When Wallpaper* embarked on July's Sex issue they knew things might get graphic, so it made sense to have a word with some of London's finest designers in that field. Airside was the first point of call. The creative studio, with a client list running from Apple to Orange, via Vitsoe and Virgin, is celebrating its tenth anniversary.
See some of Airside's sketches while making the font, as well as some previous work
Designer and illustrator Malika Favre, who had already been perfecting her own 'Alphabunnies' font (shown in the gallery above) for Airside made of cavorting buny girls, agreed to sort the magazine out with their own pin-ups. The full font of uniformly leggy ladies contorting themselves into alphabetic shapes can be seen in the magazine, while to see the ladies actually move into their positions of each letter from the Wallpaper* logo, only to slink off again, check out wallpaper.com 's home page.
Favre, creator of the bunny girl font and all round fan of the female form, speaks to us about where she found inspiration for the font and how, since she was a girl, she’s had bunnies on her mind.
How long have you been working with Airside?
I joined Airside two years ago I was the only girl designer in the middle of a lovely big boy’s designer club!
How did you come up with the idea for the Alphabunnies?
As I grew up I kept on drawing sexy sassy girls, but by the time I went to art school in Paris this part of my work came to a halt, as it didn’t seem noble enough. By the time I came to work for Airside I had fallen back into my old habit of drawing sexy girls. I first came up with a pair of cat-lady lesbians influenced by Egyptian mythology, but then I was drawing some bunny-ladies when Guy (Airside's Interaction Designer) noticed that some of them really looked like letters. So I started working them into letter-shaped sexual positions and a couple of weeks later the Alphabunny alphabet was complete.
What is your favourite letter of the font?
My favorite letter from the Alphabunnies is definitely the G – that was the point from which I explored other ways to design the rest of the letters.
Did you have bunny girl aspirations during your formative years?
Not so much bunny girl aspiritations, but it did all start when I was a kid. Everyday I would draw princesses and pretty girls. There were no boys in my sketchbooks: hips and curves were much more dramatic and fun.
Are there any plans for a more masculine font? Perhaps some bunny boys?
I still haven’t gotten around to drawing men yet, but who knows what's up next...
ADDRESS
Airside
339 Upper Street
Islington
London
N1 0PB
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