Main Studio was a design studio I visited during my time in Amsterdam with Ulster University. This trip alone was extremely insightful and offered a range of inspiration, however the most significant visit personally was to Main Studio. As a designer who is fascinated with type and editorial design, I found this studio innovative, and an environment filled with passion and creativity.
Main Studio is a design practice in Amsterdam founded by Edwin van Gelder who creates innovative designs driven by editorial and typography. Working mostly with art and architecture as visual identities. Further, using creative printing techniques within traditional media that is engaging and encourages in depth connections and slower reading.
Amongst the many projects, ‘A Pool in the Sea’ was crafted so beautifully conceptually and visually with its primary focus on ‘Siza’s famed Piscinas de Mares (Pools on the Beach) in Leca de Palmeira, Portugal; a pool situated within and built into the rocks aligning the Atlantic Ocean’s coast that completed in 1966’ (Main studio). This book documents a journey of the authors architectural biography with the images hanging on the top of the page replicating the motion of the sea. An element to this publication that stuck with me was the material of the cover which was linen. This detail engaged me as a reader and designer and as someone who is currently creating a publication for ISTD; I feel inspired to explore more materials like this to benefit my own project.
Similarly, another project that gravitated to me was ‘Where the River Runs’ which was a monograph on the work of Remy Jungerman along with reflective essays. However, the element that I found fascinating was the vibrant colour within this editorial as CMYK typically does not transfer bright onto print. This was created through the red pages printed in four layers of white ink with the text cut out to “emphasise the materiality of the book with the ink becoming the ‘paper’” which resembles the same techniques Jungerman used in his work (Main Studio). Colour aside, this adds such an intentional detail which reflects a personal connection between print and design to the client.
Overall, this visit resonated with me as I feel that within Graphic Design and in comparison to brands, editorial and print does not get the same attention in my experience. While branding is a prominent aspect in graphic design and deserves recognition, editorial and print can strengthen storytelling by elements such as text, image and layout working in harmony. Therefore, visiting this studio was enlightening and was quite relieving to someone with passion for type.
