Anymade Studio’s lively exhibition identity for Jiří Thýn compliments the artist’s exploratory work

Czech artist Jiří Thýn often explores the interdisciplinary possibilities of photography in his work – combining traditional techniques with contemporary conceptual approaches including installation, painting, text and video. Following on from his earlier exhibition, ‘Archetypes, Space, Abstraction,’ Thýn returned to Prague City Gallery a decade later with ‘Silence, Torso, the Present.’ To bring it to life, he worked closely with Prague-based interdisciplinary graphic design studio Anymade; collaborating on a fitting identity for the exhibition.

Discussing their work, Co-founders Petr Cabalka and Filip Nerad explained to us that Thýn was greatly inspired by the interwar avant-garde sculptor Hana Wichterlová (1903-1990) and the simple forms, organicity, dynamism and internal integrity of her four sculptures. “We tried to find a way to reflect the exhibition’s title – directly, intuitively, and aesthetically,” they tell us.

The eye-catching identity perfectly compliments the exhibition’s fresh and conceptual approach, led by Grilli Type’s personality-driven workhorse serif GT Alpina. The bookish typeface, showcasing distinct details such as prominent ball terminals and contrasting line widths, was perfect for the studio’s vision. “We wanted to use a traditional serif font which would have a feeling of contemporary typography,” they note. This is paired with the gallery’s custom sans serif Magger – designed by type foundry and fellow Prague-based company Displaay in a previous project.

Aside from the prominent use of typography, the identity’s most striking feature is the use of neon yellow as the key unifying colour. “At first we did have more colour options, different than the final one,” Cabalka and Nerad recall, “but after many talks and tryouts we have decided to pick the neon yellow colour.” Not only does the colour compliment the environment of the Czech capital, but it most importantly corresponds well with the black and white photography of the artist.

Anymade Studio

Jiří Thýn