#draw down

A is A is A (Catalog)

Since 2016, graphic designer Marcello Jacopo Biffi has been obsessively researching alphabets.

Alphabets is Biffi's visual research project in the field of typography. It consists of a group of related alphabets, which share the same DNA but look considerably different. Structured on the same elementary pixel matrix—the archetype, or basic form of the alphabet—the set has undergone multiple digital transformations, producing atypical results. The order of execution, the intensity of the distortion, the number of steps are some of the variables in the serendipitous design process that determine the result, which is never final: each alphabet is a frame taken from a variation sequence progressively moving away from its point of origin. 

The goal is to generate a collection of allographs (different signs representing the same letter) to explore the relationship between glyph (representation of a letter) and grapheme (the minimum unit of a writing system). The result is a formal inquiry into the identity of letter shapes, and, if possible, an attempt to reject this very concept.

This catalog was produced to accompany Biffi's A is A is A exhibition at Marsèll Paradise gallery in Milan. The name of the exhibition is a  nod to Gertrude Stein's famous quote, "A rose is a rose is a rose," affirming Aristotle's law of identity. A selection of Biffi's alphabets—Alphabets 1-8—are presented alongside related film and screen-based projects.

The catalog collects together a replica set of the sheets of paper used to construct the 2020 exhibition, along with loose sheets with essays about the project. Distributed in a screenprinted envelope, the publication's form references Marcel Duchamp's idea of a portable exhibition in a package.

Designed by Marcello Jacopo Biffi Text in Italian

P is for Paint the Town

They’re back! The artists at Golden Paints bring our new Fall 2018 stripe collection to life…

“Reasons not to do graphic design”

Graphic Design is Homogenizing, Conservative, Forced, Manipulative, Too Easy, Too Hard, Dependent, Anecdotal, Unrealized, Misplaced Idealism, Crowded, Too Quick, Alienating, Unhealthy, Etc. Finding ways around or opposed to these aspects could serve as a guideline for a desired set of principles for practice. Based on a presentation composed during a workshop led by Paul Elliman at Yale University School of Art. Written and designed by Yotam Hadar Published by Draw Down Third Edition, 2016 Notepad/booklet 86 pages, Risograph, 4 × 6 inches Printed at Issue Press 

Draw Down Philadelphia Art Book Fair Poster 2016

NOGA, the Nation of Graffiti Artists, was an artist’s workshop located in New York City. Photojournalist Michael Lawrence documented the experiment from 1974 to 1979. NOGA’s focus was teaching neighborhood kids how to paint, blending the boundaries between workshop and radical politics as kids were taught to bring their artwork to local protests, sell their work in street fairs, and exhibit murals on buildings.

For some youngsters, it was the first time holding a brush or spray can. It was a lesson in creative capitalism, but for most of the participants, the true payoff was in finding their voice. The story of the experience is told by the workshop’s surviving members and through Lawrence’s extraordinary images.

Designed by Leon Gonzales

Published by Beyond the Streets and Gingko Press Second edition, 2023

Hardcover, 152 pages, full color, 8 × 11 inches