Graphic Design, Type Design
2021
Human language shows itself in so many artifacts of visual expression. Letters, hieroglyphs, runes and icons — written language can work in many ways. Typography as we understand it today can serve us as a universal, reliable and longevous tool. What if we saw it as a playground? Designing on a molecular basis, questioning the smallest unit of design, we can reinterpret what typography means. Can it be a keepsake from a creative odyssey, a teacher, or simply just an ephemeral servant? “New Aesthetic” challenges typography as a tool in reading culture and in its functional shape—more so seeing letters in their individual appearance as artworks of their own. Independent type design doesn’t seek competition, it doesn’t seek utter perfection, it tells stories of formal exploration and creates an expressive form of art in itself. The expressive nature of non-traditional, more open typography is a new kind of creative output worth aiming for and worth exploring. Technical perfectionism and a classical understanding of polished shapes are not the main parts of our debate. More so, “New Aesthetic” wants to acknowledge creative processes and see the stories behind them, as well as encourage designers to keep an open attitude towards new forms, styles and systems. There is potential in blurring and obfuscating the lines of legibility and practicality, pushing the boundaries of emotional expressiveness and allowing for unusual approaches in modern graphic design. “New Aesthetic” considers type design as an opportunity to create art: looking at type design with a benevolence to experiments and processes, and finding potential in the unusual, that might point us into a new future of practicing visual communication.
Following up to the first issue, New Aesthetic 2 is a collection of 98 amazingly unique typefaces by independent designers on 303 pages.
Publisher: Sorry Press, Munich
Editors & Curators: Leonhard Laupichler & Sophia Brinkgerd
Content Direction: Lukas Kubina
Design: Leonhard Laupichler & Sophia Brinkgerd
Oliver Schwamkrug, Mohamad Fawal
Creative Direction: Wiegand von Hartmann
