Another Year in the Field
It’s been a year, friends. We’ve got so much to be thankful for, to learn from, and to share. Walk with us a minute.
We’ve been scheming and dreaming with some wonderful people this year, feeding our souls and filling our cups. Before 2024 runs out on us, here’s a big, loving shout out to everyone who shared time, space and wisdom with us, who listened, sat on the floor and drank tea with us, gave us stickers and hugs, pulled us in and played with possibilities. It was a cool year in the field.
TYPEFORCE RETURNS
Back in full force, baby. Nermin and our forever brother in good design, Will Miller, assembled an outrageous team of folks to pull off the return of Typeforce. Now in its 13th installment, this year’s identity is a loving homage to tactile art forms. We’ve had tatreez on the brain—a traditional Palestinian embroidery style that encodes meaning with every stitch. Lucky for us, one of our fave code wizards Bryant Smith was down for the challenge of building an interactive, hyper-generative, GPU-powered website that embodies the show’s spirit—how each artist, each piece added to the tapestry makes for a more beautiful, resilient whole. Big ups to Lindsay McMenamin and Emily Berman, too, for managing the hell out of this project. Seriously, go hug a project manager this instant.
Chicago, mark your calendars for opening night January 31 and follow along for more updates. And get those type-based projects ready—submissions are OPEN.
BY SURVIVORS, FOR SURVIVORS
In September, we helped launch Braver Collective, a digital healing space for survivors of sexual trauma. This was a work of patient progress and a case study in the magic of co-design, spearheaded by our beloved collaborator Mary Foyder.
Working with a gorgeous visual identity crafted by Tom Tian and the team at Firebelly, we designed and wrote the website, which includes a library of survivor stories and insights, as well as trauma-informed resources and a code of conduct, co-created with a cohort of young survivor advisors. We rigorously tested and refined the site to honor the words and wisdom of Braver founder Scott Dille and our many co-designers, all of whom worked beautifully together to bring this labor of love to life.
FROM THE RIVER TO THE SCREEN
Earlier this year, our pals at One Design reached out for a helping hand with the brand identity for Watermelon Pictures, a film production and distribution company founded by two Palestinian brothers and rooted in creative resistance. It was an easy yes.
We hustled with the outrageously talented creative teams at One and Watermelon to define the company’s core values and visual identity in the span of about 6 weeks, in preparation for their debut at the 2024 Chicago Palestinian Film Festival. Since then, we’ve continued to design film posters, social templates, and merch, now available at the Watermelon Shop, which launched in November.
FOR THE SEEKER WITHIN
There are years the constellations constellate, and you follow where they lead you. This year led us to Seekers, a small-batch coffee roaster founded by a pair of lifelong soul brothers in lifelong pursuit of wisdom, beauty, and connection. Friends, it was a special process. We shared poems and pictures of places and space we’ve loved. Talked about soil, ritual, and “seeing the sacred in what’s been made well.” Nermin travelled to Colombia, met farmers in Medellin, and learned about the supply chain from cherry to cup. We built this brand together and it is the product of wonderful, imaginative, and kind conversation, spacious and reflective, often funny and always curious. We hope it shows.
In addition to the brand and limited edition merch, we designed the packaging—it’s clean, smooth and earthy, featuring proverbs and poetry alongside tasting notes, artfully crafted to slow you down and lift your spirits. The subscription box is a treat if you’re seeking something excellent this season.
TALKING THE TALK
We debuted our talk, Walking the Walk: Define Your Values, Design Your Practice at this year’s Design as Activism Symposium, and since then, we’ve shared it with the Design Students Association at York University and the Rightpoint Design conference. Nermin’s also joined the Chicago Graphic Design Club’s Confronting Design Panel and the SAIC Fashion Department’s salon On Design, and spoken at Columbia College, DePaul University, and AIGA Chicago.
We’re working hard to step into our light and get loud and proud about our little studio, and we’ve been blown away by the response. We can’t help but think…maybe we’ve got a book in us? Who knows! Maybe something we’ll simmer on in 2025. Would you be into it? What would you want to know more about?! Don’t be shy. Slide into our inbox. Speaking of books…
ON OUR SHELVES
Looking for a holiday season read? We’ve got ideas:
Communication Arts Advertising Annual 65 includes Field of Practice as a 2024 Fresh feature(!) alongside Apex Type Foundry, Zhiyu You, Tola Olawale and Chicago design darling, Span.
The latest issue of Epiphany Journal kicks off with a poem from Kristin.
Shift: A Practical Guide to Cultivating Equity and Inclusion in Healthcare Education by Dr. Sally Arif, features cover design by Nermin, with type from our west coast comrade Ross Burwell of Formerly Known Type Foundry.
Design Against Design: Cause and consequence of a dissident graphic practice by Kevin Yuen Kit Lo of LOKI Design is a treasure trove of insight and inspiration.
And we both inhaled the latest book from Ta-Nahesi Coates, The Message, a concise, incisive examination of colonialism, censorship, and the struggle for liberation from the east coast to the West Bank.
PARTING THOUGHTS
Here we are, grateful for another year on earth, worried sick about the world, and wondering what we’ll make of it in the year ahead.
Our dear friend Nick Adam said to us in September, “I try to remember that everyone’s probably in ten times more pain than they can share, and I go from there.” It’s a good reminder, wherever and however you are this season, to move with patience and grace. “Act like you understand what love means,”wrote one of our heroes Shira Erlichman. We are surrounded by genius and blessed by the brilliance of our people.
Thank you for being with us.
See you in 2025.
There has to be something in you, something that hungers for clarity.
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- Ta-Nehesi Coates
