Aeiou.log#3 New studio, process thoughts and initiation to ramen.
Words César, Images Us + Friends, Illustrations Barbara
Big table, using half
After 3 years working from Via Pacini: we have a place called Studio! We took a little corner in a big coworking space with our friend and eternal collaborator Barbara. The space is called “fabbrica” which means “factory” in Italian, so Andrea likes to say “I'm going to the factory” but in reality, he goes to a table with its laptop to move points on a cartesian plane. Fun fact: it's the same place Barbara and I were Intern with Alessio, more or less five years ago.
We were convinced that we needed a big table in this little corner. And for a big table I mean a 2.5×1.25 m, so we invaded a bit the space. But the reality is that now all our friends can stop by to have lunch at the park or get Andrea's note on their typeface. Everyone is welcome but be aware that Andrea is pretty severe.
Then we got some fancy chairs (Andrea & César ♥ Chairs) to welcome everyone. It started when Andrea found a blue Modus Tecno, he immediately fell in love with his octopus arms spinning around. Shortly after, I found a pair of cream ones, perhaps without wheels but none less sweet. Now we seem to be real designers, it's surely just appearance.
Ramen Chronicles
Well, it needed to start at some point. I've been obsessed with making and eating ramen for years, frustrating like designing a typeface. I'm thinking about going deeper for each part of a Ramen, so let's start with a little introduction. It is all based on my experience and research: if you want something more accurate — in a scientific way — visit The Book of Ramen.
What trickled my mind about ramen is probably the coordination that any of the five main components must have at the right moment and place. Those components are:
Broth
Noodles
Tare
Oil
Toppings
Each of them will have its little chapter. Keep an eye on this space. I could argue that none is less important than another, and attention to each must be paid to reach a balance. Spoiler: I'm not able to do that, or better I'm not aware if I'm able. Ask my friends, or come to eat it.
A little treat
I designed a typeface for Raw Zine. What follows is “wrong”: Reader discretion is advised. I did it mainly for the sake of it (and to help out my friend Marta). When you have that spark that puts you in your bubble, it's mesmerizing.
The idea was to create, in the fastest way, a blurred/inked typeface with references going from bad printed to digitally blurred outlines. With no sharp angles or details. I started with Times Regular Italic (a shitty choice, but now I know) and re-created a file on Glyphs App. I played with the offset curve and a large dose of rounded corners for each glyph.