Type designer Arthur Calame treats letters like "soft material to be sculpted"

"Two core concepts define the type designer Arthur Calame's practice. One, always creating unique tools for each project , and two taking influence for his work from wider culture, things "that everyone can experience in their daily lives, whether they are typographers or not". The designer, who studied typeface design at Brussels' visuals arts university La Cambre, now has a series of typefaces under his belt that are testament to this two pronged approach."

"Take Maroni, for instance, a typeface created for the Marronnage exhibition shown at Paris' Maison de l'Amérique latine in 2022. The custom design was inspired by a "slightly clumsy design," Arthur says. Its edges are webbed and each letter bleeds into one another, and it was applied onto exhibition material with meandering curves, granting the lettering an added organic feel. Arthur is drawn to design that feels human and imperfect, "which feels even more important in our age of hyper-digitisation", he says."

Arthur Calame centers his work on two principles: creating unique tools for each project and drawing influence from wider culture accessible to everyone. Maroni, made for the Marronnage exhibition, features webbed edges, letters that bleed into one another, and meandering curves to create an organic, slightly clumsy aesthetic. Bobine references LED train-screen displays, using pixelated dots to build functional letters with characterful curves. Calame treats letters as sculptural, soft material and frames the type designer as a craftsman. Engaging in wood carving, cooking, and baking feeds his typographic practice and refreshes his perspective on letterforms.

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