Raquel Virgínia is a trans woman artist and activist from São Paulo, historian, journalist and also a singer and songwriter. She founded the band As Baías and was nominated twice for a Latin Grammy. In 2021, she created Nhaí, a startup that accelerates innovation in companies and brands based on diversity

Raquel brought us a challenge in 2023 to release her new album Raquel à Venda starting her solo career. Her entire album revolves around contemporary consumer relations. Where the vernacular and material meets the digital. Where the body is put up for sale over and over again, just like casual and romantic relationships. The album is a mockery of sales languages ​​linked to human relationships.

From a design point of view, we understood Raquel’s references and came up with a solution that we call “pay-per-feel”, which mixes signs of capitalism and the collective unconscious related to sales and constant exposure of oneself on the internet, on social media, on adult platforms, etc. To achieve this, we included a wide typographic variety, linked to the hierarchy of Pangram Pangram’s Formula Condensed and Arial Narrow as its supporting typography – purposefully chosen because it is a standard font that anyone can access.

The project applications ranged from the creation of Raquel’s logo and stickers for each song, to the creation of posters, posts on social media, art direction for Raquel’s motion and “consumption” music video, digital invitations, banners, merchandising, album cover, website and more.

The graphic design of the entire visual identity was developed by Eduarda Nieto, with creative direction by Diego Limberti.

After its comeback in March 2024, Gonzaï finally publishes its second issue. On its green cover, the famous producer and artist Mirwais breaks his silence in a surprising interview. Also in this issue: the story of an engineer who became an internet star; the comeback of Suzi Ronson (David Bowie’s former hairdresser); the must-have book, album, show of the summer and much more to discover inside. All guaranteed free of adverts — except the fake ones.

The French tabloid periodical designed by Quentin Hourie is set in News No. 2 and Etrusco Now and printed in two colors.

The Gonzaï logo is based on Futura. Secondary typefaces used in issue Nº2 include FT88 and Brush Script.

Launched in January 2013, Gonzaï magazine is one of the first French media to jump on the direct-to-fans system. This underground independent title talks about music, cinema, literature, geek and pop culture.

After its suicide at the end of 2022, Gonzaï came back in March 2024 as a newspaper that’s free of adverts – except for false ones. Its purpose? To tell the story of today's underground culture by revisiting the fundamentals of yesterday’s freepress. This new tabloid periodical, designed by Quentin Hourie, is set in News No. 2 and Etrusco Now and printed in two colors.

The Gonzaï logo is based on Futura. Secondary typefaces used in issue Nº1 include FT88 and Tiny.

The Q-Niverse is a know-your-rights educational campaign that creates awareness for the laws protecting LGBTQIA+ Youth in New York City Public Schools. Created with Queens Community House, the New York Department of Education and JOAN Studios, the campaign consists of an educational video of each law personified, a minisite, downloadable posters for schools, and more.

The site uses Degular from OH no Type Co., as well as FT88 Serif from Velvetyne. The campaign films additionally use FT88 (Sans), Gooper, Piepie, Briar and Anteus CF, respectively.

FT88 Serif and Briar

FT88 Serif and Gooper

Piepie

FT88 and Anteus CF

Mobile view of the minisite

Poster for the EAA with the URL in Degular

Democratic Futures is a collaborative inquiry between BA Hons Graphic Arts students at Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton and the Parliamentary Archives. The project explored the political archives of the 1872 Secret Ballot Act on its 150th anniversary and the implications of this act then, and now, to the democratic electoral system.

Before the Secret Ballot Act, voting consisted of employers, landlords, political operatives and clergy using strategies of intimidation to exert their influence on citizens who had to vote by voice or show of hands. Voters would be bribed or coerced into voting for candidates regardless of their personal opinions or views. The 1872 Secret Ballot Act introduced a radical reform which ensured privacy in the procedures and the act of voting, introducing the democratic electoral system. With the progression into the third and fourth Industrial Revolutions there have been rapid shifts in the quantity and quality of political information that we consume. BA Graphic Art students at Winchester School of Art have speculated on and explored how the expansion of new technologies are changing how we interact with political information, and with it, the validity, reliability and authenticity of political content.

Rather than look for answers, students worked by proposing questions of alternative futures rather than a conventional design problem. Here, investigating through speculation acts as a tool of enquiry by provoking societal and political debates while challenging existing norms. Asking questions beyond the project title allowed students to expand the boundaries of the project through developing outcomes that consider potential future realities. Students also questioned their use of conventional design decisions, and adherence to organisational structures and universal systems. Such formal principles represent a limited definition of design. To challenge conventions and norms of design approach, students participated in a series of multidisciplinary workshops which aimed to challenge these existing design structures that might allow for more shared thinking and more ‘democratic’ visuals.

The process of collaboration and speculation within a project such as Democratic Futures was fundamental to developing new learning frameworks. In this publication, which acts as a record and an extension of the project, each contributor responded to a question that frames key issues, dialogues and related debates giving context and meaning to the work produced, beyond face values. We thank the following professional contributors for their supporting roles in enhancing student understanding and helping develop alternative approaches to challenging norms: Penny McMahon – Outreach Archivist, Parliamentary Archives; Ed D’Souza – Professor of Critical Practice, Winchester School of Art; Dem Gerolemou – Designer Google; Jonas Zieher – Motion Designer, Andy Reaney – Printmaking Technician, Winchester School of Art; and the in-house design studio of Winchester School of Art, Studio 3015.

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.