Ensemble Lumaka is formed by a fine group of classically trained musicians that specializes in interpreting music from the first half of the 20th century. They created a program of (well and less well-known) music from the 20’s. As a framework, this series of concerts had been programmed in iconic buildings from the «Amsterdamse School» architectural style, a shared interest of myself and the musicians. I like how deliberately aesthetic and bold this style is – without disregarding the political, social, or conceptual implications it had.
Somehow, the same way musicians recreate an existing composition, this time I wanted to take the chance to use the assignment in a rather literal way, going back to my books and archives to research the forms, typefaces, and graphic constructions of that era and with the aim to propose something like an «interpreted copy» of it. While the beautiful graphic work depicted in «De Wendingen» magazine seemed like an (almost too) obvious inspiration, I also came across a series of less-known covers from Dutch architect and typographer Hendricus Theodorus Wijdeveld, that I instantly felt the need to bring back to life.
Subsequently, I draw a slightly simplified version of his hand-drawn letter forms, which became the basis for the graphic identity and poster designs.
