Concrete and Code

Book Design, Storytelling, Transmedia, Research, Posters

Photography and Video Footage by

Design by

Concrete and Code is a book that illustrates the history and philosophy of Brutalist architecture as it confronts the contemporary problem of information overload.

In the past, Brutalism, a style marked by bold geometric forms and the use of raw concrete as its primary material, spoke to a post-war world in desperate need of urban renewal. However, in the current day, the web, with its electronic information overload, exists as a pure expression of digital-Brutalism.

Hard Shell

The use of raw materials, such as concrete, is the defining feature of Brutalist architecture. Its honesty, raw beauty, and boldness produce architecture with a soul that speaks directly to people's hearts. To embody and display the beauty of raw materials, I constructed a textured shell using white glue and newspaper, spray-printing it to look like raw concrete.

Book Cover

The cover is made of unaltered cardboard. The embossing gives it a rough texture, mimicking concrete. The exposed binding also demonstrates the concept of raw.

Intro Spread

The introductory spread emphasizes the reasons for the emergence of Brutalism by telling the story of the post-war world. The ruined streets, people’s lives after the war, and the form the brutalist architecture.

Look & Feel

Concepts of geometric shapes and raw textures are used throughout the book in the form of typography, imagery, and geometric graphic elements.

The modular typeface, numbers, are inspired by Brutalist forms. The original geometric shapes represent an honest and pure expression of Brutalist architecture.

Typography is a powerful tool for creating an atmosphere that is reminiscent of architectural structures. I created a visual narrative consistent with the geometry, balance, and roughness found in Brutalist architecture by using typography.

The book narrates stories through photos, using black and white images to reflect the post-war world. When chapter 6 reaches the part about digital technology and Brutalism’s influence on artists, colored images gradually appear in the book.

Outro Spread

A series of images celebrates the aesthetics, raw features, and forms of Brutalist architecture.

Transmedia

Geometric blocks are used to build the form of a brutalist building, and the story in the book is conveyed to the audience in the form of a video.
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Brutalism is a direct response to people's needs and conditions for creating order and poetry out of chaos. It reflects a mass-produced society. Currently, the world has turned into a frenetic dance of overstimulation, enacting information overload and facing something akin to mass production. The core ideals of brutalism exist as a potential solution to this dilemma.

Posters

Architectural images and geometric blocks are the two main graphic elements throughout the book, combining two elements to express the aesthetics of concrete and the uniqueness of Brutalist architecture.