Warm congratulations to Kobi Franco, whose research project “Molecular Typography Laboratory” was named a Communication Design Winner in the Type Directors Club (TDC)’s annual competition in New York. Now in its 68th year, this is considered the most prestigious graphic design and typographic competition. There is no hierarchy of winners in the TDC competition, and each winner is outstanding in their field.

Molecular Typography Laboratory is experimental typographic research examining the speculative premise that the characters of the Hebrew alphabet have a molecular structure. The project demonstrates how this premise affects the Hebrew alphabet, word, and language. The project began at the end of 2019 as Franco’s graduate project for his master’s degree at Shenkar, and was presented in the summer of 2020. From that day forward the project has continued to develop, and it is still ongoing.

Over the last two years, the project has been shortlisted in Communication Arts magazine’s typography competition, won silver in Graphis magazine’s poster competition, been given an honorable mention at the Taipei International Design Award, and has featured at exhibitions in Japan, China, and Korea. The project was awarded a Mifal HaPais grant for an artist’s book, perhaps the first time a typography project has been awarded the grant. The book is set to be published in the coming year, sponsored by Mifal HaPais and Shenkar.

Kobi Franco is a designer, professor, and curator. He owns an independent studio specializing in art and culture design. He is a senior lecturer in the Department of Visual Communication and serves as head of the graphic design internship. 

Published on 26-04-2022