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Interview: Untitled Macao

Untitled Macao is an award-winning design studio founded by Au Chon Hin and Si Nga Ian. The studio first came onto our radar after seeing them use Sharp Grotesk and Beatrice Display in their branding and identity projects. We had the pleasure of hosting the two at our studio in New York City last fall when they were in town being awarded as ADC Young Guns 17 winners, and have only continued to be fans of their work. In this interview, we chatted with Hin & Ian to learn more about graphic design in Macao, multi-script typography, and the studio’s approach to design.

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Image: Lyrics Exhibition & Mini Concert using Sharp Grotesk, 2019. 

Q: 我們首先想認識一下你們的工作室。你們兩位是如何認識和開始Untitled Macao?
A: 我們兩位一同就讀於澳門理工學院,是大學同學而相識。首先我們公司分別有兩個名稱,是UNTITLED MACAO LTD. 及UNTITLED DESIGN LTD。我們公司主要為客人提供品牌、活動設計及創意策劃,並抱住做好每一個項目的創作理念。UNTITLED MACAO在風格上用色大膽,利用澳門本地文化與城市相連。因澳門暫未具有如紐約市設計行業的專業性,但我們想利用設計去改變一般人對設計師的看法。

Q: First, we’d like to learn about your studio. How did the two of you meet and decide to form Untitled Macao?
A: We both studied and met at the Macao Polytechnic Institute. Our company consists of two divisions, Untitled Macao Ltd. and Untitled Design Ltd. The company’s main focus is to provide branding service, curation and creative strategies to our clients and we strive to do our best for them. Untitled Macao intends to be adventurous and bold in terms of style and color, and aims to connect local Macao culture with the city. Since Macao’s design industry is still under development, we are devoted to influence our community on how they perceive design and designers.

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Images: Present Future Film Festival using Beatrice Display, 2019.

Q: 可否向我們介紹一下澳門的設計文化和行業?選擇以澳門和亞洲作為你們的基地對你們的創作和業務有甚麼影響?
A: 其實澳門近幾年都舉辦了不少大型的文化活動,如:藝術節、音樂節等等。澳門的設計文化雖然未能夠叫做國際化,但我們認為市場已在進步中並存在很大的發揮空間。選擇澳門和亞洲為基地自身都有幾個因素。首先,自己為澳門人及居住在澳門。另外,亞洲是自己最熟悉語言地區。因為亞洲地區與其他歐美國家的文化有差異,所以更希望能探討不同國家文化,再將澳門設計帶到不同地方,去演變出澳門獨有的文化。

Q: Tell us about the graphic design culture and scene in Macao. How does being based in Macao, and in the larger context of East Asia, shape your design practice?
A: Macao has held several large-scale cultural activities including art festivals and music festivals. Although the design culture in Macao is not as international, I think the market is improving and there are a lot of good opportunities. I was born and raised in Macao, and continue to live here so we feel most familiar with East Asia. Since there is huge cultural difference between Asia, Europe and the US,  we hope to explore more in between these cultures to showcase Macao’s unique design and culture to the world.

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Q: 你們處理的設計案通常都比較大型和橫跨不同大小的媒體和形式,你們設計的時候會怎樣去迎合這些要求?而字體排版在這些不同的情況下扮演着甚麼角色?
A: 一開始我們會先聽取客人的意見,再去研究項目的特色,最後會用適合的圖案、字體、風格去創作我們的作品。在我們通常處理大型項目或節目時,除了設計本身能否吸引他人外,應用的字體都是很重要的一部分。我們認為一個好的字體可以令人好好閱讀和能帶出字體的美感外,更可發揮其功能性,從而利用設計增強活動的關注度!

Q: You often work on large-scale branding projects that involve a range of formats from billboards and physical spaces, to digital media and ephemera. How does this inform your design approach? What role does typography play in these scenarios?
A: We first communicate with the client and look for a distinguishing focus and then decide on the graphics, fonts and style. Fonts and typography are more crucial in the larger-scale projects because it allows people to read clearly, and attract their attention with a distinctive quality.

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Images: Macao International Parade using Sharp Grotesk, 2019.

Q: 你們的設計案都經常要顧及多國語言。當處理中英文雙語的時候於排版和設計上你們會遇上甚麼問題和會如何解決它們?
A: 澳門在語言方面上比起其他亞洲地區而言更複雜,因為我們需要於一個設計上共同存在分別三種不同的語言。由於澳門曾為葡萄牙殖民地,我們需要有中、葡、英三種語言放到我們的設計上,所以我們需要一些可以支援變音符號的字體以方便我們去排印葡語。另外我們的客戶年齡層都比較大,小至3歲大至60歲,我們需要在排版及次序上都要令讀者讀得舒服及清晰。

Q: All of your projects bring together multiple scripts. What typographic and design considerations do you have to make when working with Chinese and Latin type? 
A: Since Macao was a Portuguese colony, we have to work with three official languages in all of our designs: English, Chinese, and Portuguese. This means the fonts we use require diacritics support for Portuguese. Our target audience has a pretty wide age range so we need to make sure the reading direction and typesetting have to be clear for everyone from 3 to 60.

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Images: Macao Design Week using Beatrice Display, 2018. This project won Bronze in the Visual Identity System category at the Hong Kong Designers Assocation’s 2019 Global Design Awards.

Q: 我們非常欣賞你們很有創意地運用我們的字體。你們是如何認識Sharp Type? 是甚麼原因令你們特別喜歡Beatrice Display和Sharp Grotesk? 為何它們適合你們的設計案? 
A: 我們是從網上平台及其他設計師的作品認識到Sharp Type,其字體的個性及獨特性非常適合放於生活上。首先,Beatrice Display這個字體我認為在粗幼方面做得非常好,給予人一種優雅而強烈的個性。若用於一些正式場合更能為該話動帶出另一層次。另外,我當時是留意到DropBox品牌使用Sharp Grotesk這個字體,它給我一種誇越度很大的感覺。我認為在較正式或隆重的場合中,平常會選用的字體都太正規。在澳門國際幻彩大巡遊中,我在設計上構思了一條路線,希望在窄或闊的排版情況下都可以用到同一款字體而Sharp Grotesk就正好適合。而澳門設計週中選用了Beatrice Display因為它給予設計週一種較高級而有個性的感覺。

Q: We really love the way you have used our typefaces. How did you learn about Sharp Type? What drew you to Beatrice Display and Sharp Grotesk, and how were they good fits for your projects?
A: We learned about Sharp Type through social media, and saw work by other designers using Sharp Type fonts. The personality and uniqueness of the typefaces are suitable for daily use and add an extra layer of flavor when used at formal events.

When I was looking at Dropbox’s implementation of Sharp Grotesk, it led to a moment of transcendence. In a lot of grand events, the font choice is usually too formal. I decided to use Sharp Grotesk for the Macao International Parade because of its flexibility in width. For Macao Design Week, I decided to use Beatrice Display because it is well crafted, elegant, and strong at the same time.

Sharp Type & Untitled Macao

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