Identity for the 7th anniversary of studio Demande Spéciale. Optima was used for the Oods (“Office of Demande Spéciale”) logo, and a variant of Neue Montreal was used for the body text.

Celebrating seven years of visible work, even though, in truth, the studio’s practice goes back long before time itself was a concept. Whether seven years or seven centuries, the studio approach remains unchanged. Each project is a piece of a broader story, ever-evolving, a story that has always existed and will always exist beyond the boundaries of the present moment.

They explored the idea of research and archaeology, creating their own relics and assembling an archive of all their work.

The AE-1200WH-1AV, the default black resin model

The Casio AE-1200, first released in 2012, is yet another legendary line of digital watches made by Casio. The watch has earned its wide respect from its strong reliability, 100m water resistance, and especially its world-time function at a price only slightly higher than the F-91W. Not only has it spawned its own dedicated modding community but it has earned the nickname “Casio Royale”.

In typical Casio fashion, the watch’s face is littered with guides that describe the features. Though unlike Casio’s other popular watches, the design is notably much more restrained and rather tasteful. The face uses a mixture of Eurostile and Neue Helvetica Extended for the text.

An AE-1200WHL-5AV which comes with a beige color scheme and a leather strap

The AE-1200WHD-1AV is the most striking and most popular variant of the Casio Royale due to its metal appearance.

My own black AE-1200

A modded AE-1200 with a custom strap and a custom filter on the display

The DW-5600E-1V, an entry-level watch in the 5600 lineup and most people’s first introduction to the G-SHOCK brand.

The G-SHOCK 5000/5600 series of digital watches (alternatively named the Square G-SHOCKs) gives the Casio F91-W a run for its money. Its high versatility, ease of use, and legendary reliability makes it one of the most popular watches, worn by virtually everyone and having hundreds of models in its lineup. The 5000 series was launched in 1983, with its modern and more accessible counterpart – the 5600 series arriving in 1987.

In traditional fashion, Casio uses a lot of text printed on the watch’s face and carved into the resin case to describe features and controls. While some models can differ in color and layout – sometimes heavily so – Casio continues to use Eurostile in both its Regular and Extended width and regularly using weights from Regular to Bold. The large casing makes the already big text even more readable up to an arm’s length. The Casio logo itself appears to be in Microgramma, judging from the counter in A.

A closeup of the DW-5600E-1V

An authentic DW-5600C, the very first G-SHOCK to be manufactured and released. The case layout hasn’t changed much if at all since release, with modern versions and reproductions of old G-SHOCK's adhering to the same basic framework.

The DW-H5600-1, a much more modernized 5600 with a clearer display and extra features for active sports

The DW-5610UU-8, G-SHOCK’s “take on gorpcore fashion” with a heavily reduced case design, only featuring text for the buttons.

My own square G-SHOCK, the G-5600UE-1. This newer model along others also feature a different font design for the date.

The humble, ubiquitous yet legendary Casio F91-W – a digital watch worn by virtually everyone from middle-school students to world famous celebrities – utilizes a lot of text on its case that quickly describes its features and controls.

Most of this text is set in Eurostile Extended Regular and Medium. “Alarm Chronograph” is set in the regular-wide Medium weight and the “F91-W” text seems to be using Neue Helvetica Extended Black. The Casio logo itself appears to be in Microgramma, judging from the counter in A. The heavy usage of large, wide text on such a small case makes it very readable and easy to follow the watch’s controls. The watch’s descendants, which mainly fall under the “F-91W Series”, reuse the same case design with some minor alterations.

A closeup of the F91-W

A green variant of the watch, known as the F-91W-3

My own F91-W

Timedash Widgets started as a true passion project by the co-founders of a former Amsterdam design studio. The inspiration comes from so-called Ana-Digi watches from the 1970s, which combined features like analog and digital time, date, and temperature all in a single watch.

In a similar way, Timedash brings together different types of data such as steps, weather, and time, into a widget for your iPhone. The widgets are carefully designed and fully customizable, both in style and in which data points are displayed. This combination of information makes it easy to tailor the widgets to any situation.

For the typography of both app and the widgets, we chose to work with the geometric sans-serif Roobert from Displaay Type Foundry. Its smooth and somewhat technical aesthetics suit a digital product like Timedash Widgets.

Capture your subconscious in ultra-low definition. Wake up, speak your dream aloud in any language, and watch it come to life as a dreamscape in the aesthetic of your choice.

Dream out loud: Dream Recorder is a portal to your subconscious. The magical bedside device catches your nightly visions and plays them back as vivid, cinematic reels. Amsterdam based design and technology based studio Modem designed a device to capture and playback low resolution versions of your dreams. The device is published as a DIY project, from shopping list to buidling instructions.

The device’s typography is sparse yet elegant, using Carta Nueva for both clock interface and product logo. The product website uses JHA Times Now and Neue Montreal.

[More info on Github]

Vision and concept by Modem, with soft- and hardware by Mark Hinch in an industrial design by Ben Levinas and Joe Tsao. The illustrations were made by Alexis Jamet.

A sleek collaboration between Timex and Ghostly International, this 38mm Navi model features a stainless-steel case with a black aluminum bezel etched with city names in Michael Cina’s Ghostly Gothic—highlighting Ann Arbor in Ghostly’s signature purple as a nod to the brand’s roots.

The black dial, protected by a beveled mineral glass crystal, includes luminous hands, co-branded logos at 12 o’clock, and bold purple numerals at 3, 6, and 9. Inside, a precise quartz movement keeps time, backed by 100m water resistance, a crown guard, and an engraved caseback reading “Everywhere, Nowhere” set in Carta Nueva by My-Lan Thuong.

Typography in watch design is not merely about choosing a font — it’s about creating a cohesive and emotionally resonant visual language that aligns with the watch’s functional and aesthetic goals. Something Marloe Watch Company, the British mechanical watch design company, knows deeply well when choosing Venti CF for several of its timepieces as well as for the overall branding.

Venti CF, designed by Connary Fagen, is a modern geometric typeface featuring a lowercase style, giving it a classic and warm feel. The blend of modern and classic elements makes it perfect for the vintage vibe of Marloe’s products. The detail of the W glyph, with its distinctive crossed strokes, adds a unique and memorable touch to the brand.

Archer logo

Archer is an American adult animated spy comedy series that ran from 2009 to 2023. Baveuse is used for the logo, opening titles, and end credits.

Producer and art director Neal Holman describes how the titles were created in an interview with Art of the Title.

Baveuse numerals on a clock, as part of the opening sequence

The opening credit for lead voice actor H. Jon Benjamin. A dot has been added over the J, which is animated to move from one credit to the next.

End credits

Pelo de Foca is an album that explores love and self-destruction from an eclectic perspective, leaving room for each listener to interpret the meaning of the songs based on their own experiences. Through symbolism and an esoteric use of color, we visually convey the essence of each track, transforming the visual aspect of the project into a ritual that celebrates and proclaims the visceral energy of rock.

[More info on Discogs]

See also the previous post about the visual identity for Ultraligera’s Pelo de Foca.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump announced three Trump-branded watches on the Truth Social platform, each with the “TRUMP” logo set in Myriad Semibold. He invited readers to visit the Trump Watches website where the three watches may be pre-ordered for $499, $799, and $100,000.

A note warns potential buyers that “[t]he images shown are for illustration purposes only and may not be an exact representation of the product”, so at the time of the announcement is not known whether Myriad will be used on the actual products.

“Watches” is added in tracked-out caps from Montserrat.

LP No. 1, back and front sides. Notice the semi-transparent tape that held the 3LP-package together

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Saarbrücken-based electronic music label Twin Town Production (founded 9/11/2001), Nicolas Molina and Stachy.DJ have put together The Sound of Twin Town: Tribute Mix Pt. I. This compilation package is now available to both home listeners and DJs and offers the remastered tracks from the DJ mix in full length on vinyl.

Twin Town Production marked its two-decade anniversary in 2021 with a best-of compilation released in two parts. Pt. I covers the years 2001–2011 and comes as a 3LP limited edition physical release, while Pt. II, focusing on 2011–2021, is available exclusively in digital formats. This distinction in formats reflects the evolution of the music industry and the label’s shift towards digital distribution, which has become a significant part of their business since 2011.

The 3LP set, representing Pt. I, is an engaging package. Three individual LPs are bound together by a custom 2-color-printed adhesive tape bearing the infinitely scrolling inscription: “the city where the sickest music is played that you’ve never heard before because you’re always looking for…”. Each LP within the set represents a distinct phase in Twin Town’s musical journey, collectively narrating the label’s first decade.

The design leans heavily on typography, complemented by selective illustrations. The records themselves are printed in distinctive spot colors — blue PMS 282 for the covers and red PMS 188 for the inner sleeves. The overarching theme is a journey through twenty years of pop culture milestones, featuring icons such as the original iPod Click Wheel, the launch of Windows XP, and the rise of Wikipedia.

Print facts: Production on bright white Chromoboard Extra (Cover 350g, Inner sleeves 245g), printed 1/0, matt varnish.

The typographic concept is centered around the variable font Pirelli, which had just been released at the time. Apart from the newspaper-masthead-like (Hey, NYT!) appearance of Respira Black on the third LP, Pirelli is used throughout the entire project in various widths, switching between stenciled and solid cuts. Most often, Pirelli B is used.

The digital cover artworks borrow from the imagery of the LP release and open up a new context. Their composition aligns with other digital releases from Twin Town, but they bring in some unique elements.

The Sound of Twin Town: Tribute Mix Pt. II is a digital-only release that evolves the artwork of the third LP. It combines the Escher-style infinite staircase with the infinite watch face of LP No. 1, merging the front and back sides of the 3LP package into a new artwork. This design symbolically wraps up the entire saga, merging elements from throughout the 20-year journey and bringing the tribute to a cohesive conclusion.

The Sound of Twin Town: Tribute Mix is more than just a collection of tracks; it is a homage to the label’s journey and its impact on the electronic music landscape over the past twenty years.

LP No. 1 detail view — the red inner sleeves in contrast to the blue outer sleeves. Notice the graphic designer’s weapon of choice

LP No. 2, Game Over! Back and front sides

LP No. 3, back and front sides. The 3LP-package concludes with a NYT-esque newspaper front page summarizing of September 2011, the month Twin Town was born. An infinite calendar and an endless staircase look into the future. Notice how the climbing letters turn the TT slogan “always looking for” into “still looking for”

LPs No. 1–3, front sides of inner sleeves. The first TT release was “on a mission”. TT still is “on air”

The LP labels first hit the right spot, move through a clockwork and then boost into infinity

“The Sound of Twin Town: Tribute Mix Pt. I” digital release artwork. Also released with amazing animation support by Keine Zeit Medien

“The Sound of Twin Town: Tribute Mix Pt. I”, digital release artwork

TT Commons is used in Hatch’s branding.

Hatch provides you with natural sleep and healthy routines, finds what works best for you to get high-quality rest. Discover new ways to make sleep magical for babies, adults, and everyone in between with Hatch.

Description of the project DesignTalks.live on the Code Switch website:

A platform for designers to stay connected from home during Covid-19.

After missing some interesting live streams (often the notifications just pop-up in my feed when they start) I realized I might not be the only one and that other people might benefit from a platform that would let the design community know about interesting events and conversations about design and creativity happening online in advance in a more orderly and predictable fashion.

DesignTalks.Live was a social media based platform to help the design community stay connected while working form home. We all listen to podcasts and watch pre-recorded webinars, but there is something about the honesty of LIVE, unedited, unpolished conversations that creates a sense of true connection in real time.

DesignTalks.Live was awarded an honorable mention in Fast Company's 2020 Innovation by Design Awards.

The social media visuals are set in Briefcase Type Foundry’s digital revival of Orion by Stanislav Maršo.

From Wikipedia:

Midnight’s Children is a 1981 novel by Indian-British writer Salman Rushdie, published by Jonathan Cape with cover design by Bill Botten, about India’s transition from British colonial rule to independence and partition. It is a postcolonial, postmodern and magical realist story told by its chief protagonist, Saleem Sinai, set in the context of historical events. The style of preserving history with fictional accounts is self-reflexive.

Café 11 is a bold new take on the free-thinking café society of 1920s Paris, curating intimate cultural experiences at a series of unusual locations, designed to surprise and delight our members.

For the identity of this experiential collaboration between Friends with Benefits and Hennessy, Stephen Lurvey used Petit Serif and Louize Display by Matthieu Cortat, Blitz by Massimiliano Audretsch and Philipp Herrmann, and Founders Grotesk Mono by Kris Sowersby. The illustrations are made by John Dessereau.

TT Trailers is the signature font of Captain Baby, a company that produces “experiences & events designed to empower and inspire”. By combining immersive experiences (the “Captain” side) with tools from meditation and self-discovery (the “Baby” side) they create unique events in which the audience becomes part of the team and whose aim is to rediscover themselves in a different way to how they used to see themselves.

In the brand typography, the supporting role is played by Untitled Sans.

A typographic jacket design for the hardcover edition of Alan Lakein’s time management guide, published by David McKay Company Incorporated in 1973. Designer Lawrence Ratzkin shows the title in six lines of stacked and justified Helvetica caps, taking advantage of the many included O’s and replacing them by clockfaces.

See also Signet’s paperback edition using ITC Pioneer.

From red_mad_robot:

Since 2008 red_mad_robot was the leading application developer in Russia with offices in 10 cities. Now it is a digital partner for full-cycle product development — from idea to market launch, and further. They create award-winning digital products and services for startups and well-established companies. The visual language was redesigned for the reason to show the growth and the strategic position on the market. The new identity reflects the heritage of the company and the modern approach to the business where the present meets with the future. The single-minded system with savvy humour and bold character is a new red_mad_robot. Only here all robots speak one language.

The red_mad_robot team, led by art director Maksim Arbuzov, asked Contrast Foundry for a custom pixel typeface. And so, CoFo Redmadrobot was born, based on CoFo Sans. The typeface was later expanded and released for general licensing as CoFo Sans Pixel.

Scala is paired with custom lettering for a booklet (in English and Turkish) about Erol Ata’s Clock Museum. 60 Yılın Ardından Anıları ve Zamanı Biriktirmek (“60 years of collecting memories and time”) presents his private collection of clocks, as shown in the headquarters of Ersa in Ankara (Türkiye).