Andreu Carulla in Chistén exhibition

Published May 16, 2025

Exhibition graphics for the residency of designer Andreu Carulla in Chistén, a little village in Pyrenees Mountains, Spain. With fewer than 100 inhabitants, its aging population keeps traditional crafts, forestry, and livestock farming alive, while a small rural school survives with just three students. For ten days in January, Carulla moved his studio to Chistén to experience this reality firsthand. The result was a collection of wooden and leather pieces, designed and produced in the village using materials sourced from its surroundings.

Life in a mountain village is measured by the fires lit in winter, so we proposed that the charcoal from those fires be the medium to draw (and write) the story. The illustrations and typography were created entirely using a system that blends craftsmanship and technology: a cutting plotter in which the blade was replaced with charcoal tips.

Geometrical Edition, a single-line typeface by Elias Hanzer, was used in its Open Path version, designed for the use with CNC tools. The accompanying typeface is ITC Avant Garde Gothic Condensed.

The project was made for Madrid Design Festival / Amazon. Graphic design and illustration is by Run Design, with creative direction, curating, and authorship of the pieces by Andreu Carulla Studio. Pau Carulla did the filming and video editing. Exhibition design by Queralt Suau Arquitectes. Photography of illustration details by Marc Castellet.

See more from this project in the case study.

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