Adel Abdessemed
Adel Abdessemed
IdentityTypeface
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, later juxtaposing them with a sculptural remainder from the action itself.
We designed a bespoke typeface, identity and website for the artist. His charcoal drawings play a critical role in the identity. They are applied roughly to unpretentious materials with humble rubber stamps, including “A L’ATTAQUE !”, a habitual motto of the artist — a slogan that we have become so fond of. Applied to items by hand, the stamps create a flexible system for the studio.
The custom typeface designed by Tom Baber with Souvenir Typeface 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.
Adel Abdessemed required a printed portfolio easily printed and assembled in-house. Hence, the design of the folder revolves around standard paper sizes and can be effortlessly bound with stainless steel filing clips.
2021
