Cabaret Typographie is a graphic collective founded in 2010 by graphic designers Laura Dal Maso, Mauro De Toffol and Tommaso Pucci. The group’s name was inspired by the birthplace of the Dada art movement in Zurich, called Cabaret Voltaire, where provocative performances took place. The addition of ‘Typographie’ to their name reflects the passion for their craft.
The trio met while attending a master’s programme in Visual Communication at IUAV (Università Iuav di Venezia). ‘We became passionate about traditional printing,’ they say. ‘We needed to engage physically with the tools of the trade.’
Cabaret Typographie is based at the historic Milanese Atelier Bonvini 1909 – a perfect home for their presses, inks and type cases. ‘Letterpress Stories’, a 2021 exhibition covered their first ten years of work, telling the stories, inspiration and methods behind each poster. The accompanying catalogue was designed by Milanese XxY Studio.
The processes used by the collective to create their work have evolved over time. At the beginning they worked mainly with wooden type, while incorporating elements of engraving or linocut. Currently, they work almost exclusively using laser-cut shapes, an approach that allows them to design posters digitally before printing on their presses.
With many of their posters printed on Materica Gesso, Masso, Toffol and Pucci say, ‘Understanding and managing every stage of the printing process led us to focus on details, including paper selection. The final result needs to have aesthetic quality, but it should also be a tangible object. Paper is a fundamental part of that.’
Paper: Materica Gesso 250g/m2