Typography

Typography by the Homeless

By Delphine Hirasuna | January 14, 2015June 22, 2015

Sadly, the sight of a homeless person holding a hand-scrawled sign asking for spare change has become all too familiar in cities around the world. Barcelona-based Arrels Foundation and The Cyranos McCann ad agency found a novel way to respond to such handwritten appeals. They created Homelessfonts.org to market typefaces drawn by the homeless in Barcelona to businesses for use in advertising and packaging. In different workshops, volunteer design professionals led homeless participants through various typographic exercises, which were then scanned and converted into usable fonts. The fonts are being sold on the Homelessfonts.org website, and collected funds are being used by Arrels to offer shelter, food, and social and health care services to the indigent in Barcelona. Arrels reports that about 3,000 homeless are currently in Barcelona, 900 of whom actually live in the street. Type design is an unusual charitable fund-raising initiative, to say the least, but it has given Arrels the resources to care for nearly half of the homeless in Barcelona.

Architecture

Iconic Styles of Renowned Architects From A to Z

By Delphine Hirasuna | January 11, 2013September 4, 2014

Argentine architect Andrea Stinga and Colombian graphic designer Federico Gonzalez put together this animated video of globally renowned architects and their most notable work. The minute-and-a-half long video manages to squeeze in a lot of information, including architects and landmarks from around the world. Still, art director Gonzalez apologizes that some legends had to be left out because they only needed one architect per letter of the alphabet. Stinga is a principal in Ombu Architecture, based in Barcelona, Spain. The music soundtrack is “The Butterfly” by Eugene C. Rose and George Ruble.

Packaging

All-Natural Meals in a Can

By Delphine Hirasuna | August 27, 2012September 4, 2014

Querida Carmen, pre-cooked traditional foods from Spain, suggests its all-natural ingredients and clean, distinct flavors through the uncontrived look of its packaging. Barcelona-based design agency, Grafica, developed the name, identity and packaging for the brand. In addition to its appealing graphics, the packaging cleverly keeps the “wet” ingredients separate from the dry ones by placing a metal can within a cardboard carton. Everything is pre-measured, pre-chopped and pre-cooked, and all the home cook has to do is bring the ingredients in the can to a boil and then add the rice or noodles a few minutes before serving. Dinner is served.

Design Quizzes

Quiz: Olympic Logos

By Delphine Hirasuna | August 3, 2012September 4, 2014

For those of us who have been glued to the television all week watching the London 2012 Olympics, here’s a little quiz to do during commercial breaks. According to modern Olympic tradition, the host country for the Games is responsible for creating an emblem to be used on promotional materials, by sponsors of the Olympics, and on the uniforms of every Olympic competitor. Over the decades, these logos have integrated the cultural symbols and patterns, national colors and artistic styles of the host country into the design. See if you can name the year and location for each of these emblems. A bonus point if you can recite the Olympics motto. Click “Read More” for answers.

Architecture

Wicker Architecture and Cardboard Signs

By Delphine Hirasuna | October 14, 2011September 4, 2014

The wicker basket façade of the Spanish Pavilion, designed by Barcelona-based architects MiralleTagliabue EMBT, for the 2010 Shanghai Expo has appropriately garnered awards and accolades—to the point where the cardboard signage system inside has not attracted much media attention, which it also deserves.