clothing, baked goods; and we had someone screen a film they had made outside of work.

The poster at the top features an illustration from Cheri Zhou and Carrie, a wonderful typeface from Vocal Type Co.

The one below was produced with Director, a fine typeface from Velvetyne.

Poster for an event in the rave series called Depersonalisert Klubb, based in Oslo, Norway. The purpose of this series is to invite DJs from across the globe to explore their experimental sets on this platform. This event featuring Hedo Hydr8 and Experijens DJ is supported by Revolver, Oslo.

The design combines hand-made 3D lettering with Director by Velvetyne.

Avant is a boutique festival of avant-garde electronic music organised in the rural region of Salento, in Southern Italy. The aim of the festival is to merge experimental sounds with local gastronomy and sustainable tourism in a unique experience. The second edition was held on August 5th and 6th in the suggestive scenario of the 16th-century castle in Corigliano d’Otranto.

For this edition, Grupppo was invited to work on the visual identity and a series of deliverables, including programme, billboards, and merchandising. The visual elements are originated from a contemporary take on Baroque art, which flourished in the area and whose elaborate details still impress the many tourists visiting every year. Based on architectural drawings, a series of irregular shapes was generated under the general concept of digital craftsmanship.

The logo – set in Nostra Stream by Lucas Descroix – was paired with the monospaced Director (by Luna Delabre and Camille Depalle) and the script typeface Louise (by May Jolivet and Justine Herbel). These two were combined and mixed to create lock-ups for artists and relevant info. Both typefaces were part of the Reviving Ange Degheest project at EESAB Rennes. The project aimed to present a history of type design, and women type design careers, by creating a retrospective of fictional type designer Ange Degheest. The resulting typefaces are open-source licensed via Velvetyne.

From metal type to phototypesetting, from the typewriter to the Minitel, and from engraving to dry-transfer lettering, the typographical work of Ange Degheest (1928-2009) testifies of the numerous technical changes the printing and telecommunication sectors went through during the second half of the twentieth century. Ange Degheest’s story is remarkable and a perfect illustration of the technical odyssey that took place throughout the twentieth century. Yet it is astonishing and disturbing to realise that, in spite of the quality and diversity of her lettering and type design work, her name has been forgotten amongst the list of those who have shaped the history of typography to this day.

Reviving Ange Degheest was collectively written in Benjamin Gomez's type design class at EESAB Rennes by Eugénie Bidaut, Oriane Charvieux, Anaïs Déal, Luna Delabre, Camille Depalle, Mandy Elbé, Justine Herbel and May Jolivet. Afterword ‘Ange Degheest, a female ghost of France’s type history’ by Alice Savoie. Edited by Alice Savoie and Jérôme Knebusch in the Poem Pamphlet series.

The digitized typefaces of Ange Degheest are available as free Open Source types at Velvetyne Type Foundry.