Introduction

Exhibitions

Publications

Project types

Commissioners

Release dates

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    Herzog & De Meuron: Exploring Songeun Art Space

    Invitation

Since 1989, Songeun Art and Cultural Foundation has been supporting young artists in Korea with various programs and initiatives. Upon moving to a new building designed by Herzog & de Meuron, we designed a new visual identity for the foundation and its art space – now simply called Songeun.

The new identity is centered around a typographic system that consists of a Latin typeface Söhne Schmal Fett with custom-made alternative characters and a freshly created Korean typeface. Designed by Kris Sowersby and released by his Klim Type Foundry, Söhne Schmal Fett is equipped with strong, slab-like characters that convey confidence – a quality Songeun deserves to claim after its 30-year history. The angular alternative glyphs “M,” “O,” “U,” and “W” further resonate with the radical geometry of the architecture, while adding a personal infliction to Songeun’s new voice.

We asked Yoon Mingoo to design a new Korean typeface to match Söhne Schmal Fett. The heavy and narrow letterform works well with its Latin counterpart while contributing something new to the vocabulary of Korean typography at large.

The system is prominently applied to the promotional materials for one of the two opening exhibitions at the new Songeun: a show about its architecture and the architects. The invitation’s flap is die-cut at an angle that reflects the new building’s form, partially exposing a souvenir postcard showing a detail of the building. These items are contained in a craft-board envelope, whose corner is likewise trimmed off to reveal the content. The silver foil on the envelope envokes the signature surface finishing on the building’s interior.