colophon: a graphic design studio and type-design research initiative
(*latent stare*) located in Wormerveer, the netherlands
contact
info[at]colophon[dot]info
studio address
colophon, david bennewith
Weverstraat 59
1521 TA Wormerveer, NL
social media dissolves our facts into processes, and our being into perpetual becoming.
mixcloud
commissioned work
• singer-stitched booklet 'Presence', by Becket MWN. A publication focusing on a special effect in film known as “twinning”, developed over a series of short letters written by MWN, each addressed to the "editor". Published by the artist and presented as part of Video Digest at Moltkerei Werkstatt, Köln, Germany, curated by Nele Kaczmarek. Printed by Robstolk, Amsterdam. (2028)
• Article 'Typeset in Churchward Newstype.', about the type, graphic and advertising designer Joseph Churchward, who designed 'Churchward Newstype' – used in the bi-annual design magazine 'Macguffin'; Issue 13 'The Letter'. Published by Macguffin Magazine, Amsterdam. (2023/4)
• essay 'C'Mon Let's Work)', a meeting between Ghetto House music and an advertising campaign for a digital recruitment agency. Contribtuion to 'Image RIP: After Printing, Work & Planet Earth' by Geoff Han. Published by Source Type, Zurich. (2021 [written] / 2023 [published])
• essay 'Cruise Lines (Take My Breath Away)', wondering what the font is while watching 'Top Gun: Maverick'. Published by Counter Forms – made on/across/between the stolen lands of many Sovereign people: Wurundjeri land of the Kulin nations and Whadjuk land of the Noongar nation. (2023)
• book design 'Live Audio Essays', presenting transcripts from performances and films by Lawrence Abu Hamdan, an artist known for his political and cultural reflections on sound and listening. Edited by James Hoff, published by Primary Information, New York. (2023)
• book design 'Proof of Stake: Technological Claims'. Based on the exhibition 'Proof of Stake: Technological Claims' at Kunstverein in Hamburg, curated by Simon Denny and Bettina Steinbrügge, the book brings together a global group of artists and scholars who inquire into the objects, apparatuses, geographies and power relations of organized life. Edited by Simon Denny, Timon Beyes, Robin Holt, Claus Pias, and Bettina Steinbrügge. Published by Lenz Press, Milano. (2022/3)
• graphic layer and information design, for Karamia Müller and Simon Denny 'cable harness' sculptures, and including exhibition contribution through the work of type, graphic and advertising designer Joseph Churchward (typefaces in use and archival material) 'Creation Stories', on display at Gus Fisher Gallery and Michael Lett Gallery, Auckland, Aotearoa/New Zealand, August-November. (2022)
• monograph 'Dirty Evidence, Lawrence Abu Hamdan', edited by Fabian Schöneich. Texts by Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Natasha Ginwala, Ruba Katrib, Andrea Lissoni, Ramona Naddaff, Fabian Schöneich, Yasmine Seale, Theodor Ringborg, Eyal Weizman. Published by Lenz Press, Milano, with Bonniers Konsthall, Sweden. Part of the student jury selection of the Best Dutch Book Designs 2022. (2022)
• exhibition graphics 'Designing the social: 100 years of idiosyncratic living in the Netherlands', in Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam. Designed in collaboration with Sandra Kassenaar and with type digitisation by Dong Bin Han. (2021)
+ link to download one weight of the NEN3225: Netherlands Letter and Number Model. Digitised especially for the exhibition graphics of 'Designing the Social'. The NEN3225 standard was originally published in 1963 and was designed by the Dutch typographer and graphic designer Jan van Krimpen (1892-1958). Digitisation by Dong Bin Han, in consultation with David Bennewith and Sandra Kassenaar. (2021)
• commissioned text 'Julia Born: Alignment & Registration', written on the occasion of graphic designer Julia Born's receiving of the Swiss Grand Award for Design 2021. Swiss Federal Office for Culture. (2021)
• book design for Cécile B. Evans 'Amos' World', with assistance from Aleksandra Kwiatkowska. Co-Published by Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König and les presses du réel. (2021)
• website design for architecture practice Susanne Pietsch, designed in collaboration with Sandra Kassenaar and programmed by Bram van den Berg. (2020)
• Writing experiment 'The letters also loved him: Gerard Unger, ATypI member extraordinaire.' by David Bennewith, commissioned by Jung-Lee Type Foundry for 'Realtime Realist No.2'. (2019)
• Essay ‘Flame Lix*’ by David Bennewith, commissioned by Marcel Mrejen and Eliott Déchamboux for the publication ‘L’Europe c’est Deutshland quand tu rate laba tu est foutue mon frère, le reste c’est du fouma-fouma!’, published by Jungle Books, Zurich. (2019)
+ PDF of essay (2019) [1,9MB, PDF]
• essay and book design 'A Mixture of Semantics, Poetry and Marketing - Approaches to the Typeface Design of Inuktitut Syllabics', by David Bennewith, commissioned by Hinrich Sachs and Frederik Ehlin as part of the editorial framework 'Fog, Friend, Font', published by Humboldt Books, Milan. Redacted version published in issue #3 of 'Bricks from the Kiln', London. (2018)
+ Link to 'Fog, Friend, Font' at Humboldt Books
• book design for 'The New Craft School', by Susanne Pietsch, Eireen Schreurs, Sereh Mandias and Dolf Broekhuizen, designed in collaboration with Sandra Kassenaar. The book is printed on a custom designed and made paper stock produced by Schut Papier, Heelsum (2018)
• poster design for Luke Willis Thompson '_Human', at Kunsthalle Basel (2018)
• book design for cécile b. evans '(1770–25k)', with bram van den berg, copublished by sternberg press and Bielefelder Kunstverein (2018)
• exhibition catalogue for simon denny 'the founder’s paradox: a compendium', essay by anthony byrt, published by michael lett, auckland (2017)
• graphic identity, collateral and book design for wendelien van oldenborgh 'cinema olanda', curated by lucy cotter, the netherland's entry to the 2017 venice biennale, commissioned by the mondriaan fund (2017)
• book design for lawrence abu hamdan '[inaudible] a politics of listening', published by sternberg press, portikus and kunst halle sankt gallen (2016)
• exhibition graphics 'munich 1972: the design of a democratic body' with bram van den berg, curated by marten kuijpers, het nieuwe instituut, rotterdam (2016)
• illustrated floorplan for simon denny 'business insider' with bram van den berg, curated by zoë gray, wiels, brussels (2016)
• catalogue design for simon denny 'products for organising', published by serpentine galleries and koenig books (2015)
• graphic identity and collateral design for simon denny 'secret power', new zealand's entry to the 2015 venice biennale, commissioned by creative new zealand (2015)
+ 'simon denny, the artist who did reverse espionage on the NSA' published in the guardian (2015)
+ catalogue design for 'secret power', published by walter koenig and mousse (2015)
• essay 'taught.' and collaboration book design 'reprint karel martens' published by roma publications (2015)
+ scan of essay (2016) [3.3mb, PDF]
• exhibition 'churchward samoa', post 1987 stock market crash the type designer joseph churchward sets up a new studio in apia samoa, at city gallery wellington new zealand (2014)
• essay 'a plastic curve wrote 'possibilities'.' about the late type-designer joseph churchward's drawing curves, for te papa museum of new zealand (2013)
+ bootleg typeset of essay (2023) [749kb, PDF]
• signage system for simon denny 'the personal effects of kim dotcom' (2013)
• identity and graphic design for casco – office for art, design and theory, utrecht, the netherlands (2012->)
• publication design for simon denny 'envisaging vocational rehabilitation' (2012)
• book design for ruth buchanan 'the weather, a building', published by sternberg press (2012)
• essay 'a date at tetterode' for 'type & characters' curated by paul gangloff (2012) [561kb, PDF]
• book design for ruth buchanan 'lying freely' (2010)
• type design for vanessa van dam 'armando' (2010)
research and initiative work free fonts
*technical images for social engineering*
• exhibition, participant in 'i digress', with 'lincoln/mitre fonts', exploring the transmission of language through different technologies as a relational and open-ended activity, conceived by sophie davis, enjoy gallery, wellington (2017/8)
+ 'Evacuated Exchanges in Enjoy's I Digress', exhibition review by Jane Wallace, published on art and australia.com (2018)
• exhibition, participant in 'which mirror do you want to lick?' documenting the commissioning process of design work from an ex-NSA graphic designer, curated by sophie dederen, maki suzuki and radim peško, brno, czech republic; nice, france; kasterlee, belgium and melbourne, australia (2016/17/19)
• publication 'churchward international typefaces' a story-in-process on the working life of joseph churchward, published by clouds (2009)
+ review of 'churchward international typefaces' by tim abrahams, published in frieze magazine (2009)
• essay 'marianna, hey! together' about the typeface joseph churchward designed for his daughter (2009) [269kb, PDF]
• publication 'A reconstruction of a printed sheet of Ken Garland and Robert Chapman’s game Connect, designed by Ken Garland and Associates for the James Galt Toy Company in 1969. Including an interview with Ken Garland conducted in 2006.' about the design of ken garland's iconic board game, self-published (2010)
+ interview with ken garland from publication [741kb, PDF]
• illustrated essay 'a patient waiter is no loser' a collection of notes and observations about letters designed using dots, instead of lines. published in the national grid #7 (2011) [17.4mb, PDF]
• exhibition and research project '*latent stare*' at casco – office for art, design and theory (2012)
+ interview (in 2 parts) about '*latent stare*' by kelly carmichael for eyecontact.co.nz (2013)
• typevideo – drusenheim/rheinmünster-greffern, from workshop with hear strasbourg and hfg karlsruhe (2014)
• essay 'some thoughts on trendy pornography' about the free font 'trendy pornography' published on dafont.com and the question of an 'erotic' in fonts, published in extra extra magazine (2016) [3.2mb, PDF]
• exhibition, participant in 'supply + demand', with 'Forms of Continuity in Space (2013->)', presenting a collection of Italian 20 cent Euro coins featuring the Futurist artwork 'Unique Forms of Continuity in Space' (1913) by Umberto Boccioni, curated by Melanie Oliver, physics room, wellington (2013)
• 'Lincoln/MITRE Fonts' a study of the typographic system designed by MIT Lincoln Laboratory for use in various displays on the early warning air defence computer network SAGE [1950s-1980s] (2016) [58kb, .ZIP]
+ included in Bryce Wilner's Open Font License Collection on Library Stack (2018)
• link to download one weight of the NEN3225: Netherlands Letter and Number Model. Digitised especially for the exhibition graphics of 'Designing the Social'. The NEN3225 standard was originally published in 1963 and was designed by the Dutch typographer and graphic designer Jan van Krimpen (1892-1958). Digitisation by Dong Bin Han, in consultation with David Bennewith and Sandra Kassenaar. (2021)
• 'stanley smith' a hard-graft of stanley morison’s ubiquitous typeface 'times new roman', and adidas’ ubiquitous tennis shoe 'stan smith' (2016) [3.5mb, .ZIP]
• 'brazil' motivated by a tag seen on the wall of an amsterdam fondue café toilet in 2010 (2016) [837kb, .ZIP]