Stylogeny combining Fluxus Graphics × Risograph

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Style combination · Pairs well

Fluxus Graphics × Risograph

One ink on coloured stock, small runs and editions sent by post: print Fluxus-style cards and box labels on a riso in black on kraft or coloured paper, and let the stock colour change from copy to copy.

From the research on Fluxus Graphics (Maciunas)

Mix them and make something Fluxus Graphics Risograph

HelloFluxus Graphics × Risograph1962 · 2008
A sample layout drawn from the recipe: shapes from Fluxus Graphics, their arrangement from Fluxus Graphics, the finish from Risograph. Not a real work, and not an image of either style.

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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.

Fluxus Graphics (Maciunas) Risograph & Indie Print Culture

Type from Fluxus Graphics
Colour from Risograph
Form from Fluxus Graphics
Composition from Fluxus Graphics
Surface from Risograph

02

The type

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

Display · Fluxus Graphics

Hello

Anton, standing in for IBM Executive condensed sans typewriter (nearly all running text for about eight years, published straight from the machine and enlarged by photostat; the machine's owners, La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela, say Maciunas had some letters custom-replaced with broader ones; after 1968 a newer IBM with changeable faces added bold and italic, still sans serif)

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

03

The colours

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

Fluxus Graphics (Maciunas) Risograph & Indie Print Culture

  • #f4f1ea ground · 36%
  • #3255a4 ink · 14%
  • #ff48b0 accent · 18%
  • #cbd04f accent · 14%
  • #f15060 accent · 10%
  • #b3905f accent · 8%

As CSS

:root {
  --ground: #f4f1ea;
  --ink: #3255a4;
  --accent-1: #ff48b0;
  --accent-2: #cbd04f;
  --accent-3: #f15060;
  --accent-4: #b3905f;
  --font-display: "Anton", sans-serif;
  --font-text: "Inter", sans-serif;
}

04

The two styles

A distressed black, cream, mustard and yellow poster features enormous condensed lettering reading “SILENT LUNCH” surrounded by a tightly packed grid of photographs, diagrams and symbols. Repeated images show a man eating, chairs, bowls and spoons, alongside a clock, arrows, numbered schedules and a crossed-out speech bubble. 1962–1978 · North America, Central Europe, Western Europe Fluxus Graphics (Maciunas) The house graphics George Maciunas made from 1962 until his death in 1978 for Fluxus, a network of artists who staged events and sold cheap multiples. Running text came straight off an IBM Executive typewriter in one condensed sans, enlarged by photostat. Headlines, credits and puzzle monograms were pressed from dry-transfer letters in mismatched faces and packed into tight rectilinear blocks running to the edge of the sheet, printed almost always in black alone on kraft or coloured stock beside old engravings borrowed from a public picture library. Large pink lettering reading “PLANT CLUB” sits above a blue cat looking upward among potted houseplants and trailing vines. Bright yellow and pink offset shapes and grainy ink textures cover the cream background. 2008–present · Global / networked Risograph & Indie Print Culture 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.

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More combinations

With Fluxus Graphics

With Risograph

All 43 combinations with Risograph

Every style combination