Playful yet smart exhibition identity from Glasgow-based Warriors Studio

It’s a wonder Glasgow-based Warriors Studio gets any sleep at all: the two-man-band is not only a graphic design agency consistently turning out considered and beautiful work, it also manages to run the festival Graphic Design Scotland. No mean feat for the pair, Beth Wilson and James Gilchrist, having only graduated a few years back.

Today we’re highlighting this superb identity for an exhibition of international creatives who use letterforms in their art and design work, entitled Thype. It was curated by Glasgow-based arts group Recoat, and as is to be expected, it takes a typographic approach alongside bold colours and an unusual photograph.

“Using typography was a logical decision but introducing a family portrait brought a personal quality and also an element of intrigue,” the studio explains. “The portrait represents the close relationship between the artists through their area of work but also ‘type family’ a term used to describe to a related group of fonts. Many of the artists involved create bold, colourful work, so we did the same.”

The identity was used across all print and digital platforms, and was digitally printed to allow eight different colourways to be used. The display typeface was designed by Benoît Bodhuinc and is named Zigzag. “It gives the lettering playful energy and a human characteristic,” says Warriors. “Several of the artists also come from a background in street art or graffiti, so it was important for us to capture this.”