About
Robbe graduated from interior design at Thomas More (2021), from graphic design at Sint Lucas Antwerpen (2024) and curently studies a master in visual arts at Sint Lucas Antwerpen. He has a strong interest in typography, type design and furniture design.
Contact
Email: robbe.oyen@gmail.com
InstagramMeta-ironic-pomo-Font
Meta-ironic-pomo-Font is inspired by and made with MetaFont, the 1979 programming language made by Donald Knuth. The typeface uses MetaFont's specific way of connecting points and drawing curves. Each letter was coded on the same orthogonal grid. The way MetaFont draws curves results in surprising letterforms and varying x-heights. The ability to change the calligraphic pen makes MetaFont unique, it also changes the letterforms in a significant way. To mimic this, Meta-ironic-pomo-Font has two axis. The weight axis ranges from thin to bold and the contrast axis from no contrast to high contrast.
Content Magazine
Content magazine is a publication full of must reads and must knows in the art and design world. The magazine finds its visual inspiration in the vibrant DIY community and the open-source project “autoprogettazione?” by design icon Enzo Mari. The magazine’s imagery echoes the visual language used in Mari’s “autoprogettazione?”. The typography used on the cover and opening spreads follows the ethos of the DIY community and is reconstructed into dynamic compositions. The interior is printed on 80gsm recycled paper. The cover is a black Riso print, a testament to the beauty of imperfection.
Procrastinator's Club
The “Procrastinator’s Club” is a corporate identity project that embraces the art of putting things off. At its core is a logo that incorporates the face of a watch, where the letters composing the club’s name seem to be pushed back, reflecting the idea of procrastination. This visual concept of letters being pushed back adds a touch of humor and relatability to the whole identity. The club’s corporate identity extends to a letterhead, a member’s card that proudly proclaims your affiliation with the club, a flag and a poster recruiting new members today, or tomorrow, or next week.
Crappy Chairs
A digital museum featuring my personal collection of eight designer chairs. Except these chairs are self-made miniatures at 1/10th scale and possess a charmingly crappy aesthetic. Each chair takes center stage on the home page, a nod to clean, minimal design catalog books, and each has its own subpage where you’ll find more information alongside a picture of the original chair. What sets “crappy chairs” apart is the “try it yourself” button, leading you to the self-made, crappy version of the chair. Here, the image seems to load painstakingly slow and the text is scrambled. Ones you’re on this page there is no turning back.
NASCAR
NASCAR is a revival typeface based on the type used on a publication of, American Sci-fi writer, Philip K. Dick’s “UBIK”. The typeface preserves the original’s distinct square form and uses the serif-like element to create a stencil typeface. The typeface includes the upper and lowercase Latin alphabet, numbers and a select set of punctuation marks. The bold, square and stenciled letterforms are reminiscent of the typography frequently used on NASCAR cars and graphic material. The typeface is intended for display use and works best at large sizes, making it extra loud.
Lunacy
Every first semester the 3th bachelors graphic design organize an exhibition on campus around a specific theme. This year the Moon was our muse. Each student tackled a different aspect of the Moon, my part was artificial objects we left on the Moon. My instalation for this expo was a collection of replica’s of 8 small objects that went to the Moon during the Apollo missions. Acompaning the instalation is an A4 publication that includes all 121 objects on the Moon. Besides our individual projects, the class worked togheter on the poster, communication, advertisement, crowdfunding, ... .
Know-It-All
Know-It-All asshole jerk is a radical redesign of Adel Souto’s underground zine. The publication is a bilingual anthology of internet-born urban legends. The design concept plays with this very essence of the legends. Every image is AI-generated, so you’ll find yourself questioning reality and fiction. The title on the screen-printed cover sets the unsettling tone for the whole publication. The interior pages are Riso-printed on extra glossy paper, this makes it hard to dry and will smudge and stain the hands of the reader. The two-color Riso-print is used in both images and text, Black for the English text and blue for the Dutch text.
Nameless chair
An open-source chair with customization in mind. At its core, this chair takes shape with a simple wooden frame constructed using the Cartesian knot. This structure, assembled with readily available nuts and bolts, provides the foundation for customization. Using ‘polycaprolactone’ (PCL), a biodegradable polyester with a low melting point, the maker shapes and molds the seat and backrest how they see fit. By encouraging the maker to give their creation a name, the chair will gain sentimental value and fosters a sense of pride and care for their unique piece of furniture.
Wish you where here
A temporary spatial intervention nestled within the courtyard of Campus Faydherbe at Thomas More Hogeschool. It serves as a space for reflecting and mourning for those grappling with the loss of a loved one, colleague or fellow student. The structure is designed with repeating wooden beams, creating a sense of shelter without entirely enclosing its occupants. Messages and names of deceased staff and students can be milled or scratched into the surface of the beams. When the time comes to disassemble the structure, the beams can be separated and reused by students, carrying with them the memory of those they’ve lost.
Predikheren Church
The “Predikheren Church” repurposing project breathes new life into a partially abandoned church in the hearth of Mechelen. The new function is a covered market, supporting and promoting local independent businesses. The church hosts up to ten vendors, each of whom is provided with a flexible and versatile structure. This framework accommodates a range of boxes, racks and furniture, enabling vendors to arrange their stands how they see fit. In addition to being a marketplace, the church also serves as a hub for culture and art. Local artists have a platform to showcase their art, and the church becomes a vibrant center for cultural activities.
Zuiderpershuis stairs
The “Zuiderpershuis stairs” project in Antwerp offers a solution for connecting the ground floor to the first floor while also enticing visitors from the nearby park. The outdoor steel stairway resembles a large beam climbing up the building. Openings are made in the walls to create views to the park and the surroundings. The inside of the stairway is painted bright, welcoming yellow as a signal function to visitors of the nearby park. The project seamlessly integrates a bike rack and conceals a loading dock for small trucks. The stairway is fully deconstructible which means it’s not permanently affixed to the building.
