The internet in print

By Kasia Maciejowska 18 : 02 : 2016 Digital Art : Whitechapel Gallery : Digital Surrealism

London – The Whitechapel Gallery’s Electronic Superhighway exhibition catalogue translates the aesthetics of the online world into print.

Created by agency Julia, the book serves as a retrospective of 50 years of computer and internet art
The cover’s code-inspired fonts and reflective finish convey the complex yet playful nature of digital technology

Despite the ubiquity of digital technology, there is still strong demand for printed guides when documenting an exhibition. With this in mind, the Whitechapel Gallery created a catalogue to commemorate its Information Superhighway show.

As the role of print media continues to evolve post-internet, graphic designers are creating visual languages that suit both digital and physical mediums.

The catalogue’s typography draws on the colours and formatting of early HTML pages. ‘The typeface is created from an algorithm-based language called Metafont,’ Hugo Timm, co-founder of Julia, told Creative Review. ‘It is native to computers and a rare example in the history of typography of a system that does not stem from an analogue, calligraphic origin.’

The Big Picture

Designers are increasingly inspired by internet aesthetics, in particular the characteristics of early home computers, as LS:N Global outlined in our 2013 Digital Surrealism design direction.