Titled Dancing Before the Moon, the British Pavilion for the 2023 Venice Biennale shows how people from different cultures make sense of the world through ritualistic acts. The curatorial theme resonated with us on a visceral level. It evokes the rituals in our cultural heritage and the significance of these being given space inside the British Pavilion.

Dancing Before the Moon promotes the idea that everyday rituals (from growing food and cooking to playing games and dancing) are tools for diasporic communities to establish spaces and presents new ways of thinking about architecture and the built environment. The exhibition reflects on ancestral practices of the artist’s homelands.

Description of the project by the designers of TEMPLO:

Drawing on our shared cultural heritage as a studio, we created a ritualistic visual identity of diffused edges and portals, reflecting the rituals of the British diaspora. Diffused edged imagery and colours are a reference to Asian and African visual styles. The colour palette is also a nod to the pavilion title and celestial light. Shapes representing the artists’ commissions act as portals into the pavilion echoing the migration journey.

The visual identity invites all the audiences into the pavilion both in person and digitally through the overall brand of the pavilion, film, social media assets, merchandise, exhibition graphics and a nationwide advertising campaign.

The whole identity uses three typefaces: ALT Maria Clara in the original cut designed by Alli Cunanan, Ginto for the headlines and quotes, and Marfa for all the body copy and information.

Skills Studio is a creative post-production and 3D studio based in Paris. They work with Prada, ami, Maison Margiela, Chloé, Louis Vuitton, H&M, Moët & Chandon, and more.

Keys has been in charge of the art direction and graphic design of the identity. They chose the typefaces Moulin (Commercial Type) for the logo and Ginto (Dinamo) for the text.

Graphic design of the book O Teatro Negro e Atitude no Tempo, o Tempo no Teatro Negro e Atitude (Portuguese for: “Black Theatre & Attitude in Time, Time in Black Theatre & Attitude”), written by Evandro Nunes and published by Javali.

The graphic elements used in the book start a dialogue with the concept of spiraling time developed by Leda Maria Martins. While the blocked citations highlight the importance of past works for the construction of later narratives, the page numbering and chapter names on an exaggerated scale emphasize the temporal dimension of the publication. ABC Ginto Normal Medium is used throughout.

Design studio Manual has just completed a total identity refresh for Schwinn, an American heritage cycling brand with a lifespan and legacy similar to Raleigh. To reinvent an ‘American icon’, Manual sidestepped the approach of leaning heavily on the brand’s history to reflect the brand’s current output, spanning e-bikes to helmet technology innovations.

In a unique approach for a cycling identity, Manual introduced illustration as an addition that could adapt over time, initially launching with work from Christopher DeLorenzo and Xoana Herrera. Swapping out the ‘over-used’ and ‘somewhat generic’ Gotham, Manual introduced Bobby, by F37 Foundry, and Ginto, from Dinamo, for typefaces. Finally, a vibrant palette was built around Schwinn adverts from the 1950s–1970s, to subvert the ‘cold’ feel of many cycling brands, says Tom.

From Eye on Design:

The artists developed Weird Type for the Design Indaba conference as a way to make technology like augmented reality more accessible for the average person. “This was a chance to almost put our sketchbook in other people’s hands,” Lieberman says. The app lets you manipulate a line of text (type provided by Swiss design house Dinamo) by applying one of six filters that effectively turn typography into a physical object in space. You can break and explode type; turn it into a ribbon, merge it with a photo, or let it sit stationary as the world around it moves.

From the Apple iTunes store:

Have you ever wanted to draw with words? Weird Type is an AR app that lets you paint with text in space!

You can type your own phrases and pick from multiple modes and see your text in completely new ways. You can record videos of your messages and share them or save them to you camera roll.

It's based on a series of AR experiments that the authors Zach Lieberman and Molmol Kuo have been posting to Instagram over the last few months. People kept asking, "is that an app?" Now, together with our collaborator Design Indaba, which helped produce this, we're packaging some of these experiments into app and we hope you enjoy them!

The app is designed by Richard The, with iOS help from Ying Quan Tan, Robby Kraft, and Peter Sibley.