letters on a page – page, cover for design magazine page, hamburg, 2017

the dual meaning of the english word letter – referencing both a written symbol or character and an item of correspondence – is a happy coincidence of calligraphic fate. as luck would have it, we can activate both meanings at once by drawing lovingly curved letters in a letter – and, of course, on the envelope, too. the author dispatched one such hand-written letter to thank the design magazine’s editors for an article they had published, prompting a swift response: a commission to design a hand-drawn cover for their magazine.

the result shows one of multiple possibilities generated, as always, by the dialectic of delight (aah! that looks good) and discontent (hmm, no, maybe not that great). the choice of a fragmented, fractured look springs from the unconfirmed theory that beauty must always contain a dash of disruption. why do we adore what is not quite perfect? maybe in a seemingly neat, binary world it makes us feel better to find something flawed. maybe that’s just the way we are. whatever… it’s tremendous fun.

page
cover for design magazine page
hamburg, 2017

more