I was recently invited to design a clock-face for the exhibition TIME IS RUNNING OUT about climate change, consumption and a need to act within industry… I took a bit of a macabre approach with this one and imagined a future grave stone for our planet Earth. Our planet is desperately trying to tell us that it’s poorly but we keep ignoring the tell tale signs. Featuring Spike Milligans classic epitaph quote, “I told you I was Ill”. Set in Gablet [WIP]. Presented by Omse x PlasticFree for London Design Festival 2023.
I found these beautifully ornate datestones whilst visiting Bruges and decided to have a go at digitising. It’s pretty common to find date of construction stone carvings in this neck of the woods, but never quite so extravagant or sculptural! I wish more buildings would dare to be this extra… Located at the Wollestraat, on the corner of the Dijver canal, Bruges.
EP on NAFF records.
Monogram for the creative director Lauren Barrett – based on a set of titling initials from the upcoming WT Gablet typeface.
Sketch and digitisation of a set of figures.
My Type & Media graduation project. Currently a work in progress but set to be released on WiseType in the not too distant future…
Typojanchi — International Typography Biennale. Contribution to Typojanchi 2019 held in South Korea.
A somewhat different approach to sleeve design for the first release of klunk records: A wearable, flat–packed hat which serves as the cover art for the release. This cap fits snuggly within the blank sleeve. 140g transparent vinyl with white labels.
An assortment of graphics for Études Spring / Summer 2020 collection.
Yaleesa Waëlauruw
Lettering for the Versace TriGreca shoe. Premiered at the Versace FW20 runway, Milan.
Logo and monogram for Self Titled, Any Other Name’s publishing imprint.
EP on Planet Mu Records ZIQ437.
LP for Meemo Comma ZIG429.
A project between Live From Earth & Never Sleep which included a range of t-shirts and a compilation cassette tape. All proceeds donated to Seebrücke, Auschwitz Memorial and Aboubakar Soum.
Max Güting
Compilation cassette for URAF – a project between Live From Earth & Never Sleep. All proceeds donated to Seebrücke, Auschwitz Memorial and Aboubakar Soum.
Max Güting
A type revival based on the ‘Augustijn Romeyn’ cut by Christoffel van Dijk in Amsterdam (c. 1640–1647). After in-depth research into the life and work of Van Dijk, I started work on a revival as part of my Type and Media masters year. The revival aims to capture the hand of the punchcutter by using a slower process of digitisation – hand tracing in reverse and sketching only the negative space to better mimic the way in which a punchcutter would work. The typeface is a work in progress but is set for eventual release on WiseType.
Custom typeface for the Utah Jazz NBA Basketball team. The design was a readjustment and expansion of Skrappa – a previous release of mine. The custom design (dubbed UT-ISO) was delivered in condensed, semi-expanded and expanded cuts.
Zaft² is a spaghetti-chugging, frontier-focused evolution of the previous system, released back in 2019. The original Zaft was a weighty titling boldface, donning bulky yet sharp slab serifs built upon its clinically precise grid. Geometric precision was an essential feature as it is for the newer Zaft² system, however amongst this ridged framework was a new found taste for badly dubbed western flicks and Acapulco Gold. The Zaft² family comes in 3 separate variable fonts which each offer a unique axis of control as well as providing stark differences in shape. Variable A allows you to shift weight from bottom-heavy to top. Variable B symmetrically affects the serifs in relation to the counter-space whilst Variable C asymmetrically adjusts the serifs.
Custom logo designed for one of the oldest and well respected paper companies in the U.S.A; Crane. Commissioned by Collins as part of their superb rebrand of the 250+ year old company. A previous typeface of my own design WT Monarch, formed the basis for the design. This was then re-drawn, developed, and refined to create a robust humanist wordmark for Crane.
EP on AD93 WHYT018.
EP for Jabes — klunk002 on klunk records. The design follows Lester Beall’s 1960 brand guideline book for ‘Connecticut General Life Insurance Company’.
LP on Planet Mu Records ZIQ416. Speaker Music (DeForrest Brown Jr.).
LV graphic for the Louis Vuitton SS20 collection.
Logo and monogram for Light Years – an independent music label initiated by the composer and musician Caterina Barbieri.
Compilation CD and t-shirts for the 25th anniversary of Planet Mu records ZIG425. The modified logo for the release combines the classic Planet Mu μ with the Dymaxion map projection shape.
Lettering for female art collective SYZYGY.
A crisp display typeface based on Victor Lardent and Stanley Morrison’s renowned Times New Roman, which itself was a hark back to 18th century types. The italic has a range of swash capitals and ligatures to help create ornate titling typography.
Unused lettering for Emra Grid.
A redrawn and readjusted update of my first typeface Monarch released in 2017.
A striking geometric display font featuring heavy slab-serifs. Contextual alternatives are used to create small ligatured connections between specific letter combinations.
Logotype for the re-brand of Novembre magazine – designed whilst at Bureau Borsche.
Bureau Borsche
Production work as part of the identity for Artifact, an exhibition space in Milano, IT.
Bureau Borsche
Posters and logo for The Juice Factory club-night, Stockholm.
A punchy condensed display typeface loosely based on Ken Garland’s ‘First Things First Manifesto’ lettering (1964).
Lettering and design of the Thonet & Design catalogue – a publication and exhibition celebrating 200 years of Thonet chairs. Held at Die Neue Sammlung, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich.
Koenig Books London und Autoren
German/English
230x300mm
168 pp
Kolja Bucher
Selected spreads from ‘Remains’ – a publication for Novembre Entertainment dedicated to Italian artist Quayola, in the context of a collaboration with Audemars Piguet during the 2018 Art Basel Miami Beach week. 150x220mm. Box set edition of 1 Photobook, 1 Essay book and 1 Map.
Bureau Borsche
EP on Dissolute ‘Select’ Series, Y18Q2.
Lettering design for Hardcore Soul. The publication, by Alberto Guerrini (Gabber Eleganza) and Ewen Spencer, creates a seamless flow between the Happy Hardcore rave scene and Northern Soul Weekenders.
Posters designed for George Rouy’s exhibition ‘Squeeze Hard Enough it Might Just Pop!’ at the Hannah Barry Gallery.
A typeface with three weights, designed for the rebrand of the Villa Stuck Art Gallery, Munich. The design is based on the lettering drawn by German painter Franz von Stuck.
Bureau Borsche
Jacob Wise, Graphic & Type Design MMXXIV Rotterdam, NL
Jacob is an English-Dutch graphic designer specialised in type design. He splits his time between freelance work spread across cultural projects, music and branding as well as designing and publishing typefaces on his own foundry WiseType®. In 2022, Jacob graduated from the Type and Media masters programme at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. He lives and works in Rotterdam.