Our design director Barbara Iwanicka discusses how the design of FRAME's spring issue embodies joy –in all shapes, sizes and forms – of the highest order.
Down, down, down.
Life often feels like a free fall, a dizzying descent with no pause, no rewind. And especially since having kids, I feel a lot like Alice, endlessly tumbling through a rabbit hole. Reaching, grasping, trying to slow down, but gravity is relentless. Trying to catch everything that rushes past, arrange it, shape it, not let anything slip through. What I often forget is that, for Alice, the fall was not just a plunge; it was a passage into wonder. She did not fight it; she let it unfold. Maybe, after all, it is not about how you land but how you fall.
Play is not just important; it is essential. As children, play helps us navigate our environment. Kids do not just play with toys; they are naturally drawn to the world around them, using objects to explore shapes, textures, colours, smells and, much to their parents' horror, even tastes – like eating sand at playgrounds. Play also allows children to reflect on the structures and patterns of the adult world. By mimicking behaviours, asking questions, experimenting and adapting, they learn about human relationships and social dynamics. So why, as adults, do we lose so much of this spontaneous urge to play, to discover, to wonder and to connect with others?
It is time to play! Playtime!
This issue of FRAME celebrates joyful design and creative concepts that rekindle our childlike sense of wonder. It reminds us of the deep connection between play and our emotional, cognitive and behavioural well-being. Expect colour, texture, big gestures and little surprises.
On the cover, we feature Wander Wheel, a playful pop-up installation by Merrell and Playlab. And yes, a bit like a little hamster, you wheel yourself through a never-ending adventure of the great outdoors, passing through vibrant landscapes, from California’s rolling blooms to Switzerland’s snowy peaks and beyond. And again. And again…
The typeface was an easy choice: Dina Chaumont by b•v-h type, the typographic office of the graphic design studio baldinger•vu-huu. Dina is bold, fun, dynamic and uncompromising. Initially designed for the city of Chaumont, the project was developed for everyone, whether professional, amateur or novice. With the idea of turning each letter into a poster, b•v-h type created a monospaced display typeface that fits perfectly within the DIN A format. Since this format works in both portrait and landscape orientations, the typeface includes two different character widths. To maximise space, the letters are stretched and compressed, ensuring nothing extends beyond the boundaries. The exclusive use of lowercase letters eliminates descenders and ascenders, resulting in a compact, energetic and ‘democratic’ aesthetic.
Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is one of the greatest literary explorations of play, imagination and the fluid nature of reality. My favourite kind of play? Language play – its rule-bending structures, the new sense in old nonsense, humour and wonder in every sentence. Carroll’s novel is more than just whimsy; it is a celebration of creativity, imagination and transformation. Wonderland defies structure and logic, urging us to embrace curiosity, flexibility and the joy of the unexpected.
So, for our own sake, let us be more like Alice.
‘Curiouser and curiouser!’
Get your copy of FRAME 161 now.
