Adel Abdessemed Website
Adel Abdessemed Website
Website
The conceptual artist Adel Abdessemed, who was born in Algeria and now lives and works in Paris, creates situations based on deliberate actions — or “acts” as he calls them — carried out on everyday materials. He then documents them with videos and photographs and later juxtaposes them with a sculptural remainder from the action itself.
We designed a bespoke typeface, identity and website for Abdessemed. The artist’s work is often described as a ‘coup de poing’ — a punch in the face. Yet his monumental work also plays on tenderness. It was important that the new website allowed this duality to come through whilst presenting the work unhindered. The design is calm and plays on scale. The work takes centre stage with large images. Oversized type frames individual pages, whilst text and secondary information is small creating tension. The bespoke typeface was designed by Tom Baber with Souvenir Typeface. It is a hard-working sans serif and gives a quiet framework for Adel’s diverse body of work. Turning characters such as the ‘S’ upside-down reflects the provocative nature of Adel’s work, which addresses issues of global violence and can be difficult to look at. His drawings and words that are at the origin of his works are also included, revealing a different voice and language.
Web development: Neal Fletcher
2021
