The Edit: five new projects including Kjell by NEW LETTERS

Each and every day, we're lucky to discover dozens of interesting and inspiring projects from around the world. From global identities and campaigns to side projects and independently published books, The Edit is home to five of them; every two weeks.

Devised by German type foundry and design studio NEW LETTERS, Kjell is a conceptual display typeface with two intentionally contrasting styles inspired by Temperance – the fourteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. Its two different faces, named ‘Fear’ and ‘Truth,’ are constructed from the same curvaceous sans serif core structure but differ considerably in their details. ‘Fear’ is characterised by prominent ink traps that cut into each letterform, while ‘Truth’ conveys an extreme softness due to its rounded edges. The two styles both complement and duel with each other; and are tied together by an extensive set of glyphs, multilingual offering and a large range of punctuation, symbols and special characters.

With more than 15 years of experience serving the people of Christchurch, New Zealanders Venues Ōtautahi operate at the forefront of event delivery and management. Formerly called Vbase, they sought the help of neighbouring design studio McCarthy for a new name and brand following a number of significant changes within their organisation. The resulting identity aims to bring a new layer of personality into the company, placing an emphasis on storytelling by bringing to life the idea of ‘manaakitanga’ – a Maori word that loosely translates to mean ‘hospitality.’ Vibrant illustrations depicting the special moments that take place at Venues Ōtautahi’s events bring their concept to life – alongside powerfully positive messaging set in sober sans serif typography.

Aiming to evoke an “instant holiday feel,” Belgian branding agency Lex & Turner have crafted a vibrant concoction of colour with their packaging for sunscreen brand Pritz. Their work revolves around Studio Sun’s Brice Bold – an eccentric display typeface chosen as a “big fat nod” to the 1970s in order to give the brand an unapologetically retro feel. The name of the brand itself is an onomatopoeia – a word that phonetically imitates the sound it is being used to describe. Pritz!

Metric is a Chicago-based speciality coffee roaster centred around sourcing, transparency and sustainability. Sharing similar values, Lauren Gallagher’s Chicago-based creative studio SOMETHING ELSE took on the challenge of rebranding the coffee company; resulting in a look that unpretentiously champions the quality of the product in question. Inspired by Metric’s location in one of Chicago’s former industrial districts, SOMETHING ELSE utilised the combination of GT America and its monospaced counterpart to develop a considered typographic foundation within which everything has its own space. The typeface choice is further enforced by the fact Metric’s co-founders are American and European – with the American gothic and European neo-grotesque characteristics of the type family acting as an understated reference to their heritage.

Copenhagen and Poznań-based design studio HUGMUN have teamed up with Radio 357 to create the Polish radio station’s visual communications; beginning with a top-to-bottom rethink of its typography, imagery and colour palette. Their solution utilises the vintage-inspired charm of Pangram Pangram Foundry and Mat Desjardins’ serif typeface Neue World – using it front and centre alongside cheeky and satirical illustrations drawn in reference to various topics discussed on air by the radio station.