Atelier Jérôme Knebusch
Mainzer Landstraße 105
60329 Frankfurt am Main
jk [at] jeromeknebusch.net
+49 69 15 61 60 23

One week workshop at Hochschule Mainz with Bachelor students. Design of a full digital alphabet with predefined geometric modules.

Title
Learning from Albers
Date
2017
Type
Education
Client
Hochschule Mainz
Place
Mainz
Material
Workshop

Learning from Albers, Hochschule Mainz, 2017.

Visual identity and design of the symposium & exhibition Gotico-Antiqua, proto-roman, hybrid. 15th-century types between gothic and roman held at ENSAD Nancy in 2019. Design in French and English includes signage, poster, booklets and micro-website where you can find more information about the project (see link below). First use of the Almost typeface.

Title
Gotico-Antiqua, proto-roman, hybrid. 15th-century types between gothic and roman
Date
2019
Type
Research, Visual identity
Client
Atelier National de Recherche Typographique
Place
Nancy
Material
Exhibition, symposium, signage, poster, booklets
Website
gotico-antiqua.anrt-nancy.fr
Screenprint
Lézard Graphique, Brumath

Gotico-Antiqua, proto-roman, hybrid. 15th-century types between gothic and roman, symposium & exhibition, ANRT/ENSAD Nancy, 2019.

Philly Hands is a concise but in-depth survey description of Philadelphian street penmanship, written and photographed by François Chastanet. It explores the Philly writers’ lexicon of ‘hands’, ranging from the original Gangster Prints to the Tall Hands, Wickeds, Stiff Hands, Punchlines, and more. It also provides a rare glimpse into the preparatory work done on paper before performing in the street. Through ductus diagrams, the inner tracing logic of landmark letters is revealed, offering insights into the unique calligraphic tradition of Philadelphia – nicknamed ‘Whip City’ and celebrated as the land of extreme cursivity. With a legacy spanning more than fifty years, the city has much to offer to lettering enthusiasts. Some cities are able to develop their own scriptural ‘texture’, going beyond individual experiments with the image of the name. Edited by Alice Savoie and Jérôme Knebusch in the Poem Pamphlet series.

Title
Philly Hands
Date
2024
Type
Editorial design
Client
Poem
Place
Frankfurt am Main
Material
Pamphlet
Publisher
Poem

Philly Hands, François Chastanet, Poem, Frankfurt am Main, 2024.

The Musée d'Orsay is dedicated to artistic expression from the period 1848–1914. With an annual attendance of 3.5 million visitors, it stands as one of the world’s most prestigious cultural institutions. Its complete visual identity overhaul, undertaken by the Paris-based graphic design studio Zoo, offers a contemporary interpretation of the museum’s artistic legacy by establishing a clear, readable, and engaging visual language. As part of this redesign, an exclusive typeface was created in two styles. This typeface is a modern reinterpretation of the typographic developments of La Belle Époque, channeling the vitality of the era to which the Musée d'Orsay is devoted. The roman style presents a distilled interpretation of the 19th-century French Elzévir genre, while the italic revives the Coulée Italique Elzévirienne, originally cast by the Parisian foundry Beaudoire & Fils. The italic also features a set of swash capitals. Both styles were drawn by Rafael Ribas, with advisory, mastering, and production by Jérôme Knebusch. Some images are excerpted from the 2023/2024 program, where the typeface is paired with Antique Legacy.

Title
Orsay Elzévir
Date
2023
Type
Type design
Client
Musée d'Orsay
Place
Paris
Material
Custom typeface
Type design
Rafael Ribas
Art direction, graphic design
Zoo designer graphiques, Paris
Advisory, production
Jérôme Knebusch
Photography
Victor & Arthur Brun

Orsay Elzévir, custom typeface, Musée d'Orsay, Paris, 2023. Advisory & production for zoo, designers graphiques / Rafael Ribas.

Katjas Kinderkrippe, Baden-Baden, 2016.

Triennals, prefiguration event of the Luxembourg young contemporary art triennale, with former triennale participants. Custom single-typeface and 'ongoing' visual identity which will evolve in the Brave New World Order identity of the triennale held one year later. See this website for more.

Title
Triennials
Date
2020
Type
Visual identity, Editorial design
Client
Rotondes, Casino Luxembourg
Place
Luxembourg City
Material
Pamphlet, animations

Triennials, visual identity & custom typeface, Rotondes, Cercle Cité, Casino Luxembourg, 2020.

‘La page projetée. Livres fictionnels au cinéma’ [The projected page. Fictionnal books in movies] is a pedagogical project led by the Institut Page at ESAL Metz, in collaboration with Léo Coquet, Elamine Maecha, and the institute's students. We analyzed existing films that feature fictional books – books that appear only on screen and were never actually edited or published. These books are often reduced to their physical appearance as cinematic props, typically limited to a cover. Yet they actively contribute to the narrative and, in some cases, even extend it. The research project was presented during The 2024 Biennale Exemplaires in Valence and a one-day symposium in Metz, featuring Agatha Masa, officeabc, Alice Planes, and Pierre Leguillon. This event was promoted via social media and a printed poster. A (filled) popcorn cup was handed out at the entrance of the symposium, with the program printed on it.

Title
La page projetée
Date
2024
Type
Research, Visual identity, Editorial design
Client
ESAL Metz
Place
Metz
Material
Poster portfolio, popcorn cup, ads
Publisher
ESAL Metz
Editors
Léo Coquet, Elamine Maecha, Jérôme Knebusch
Texts
Léo Coquet, Emilia Bernard, Corentin Ferry, Alix Hetreux, Yu-Chien Huang, Maddy Lepage, Théo Michaud, Gabin Nivard, Léa Pesant, Valentine Poulet, Erwan Wilhelm
Photography
Léo Coquet
Typeface
Bureau Grotesque
Printing
Édicolor, Bain-de-Bretagne, pok Büroartikel, Berlin, ESAL Metz
Copies
400
ISBN
979-10-90886-22-3

La page projetée. Livres (fictionnels) au cinéma, research symposium, ESAL Metz, 2023. Visual identity, w/ Institut Page

Rudolf Koch and Fritz Kredel's remarkable Blumenbuch [Book of Flowers] was published between 1929 and 1942, from precious volumes and portfolios to pocket editions, involving numerous collaborators, printers and publishers such as Mainzer Presse in Mainz, Ernst-Ludwig-Presse in Darmstadt and Insel-Verlag, Leipzig. The Insel paperback edition continued to be printed throughout the 20th century. Koch began drawing wild flowers in 1922. He explains that he 'collected [the flowers] at random and without any particular purpose. I only drew those that grew in Offenbach and the surrounding area...'. A member of Koch's Werkstatt, the young Kredel, engraved most of the 250 drawings. The flowers were engraved on wood and coloured entirely by hand. The entire project - the various editions, sketchbooks, printing tests and original woodcuts - constitutes an exceptional archive that was exhibited for the first time in France, at the Modulab gallery in Metz The exhibition curated by Jérôme Knebusch is a joint venture between the Klingspor Museum, Poem, Modulab and the École nationale d'art et de design de Nancy.

Title
Das Blumenbuch
Date
2023
Type
Research
Client
Modulab
Place
Metz
Material
Exhibition
Curator
Jérôme Knebusch
Archive
Klingspor Museum
Conference
ANRT 2020
Photography
Benjamin Roi

Das Blumenbuch, Modulab, Metz, 4.5 – 17.6.2023. Klingspor Museum Archive.

Visual identity and design of the Brave New World Order – Triennale Jeune Création held at Rotondes and Casino Luxembourg – Forum d'art contemporain in 2021. The young art triennale is a major event for emerging artists from Luxembourg and the Greater Region. Initiated during Luxembourg European Capital of Culture 2007, the Triennale was held for the fifth time in 2021. Under the curation of Kevin Muhlen, director of the Casino Luxembourg, the exhibition was highlightning a 'Brave New World Order' as seen and represented by millennials. Design of posters, booklets, ads, invitations, outdoor shops and more. The identity integrated the custom design of a typefaces in two styles. See here for more information on the design of the catalogue. Here for more information on the signage project. And here for the website.

Title
Triennale Jeune Création
Date
2021
Type
Visual identity
Client
Rotondes, Casino Luxembourg
Place
Luxembourg City
Material
Posters, booklet, invitation, animations, ads
Animations
Philippe Tytgat

Brave New World Order – Triennale Jeune Création, Rotondes, Casino Luxembourg – Forum d'art contemporain, 2021.

Almost is a typeface between gothic and roman. It was designed by Jérôme Knebusch in five weights and many alternates. They can be endlessly combined, taking either a roman or gothic direction, without falling in a strong, broken script nor becoming a ‘pure’ roman design. Above, uncialesque and bizarre (Byzantine) letterforms and a full set of initials complete the fonts. All take their inspiration in the 15th century, specifically in the period of 1459-1482 with Gotico-Antiqua typefaces like the ‘Durandus’ of Fust & Schöffer, the first type to present a humanistic tendency. A few years later Sweynheim & Pannartz use a type in Subiaco which some consider to be the first roman although gothic influences remain clearly visible. Roman type was finally defined in 1469-70 in Venice by the ‘de Spira’ brothers and Nicolas Jenson. But roman did not precipitate the death of gothic forms, mixtures of gothic and roman were tried out and the two co-existed for some time. Almost is a hommage to these types, which represent a unique, transitory moment in history of typography. More information about Almost on Poem's website.

Title
Almost
Date
2012–2019
Type
Type design, Research
Client
Poem
Place
Frankfurt am Main
Material
Retail typeface
Conference
Gotico-Antiqua symposium, Nancy 2019
Award
Type Directors Club 2020
Award
Typographica 2019
Publication
Poem

Almost, typeface, 2012-2019. Published by Poem.

Custom typeface in two styles, upright and italic, respectively entitled 1981 and 1996. While the first is a relecture of the first digital typefaces and their idiosyncratic approach, the second, more mature, comes closer to 1990s humanistic sans serifs. Used exlusively for the identity design of Brave New World Order – Triennale Jeune Création held at Rotondes and Casino Luxembourg. The young art triennale is a major event for emerging artists from Luxembourg and the Greater Region. The 2021 edition was devoted to the millennials generation. See here the typeface use within the overall design. See here the typeface use within the design of the catalogue. Here for on the signage project. And here for the website. A preliminary version was used here.

Title
Triennale 1981-1996
Date
2020
Type
Type design
Client
Rotondes, Casino Luxembourg
Place
Luxembourg City
Material
Custom typeface

Triennale 1981-1996, custom typeface, Triennale Jeune Création, Rotondes, Casino Luxembourg – Forum d'art contemporain, 2020.

Rudolf Koch began drawing the Offenbach typeface in 1928, the first size was cut in 1931, and Koch made final corrections on his deathbed in 1934. The type was published from 6 to 60 pt posthumously by Gebr. Klingspor foundry in 1935. Stylistically, Offenbach is a hybrid, pairing wide roman capitals with narrow gothic minuscules, a mixture Koch had experienced in several of his typefaces like Jessen or Wallau. His student Hans Kühne had added to the Klingspor release the ‘German’ gothic capitals as alternative to the roman capitals. Offenbach is a faithful revival of Offenbach Mager, the initial thin weight, based on a one-week workshop in 2022 under the direction of Jérôme Knebusch. The students of the HfG Offenbach studied the archive material in the Klingspor Museum and lead type in the nearby printing workshop in the Bernardbau. The Offenbach typeface is freely usable by anyone, privately or professionally, under the Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0 license. This licence allows free use of the font, provided that the type and author are mentioned when using it (Offenbach by Rudolf Koch) and that no modification is made to its design.

Title
Offenbach
Date
2025
Type
Type design
Client
Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach, Klingspor Museum, Poem
Place
Offenbach
Material
Free typeface
Workshop
Yile Cho, Quirin Fürbeck, Simon Gerstner, Paula Janser, Emerson Martus, Ekaterina Sacharova, Ngoc Anh Tran, Chiara Wißler, Edvinas Žukauskas (Marc Schütz, HfG Offenbach)
Licence
Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0

Offenbach, free typeface, 2025. Published by Poem and Klingspor Type Archive / HfG Offenbach.

next page