Style combination · Pairs well

Data Humanism × Risograph

Print hand-drawn data drawings in two or three riso spot inks for zines and postcards, so each ink becomes one data category and the grain matches the hand.

From the research on Data Humanism

Mix them and make something Data Humanism Risograph

A sample layout drawn from the recipe: shapes from Data Humanism, their arrangement from Data Humanism, the finish from Risograph. Not a real work, and not an image of either style.

What each style brings

Each part of the design comes from the style with the stronger say in it, and each style gives at least two.

Data Humanism Risograph & Indie Print Culture

Type from Data Humanism: Hand-lettering
Colour from Risograph: Limited spot colours
Fluorescent & neon

Data Humanism avoids fluorescent & neon: this is where the two pull against each other.
Form from Data Humanism: Squiggles & confetti
Geometric primitives
Composition from Data Humanism: Layered information
Repetition & rhythm
Surface from Risograph: Misregistration & overprint
Grain & noise

The type

Open fonts standing in for each style’s own type, which is often hand-drawn or commercial.

Display · Data Humanism

Hello

Caveat, standing in for The designer's own handwriting in pen or pencil for titles, legends and annotations (the Dear Data postcards; the red handwritten script of Lupi's Print manifesto, 2017)

Text · Risograph

A contemporary culture of zines, art books, posters and prints made on Japanese Risograph stencil duplicators, whose soy-based spot inks (fluorescent pink, yellow, blue, teal) are laid down one drum at a time. Designers embrace the machine's limits: translucent overprints, slight misregistration, grainy coverage and coarse halftones give flat illustration and type a warm, handmade vibrancy at low cost.

Inter; Risograph used Neo-grotesques set large and Monospace and typewriter faces

The colours

The ground and leading colours come from Risograph, with a counter-accent from Data Humanism. The ink reads on the ground at 4.5:1 or more.

Data Humanism Risograph & Indie Print Culture

#f4f1ea ground · 36%
#3255a4 ink · 14%
#ff48b0 accent · 18%
#f2c14e accent · 14%
#f15060 accent · 10%
#00838a accent · 8%

As CSS

:root {
  --ground: #f4f1ea;
  --ink: #3255a4;
  --accent-1: #ff48b0;
  --accent-2: #f2c14e;
  --accent-3: #f15060;
  --accent-4: #00838a;
  --font-display: "Caveat", cursive;
  --font-text: "Inter", sans-serif;
}

Use it with care

Data Humanism: Data portraits are usually drawn from real people's lives (health, moods, relationships, locations): get consent and anonymise before publishing other people's personal data. Because the custom encodings cannot be read at a glance, give a plain-text summary and the key alongside the drawing for readers who use screen readers or are in a hurry.