From a conversation with designer Artem Militonian:

In early 20202, I was put in charge of type.today’s Instagram, dealing with a great font library. The collection featured Druk, and this font became one of my favorite typefaces.

I am a product designer, but sometimes I create non-commercial long reads with Readymag. First I brought together a project about Armenian genocide, and later, in late October 2022, a project about the war. These two projects received more than 40 design awards and mentions, including Awwwards and The FWA.

I believe that a properly chosen typeface is half the battle, especially when it comes to the Web. For the war project, I wanted to find a typeface which would be brutal and heavy yet contemporary at the same time. Druk was a great fit. I used it in headlines, and it made the reading process somewhat… uncomfortable for the user.

As for body text, I’ve been looking for a neutral font to communicate facts in a dry manner. And I think Atlas did its job.

It was important for me to do this project. Journalists publish stories and investigations, photographers capture all the horror of what is happening, and I, as an artist and designer, found my own way to talk about the war.

Sesc is a Brazilian non-profit institution that values education as a prerequisite for social transformation, and provides courses aimed at all age groups and social strata, and are often free.

The bi-monthly booklets announce the courses and workshops offered at Sesc 24 de Maio, a São Paulo chapter of the organisation. Its programme ranges from silkscreen workshops to open talks about LGBT and civil rights, and classes given by indigenous people of Brazil sharing their culture. Since several workshops continue from one month to another, the system was designed to make two different covers in one booklet by simply moving the booklet flaps. The covers were printed using only a few spot colours at a time, the colours were chosen by combining one fluorescent spot color with a solid one, experimenting with overprinting.

For the internal pages, the rule was to make it very simple and agile to typeset. The typefaces used are Atlas Grotesk and Atlas Typewriter for all the text, plus Whitney Index for captions.

From Hat & Beard Press:

Are we living in reality? Is this the past, or the future? And is there a human on the other side of this screen? These questions rear up and twist back on themselves in Ubi Sunt, a genre-breaking imaginative work by Blaise Agüera y Arcas.

The title, borrowed from Latin and Medieval poetics, describes elegiac verses modeled on the formula Ubi sunt qui ante nos fuerunt?, meaning “Where are those who were before us?” Such was the mood of the anonymous early English poets who spun stories of giants and ancient battles amid the tumbled Roman masonry of 8th century Europe. Fragments of our own digital civilization stand like ruined columns throughout Ubi Sunt—transcribed lectures and drone footage, recorded cab rides and text messages. In a parallel present, an engineer is caught in the solipsistic first-person loop of a life in tech during COVID lockdown.

Is this book fiction or nonfiction? Though speculative, its historical material is accurate, and its present tense is drawn from life; some of its AI dialogs, too, are generated by interaction with a real large neural language model. Postmodern in the spirit of W.G. Sebald’s The Rings of Saturn and Benjamin Labatut’s When We Cease to Understand the World, Ubi Sunt is an erudite, compulsively readable, all-terrain joyride across the uncanny valley between yesterday and tomorrow.

Edited by J.C. Gabel, Ubi Sunt comes in book form as well as a website. Design by James Goggin, Practise, with web development by Minkyoung Kim (with thanks to Marie Otsuka). The typefaces in use are LL Heymland (titles; Yevgeniy Anfalov, Lineto, 2020), Atlas Grotesk (messages) and Atlas Typewriter (AI iterations; Susana Carvalho, Kai Bernau, Christian Schwartz, and Ilya Ruderman, Commercial Type, 2012), and Terza Reader (main text) and Terza Editor (picture captions; Greg Gazdowicz, Commercial Type, 2021).

For the first time, the important stock of written correspondence from 277 letters and cards of the German impressionist Max Slevogt has been compiled and transcribed on 480 pages as Briefe 1898—1932, published by Moderne Galerie / Saarlandmuseum.

This major collection was gifted to the Saarbrücken based Moderne Galerie by collector Franz Josef Kohl-Weigand. It was a special and exciting challenge to realize this abundance of works and the different levels of content in terms of design.

The typography pairs Ivar Nostalgi with Atlas Grotesk. Selected (editorial) notes are set in Atlas Typewriter.

See also the related publication Slevogt und Frankreich.

Editorial design for the art catalog Slevogt und Frankreich (“Slevogt and France”) on the occasion of Max Slevogt's anniversary – the largest Slevogt's exhibition to date with more than 200 works in the Moderne Galerie in Saarbrücken.

See also the related publication Max Slevogt: Briefe 1898—1932.

Spread from the book, highlighting the conceptual level of creative destruction through a cropped
satellite image (left), the cropped volcano database (center) and a fold-out legend (right).

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust explores the paradox of creative destruction in Earth’s calamitous yet regenerating and rejuvenating geophysical processes – volcanism.

Based upon the Smithsonian Institution’s main database of active volcanoes around the world, the broad variety of geographic as well as visual representations of this genuinely disastrous force are explored in an ever-changing but repeating framework of satellite data, topographic maps, 3D elevation models and tabulations.
As a conceptual disruption and visual reference to contour lines, spreads with white ink on black paper – an alphabetical list of all active volcanoes at this time – break the layout on a regular basis.

Tabular data: Global Volcanism Program (Smithsonian Institution)
Satellite data: NASA Landsat Program

Format: 329mm × 234mm
Scope: 150 pages
Paper: Metapher Rough (120g), Gmund Colors Matt (135g), Papyrus Rainbow Grey (270g)
Linen: Peyer Duchesse Neonorange
Made as Bachelor’s Thesis at the Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences.

Cover, spine and back.

True to scale photographic, cartographic and topographic overview of the individual volcano, its type, climate zone and location feature as well as short geological summary.

List of all volcano specific eruptions by date (start/stop), certainty, measure of explosiveness (VEI = volcanic explosivity index), evidence as well as visual sequence of the latest eruption.

True to scale, multi perspective terrain overview on height, width and overall surrounding.

Information on name, number, type, country, region, subregion, longitude / latitude, elevation in m,
date of eruption, evidence, as well as the population in various radii of all 1512 volcanoes.

A set of three infographics, examining a country's volcanic activity by quantity and type as well as its population at risk in relation to a) the total population of the continent and b) within various radii around the indvidual volcanoes.

Aris is a creative production and post-production studio specializing in advertising, film, and branded content. The identity makes use of Px Grotesk for headline and Atlas Grotesk for body copy. In this context, Atlas Grotesk serves as a pared-down companion to Px Grotesk. The workmark uses a customized version of the now-retired Headline style of Fugue.

Film production tools have a distinctive visual language with which Aris’ clients are very familiar. References to this language are implemented in unique, understated ways like the visible composition grid and the use of a monospaced font (Atlas Typewriter) placed along the outer edges of a composition. Because the references aren’t embedded into the logo, they can be pared back (e.g. business card) or made more overt (e.g. T-shirt) to suit the context.

Poster for Outhouse Sounds:

June 20th, OHS crew, Careless Events and a host of other artists will be doing a 24 hour music livestream as a fundraiser event for the royal Liverpool and Broadgreen university hospital trust.

The Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (BMoCA) is a catalyst for creative experiences through the exploration of the significant art of our time. Founded in 1972 by a group of local artists, the museum is one of Colorado’s premier venues for the exploration of contemporary art. BMoCA provides enriching experiences for over 114,000 regional, national, and international visitors annually through innovative exhibitions and engaging programs for all audiences.

BMoCA’s brand identity and extensive print collateral and publications system put art and artist first while uniquely identifying the museum and extending its vision to the greater Colorado community. Designed in 2012, The BMoCA wordmark relies on Albert-Jan Pool’s FF DIN Bold as do most headers, subheaders, and a subset of the museum’s interior signage and wayfinding. All supporting typography for both print and web gets set in a combination of Kai Bernau’s Atlas Typewriter Regular and Bold, released by Commercial Type a few months before the BMoCA design.

The balance and inherent contrast between FF DIN and Atlas Typewriter provide BMoCA a forward-looking and feeling typographic platform supporting the sort of introspection, projection, and provocation requisite of a contemporary arts venue.

Tesseract in early use for the lastest issue of Wired Italia, a magazine about technology and lifestyle with art direction by Pitis e Associati.

Issue n. 91 (winter 2019/2020) is titled “Visioni 2020”. Wired asked twelve photographers to show how the world is changing. The prologue to the features is by Jeremy Rifkin. Japanese artist Hiroto Hikeuchi contributed the cover image.

Headlines are set in caps from Tesseract Display. Each of the features gets a different typographic treatment: Sliced words on sloping baselines for Preston Yarger’s “Post Acopalittico”, supersized caps interlaced with images for Brian Finke’s “Fenomeno Fortnite”, or letterforms of varying size hung on a line for Hiroto Hikeuchi’s “Cyber Funk”. The running heads at the bottom of the pages are set in Tesseract. The Text size of the typeface collection by Production Type is distinguished by a smaller x-height and a less pronounced stroke contrast.

Pitis e Associati paired Tesseract with Exchange (Frere-Jones Type) as well as Atlas Grotesk and the monospaced Atlas Typewriter (Commercial Type) for text. The business supplement in tabloid format is dedicated to the changes in the world of energy. Headings, infographics, and drop caps in this section use ITC Motter Corpus.

One Design worked closely with restaurateurs Keene and Megan Addington to develop a new seafood restaurant concept in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood, bringing the spirit of the Maine Coast to the city they call home.

From the brand story to the name, identity, visual expression, and messaging—with Two Lights we created the foundation of a fresh and exciting concept that serves as a respite from the heavy culinary fare Chicago is famous for.

In collaboration with Northworks Architects, we created a seamless translation from graphic expression to the physical space itself.

The dramatic contrast within Oil Can was perfect choice for the core Two Lights wordmark—which celebrates the typographic vernacular of Portland, Maine (a major source of inspiration for the restaurant concept, and the summer how of the Addingtons). However Oil Can on its own—as a display face—was not versatile enough to be used across the various touchpoints of the restaurant, from menus to environmental graphics. Fontsmith’s Sienna—similar in spirit—was our beautiful workhorse counterpart. Atlas Grotesk—classic, no-nonsense and functional—became our choice for the detailed copy. And Atlas Typewritwer became the go-to for the “Seafood & Oysters” byline, bringing a bit of contemporary contrast to the logo lockup itself.

Archivo Rastro is an exhibition project based around a photographic archive that was generated by digitalizing and cataloguing more than 3,000 negatives and slides found in Madrid’s flea market “El Rastro”.

The Archivo Rastro team requested that the identity should be used both for the archive and for the graphic image of the exhibition, in addition the images of the archive should be present, but without confusing the receiver about the exhibition purpose.

The identity is based on the concepts of latency and ordered disorder, to communicate ideas such as collection, diversity or explore and discover. Plain and Atlas Typewriter were used looking for a contemporary sensation disconnected from nostalgia.

See more images on Fase Studio’s website.

Website for internationally recognized contemporary artist Kamrooz Aram who engages the complicated relationship between traditional non-Western art and Western Modernism. Through a variety of forms including painting, collage, drawing and installation, Aram has found the potential for image-making to function critically in its use as a tool for a certain renegotiation of history.

It was vital to find a typeface that could be equally clear, confident and supportive. Both Atlas and its monospaced counterpart Atlas Typewriter have an optimistic tone and it helps that this type series stems from Dutch Modernism, as Atlas is rooted in Mercator (Amsterdam Type Foundry, 1959).

Cover of Architectural Review Asia Pacific, Issue 129, Autumn 2013 edition.

In 2011 I was fortunate enough to land a role as Lead Designer for two sister publications, the Asia Pacific edition of Architectural Review and (inside) Interior Design Review, both published in Melbourne, Australia. Although the relationship between well established U.K. publication The Architectural Review (first published in 1896 and still going strong) and this Australian made edition was never explicit I wanted to treat the title with a similar reverence (footnote: I had worked on the U.K. edition’s website under the direction of Violetta Boxill a few years prior to this).

Art Director Sabine Selbach had already set the tone for relaunched version of the title by refreshing previous layouts and paper stock and bringing them in line with their sister title, the aforementioned (inside) (also featured on this site although I would go onto completely reworking the typography and design for that title). She also introduced Norm and Lineto's LL Replica as the lead typeface for the title.

After researching the typeface and flicking through screenshots of the original specimen I quickly realised there was a very strict underlying grid that not only related to the content of the title (with its rigorously documented structural details) but could also be used to give physical pages and layouts a similar rigorous underlying structure.

I made note of the size of the angles sliced out of the corners of the terminals in proportion to the letterform’s body and started to use similar measures on the page grids. Where previously type was set based on page dimensions or left to float along horizontal guides, now any object positioned within the page had to adhere to a grid set by the typeface and its construction details. Even images were given the same subtly sliced off corners as was an identifying feature of the letterforms.

Over the course of five issues (one year) different body copy typefaces were trialed before settling on Atlas Grotesk as a similarly formal compliment to Replica. By the end of my tenure the title had a new editor and a shift in focus that linked even closer to the U.K. edition and a raft of typefaces from The Architectural Review’s heyday under the guidance of editor/art director J. M. Richards were bought in alongside Atlas & Replica.

The title would continue with art director Samuel Szwarcbord employing a direction that felt like a clean sweep for the title, whilst maintaining the typographic choices that had helped brand it … including a starring role for Replica.

Inside Architectural Review Asia Pacific, Issue 126, August–September 2012 edition.

Inside Architectural Review Asia Pacific, Issue 126, August–September 2012 edition.

Inside Architectural Review Asia Pacific, Issue 126, August–September 2012 edition.

Inside Architectural Review Asia Pacific, Issue 128, Summer 2012/2013 edition.

Inside Architectural Review Asia Pacific, Issue 128, Summer 2012/2013 edition.

Inside Architectural Review Asia Pacific, Issue 128, Summer 2012/2013 edition.

Inside Architectural Review Asia Pacific, Issue 129, Autumn 2013 edition.

Inside Architectural Review Asia Pacific, Issue 129, Autumn 2013 edition.

Final poster

Posters for the Racial Inequality Conference. This 2-day interdisciplinary conference at CUNY’s Center for the Humanities recognizes the urgent need to look at the enduring problem of racial inequality from distinctive perspectives: philosophy, political theory, ethnic studies, critical psychology, urban studies, gender theory, and anthropology.

The blackness of Signal Compressed is used to claim title and dates of the conferences. The designers of Partner & Partners stretched, squeezed and messed up with the typeface to obtain maximal loudness and impact. Practical information is set in Atlas Typewriter.

The Conference Company (TCC) specialises in the design, organisation and execution of large-scale conferences throughout New Zealand and Australia. They also apply this expertise to award ceremonies under the name The Awards Company. It is a strategically interesting delineation yet a straightforward naming practice.

Expressing what either company does was clearly not an issue, however, in a fast moving industry, where innovation is essential, the graphic identities of The Conference Company and The Awards Company had grown tired. With this in mind, TCC founder Jan Tonkin commissioned Studio South to help clarify company values, understand future ambitions and explore how to position them as innovative thinkers and leaders in their field.

The resulting is a new identity with a logotype built from Atlas Typewriter and supported by Atlas Grotesk, as well as a pattern, a colour palette and a governing system that both defines and unites both companies under a distinct new visual language. This links stationery, print communications, posters, name badges and signage.

Read more about this project on BP&O.

Redesign of the packaging for Mixer (previously known as Mikser), a brand for natural sparkling wine cocktails.

Abstract: The Art of Design is a Netflix original documentary series highlighting artists in the field of design. The titles are set in caps from Atlas Typewriter. The logo is likely custom.

REF is an environmentally conscientious Swedish hair care brand with a range of products that are made from high quality organic ingredients. With a desire to enter the international market of the US and further into the Nordic regions, both dominated by well-established FMCG, Scandinavian design studio Kurppa Hosk were commissioned to rejuvenate REF’s visual identity. This included packaging, art direction, stationery, business cards and web design. These are linked by what the studio describe as a system of simplistic graphic elements that included Atlas Grotesk and Atlas Typewriter, and a modest earthy colour palette.

Read more about this project on BP&O.

Åzone Futures Market is a Guggenheim online exhibition that enables you to take a position on the future of a world increasingly shaped by emerging technologies.