The Edit: five new projects including Schackbräde by fagerström

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.

Aiming to highlight the similarities between design and chess, Madrid-based studio fagerström have created a series of 16 monochrome posters that double up as a playable board. Named ‘Schackbräde’ after the Swedish word for chessboard, each design revolves around simple shape combinations that point out the key moments that occurred in historic chess matches during the 20th century; each of which is highlighted in black within a white playable area. Surrounding it to display the functional information relevant to each match is TIGHTYPE’s sans serif Plaid XL, which fagerström tell us was chosen for its “timeless yet imposing look” and to evoke “the influence of Soviet or Eastern European schools.” The top of each poster is filled with algebraic notations of the possible chess movements, seamlessly set in the suitably technical Lars Mono from Amsterdam-based foundry Bold Decisions. With more to be added in the future, the first set of 16 posters were sent as gifts to schools and chess clubs; and can also be purchased from fagerstrom.studio/shop.

Founded by a yet-to-be-revealed typographer, technologist and entrepreneur trio from Zurich and New York, NFTYPE are offering a minimalist alternative to the ever-growing and arguably overloaded NFT world. The platform launches with the numbers 1-99 set plainly in Helvetica, allowing buyers to own their favourite numbers as NFTs without any surrounding noise or distractions. “We really wanted to keep it as neutral as possible,” the team behind NFTYPE tell us, “not least, of course, because of the homage to the legends of the last century.” The trio sees the platform very much as an experiment and hopes that it will satisfy those with an interest in NFTs that also want to avoid the loud, strident bubble surrounding them. “Whether the 99 soon hangs in the MoMA, or we produce only data garbage remains to be seen,” they conclude.

SSSLOT is a clothing brand built on a foundation of minimalism. Their garments focus on basic pieces ready for everyday use, avoiding loud graphic prints in favour of a focus on wearability and fit. After several conversations with the brand’s founders about their vision, in which they explained they weren’t happy with the naming options they had on the table, Barcelona-based designer Nacho Zacarés proposed SSLOT – imagining their garments as an empty space or canvas. Although the garments themselves will never include graphics, Zacarés saw an opportunity for a logo system that combines the brand’s minimalist ethos with a ‘slot’ for creative expression. Taking shape as an empty space between the suitably understated sans serif Suisse Int’l, the ‘slot’ in the logo is endlessly adaptable; being filled across applications with everything from a simple white square to graffiti and photography. As the brand grows and evolves, new compositions will be introduced to suit the direction of the garments in question; making for a flexible and exciting graphic system.

Designed by Italian graphic designer Federico Barbon, ‘Aesthetics of Sustainability’ is a 272-page book that summarises the results of a research project by masters students from Swiss art and design university ECAL and established material specialists, manufacturers and researchers. The result of the project is a series of 14 case studies exploring and defining the aesthetic potential of a new generation of sustainable materials; including the development of materials made from textile waste, recycled paper, rubber granulate and vegetable fibres. Sized at 190mm x 260mm, the exquisitely produced publication is typeset in Think Work Observe’s sans serif Studio Pro and is printed on a range of Favini’s Shiro and Crush paper stocks.

Born after its founder produced a set of handmade tailored trousers for himself and his close friends, DoD Alfaiataria is an independent streetwear brand from São Paulo, Brazil. After the success of the trousers with consumers as well, DoD has become an established brand in the city; appealing to everyone for its mix of classic and contemporary design traits, high quality and comfortable fabrics and clash of casual and skatewear aesthetics. The brand’s identity was developed by locally-based designer Richard Rodrigues, who produced a playful and flexible logomark inspired by the simplicity and repetition of the three letters at hand.