Letra, aka Marco Balesteros, makes game play of graphics to great effect
Letra is the studio of Portuguese designer Marco Balesteros, who graduated from the ArtEZ Institute in the Netherlands in 2009, and has been producing eye-catching graphics ever since.
Using board-game elements – like consistently sized circular forms placed on flat background surfaces – his work has an extremely playful quality. To continue with the board-game analogy, there are rules, regularities, and systems – and these ensure that the work retains a highly considered appearance. The resulting images are also reminiscent of maps or brainstorming sessions, and the combination of ruled linear marks and separate geometric forms offers a visual language akin to that of mathematical textbooks. All very appropriate, then, for a graphic designer whose discipline must involve a huge deal of planning and measurement – and we can see this pay off in his posters and layout work. Balesteros is also co-founder of Random Press, which is run between Lisbon and Frankfurt.