The UN/SEEN Symposium, held in Mainz, celebrates the typographic work of women and non-binary people from around the world. Through interviews, international typographers and type designers share perspectives on their work and creative processes.
At the SEEN – Around the World Symposium, Evi O. offered a glimpse into her personal and professional journey.
She is an artist, graphic designer, and publisher based in Sydney, Australia. Born in 1986 in Surabaya, Indonesia, she moved to Sydney in 2003, earned a degree in visual communication with honors, and worked at Penguin Books until 2016. In 2017, she founded her own studio, EOS, focusing on publication design, and also publishes books through her imprint, Formist Editions.
How did moving abroad shape you as a females designer and entrepreneur?
She grew up in Surabaya, shaped by one culture, and moved to Australia at 17 to
study design. As an Asian female, she once wished to be a boy, but that changed
with the more advanced gender equality she experienced in Australia. Even now,
she sometimes feels like a “fake girl”. She recognizes the influence of strong
women in her life, particularly her grandmothers and female bosses, who empowered
her and helped her become the woman she is today.
What was the most valuable lesson you learned when you worked for Penguin Books?
At Penguin Books, she quickly progressed from junior to senior designer.
Realizing that growth opportunities were limited, she asked her boss not
only for a raise but also for mentorship. That openness to learning became
the most valuable takeaway from her eight years there.
Next, she was asked about where she draws inspiration from.
Evi explains that it often comes from frustation. The frustration of not
understanding something or being stuck.
So, how does nature influence her work?
Growing up in urban environments, she never climbed a tree until she was
27. After moving from Surabaya to Sydney, she became bored with city life and,
through a friend's bushwalk book, discovered the beauty and balance in nature.
She believes that understanding our place in the world can be easily answered by
contextualizing ourselves in nature, which shows both beauty and cruelty,
highlighting the imperfect perfection of life.
How do you handle the workload? She handles her workload by seeing how far she can push herself, with a strong belief that everything will work out in the end. Over her 17 years of work experience, she has become addicted to challenges because they help her unlock new things about herself.
How does she translate her inspirations into visually striking graphic statements?
She begins by focusing on a central idea, dicusses it with friends, which sparks
conversations and reveals possibilities.
Once she sees the full picture, she finds a solution and then translates it into visuals.
How do you decide whether to use an existing font or create one?
For book projects, she arranges a 30-minute interview with
the authors to understand their purpose and vision.
What advice would you give to students?
To be an optimistic designer, you need to escape and be silly. Forget everything.
Listen to silly music.
Go out. Learn your craft, be obsessed. Don’t be scared of owning your passion!
Cause life is short and long at the same time. So, live it up!
For my project, I was thinking of going in the direction of culture, ideally focusing on Thailand. Maybe I could make Thai culture more seen? Or perhaps I could show the feelings and experiences of someone who hasn’t grown up in their home country, making these unseen stories more visible.
• first idea: My first keyword was “stigma”.
„Wenn Menschen andere aufgrund eines sichtbaren oder unsichtbaren Merkmals einer Gruppe zuordnen, der sie negative Eigenschaften zuschreiben, spricht man von Stigmatisierung.“
My idea: I want to show different perspectives and experiences of people who fall under the term “stigma”, including my own.
I remember a moment in school when a boy wanted to get my attention because of a small illustration in the English textbook that said “Chinese Out.” He laughed, turned around (I sat behind him), pointed at it, called my name several times, and even asked my desk neighbor to tap me so I would look up. I stayed quiet and didn’t look up because I already sensed what was happening. I didn’t want to show him any reaction. I still wonder what kind of reaction he was hoping for.
Maybe I could make moments like these visible, for example through a small illustrated booklet, illustrations... I definitely need to ask for feedback on this.
• second idea: When I think of Thailand, the first things that come to mind (besides my family, of course, and the food!) are the temples. There was even a temple near the entrance of my old elementary school in Thailand.
I thought I could explain the structure of temples and got stuck on the “Yak”, the giant guardian statues at the entrance. There were also Yak statues at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, and I used to wonder what they actually represent. Maybe I could explore and explain their meaning and role.
With further research, I found that Yak also appear in shadow puppetry and Khon (Thai masked dance).
I tried creating my own paper figures of Yak, cutting them out and illuminating them to create shadows. However, I'm still figuring out what to do with them next...
• third idea: Another aspect in Thailand are ghosts, known as Phi.
For example, spirit houses are built to provide a home for supernatural beings.
During the construction of a house, spirits living on the land are driven away,
the spirit house is offered as their new residence.
There’s the spirit Preta or hungry ghost, for example. Pretas represent bad deeds and karma.
They are reborn with constant hunger and thirst a symbol of greed and punishment.
They are described as human-like figures with thin, dried-out skin, narrow arms
and legs, bloated bellies, and long, thin necks.
Krasue is a floating female head. During the day, she appears as an ordinary woman.
At night, she searches for blood, pregnant women, and newborns, which she feeds on.
...
Up to now, I’ve been sketching the spirits based on how they’re described.
In the next few days, I plan to keep working on the Yak cut-outs and figure out how I can develop them further. So far, I’ve focused much more on sketching the spirits instead of continuing with the Yak and experimenting. I also want to go back to my first idea (stigma) because I’m still feeling a bit unsure. I definitely need to make a final decision!