Oscar Grønner’s series of illustrations influenced by a Scandinavian typeface

Oscar Grønner’s latest series of illustrations have been created for Manifattura, a digital publication based in New York and Milan. As part of a new series on the website called Pieces, the project asks artists and makers to explore an individual theme. Oscar’s illustrations are a reaction to designer and founder of type foundry Letters from Sweden Göran Söderström’s typeface called Funkis, which is influenced by the aesthetics from the early years of Scandinavian functionalism.

Manifattura says: “The characters are heavily inspired by the letters that Sigurd Lewerentz made for his poster for The Stockholm Exhibition in 1930, an event that had great impact on architecture and interior design in the years to come, and is considered the breakthrough of functionalism in Scandinavia.”

Taking cues from the era and Göran’s display typeface, Oscar applies the font to functionalist-style buildings in his illustrations. A pharmacy, hot dog stand and apartment blocks all feature, and the illustrator pulls together soft, ice cream shades giving his images a wholesome and warm feeling. Still using similar chunky characters as the last time we featured him, these illustrations provide a narrative for Göran’s neatly executed type.