O.OO

TAIPEI-BASED O.OO DESIGN STUDIO HAS CRAFTED NOT ONLY A “STAGE FOR RISOGRAPH TO PLAY UPON” BUT ALSO A BODY OF DESIGN WORKS THAT REACH BEYOND THE PRINTED PAGE TO INSTALLATION, INTERACTION AND THE EXPONENTIAL REALMS OF EXPERIMENTATION.

Could you introduce O.OO, tell us a bit about who you are and what you do?
O.OO: Formed by two graphic designers, O.OO is a design studio based in Taipei, Taiwan. Since opening we have been offering Design and Risograph printing solutions.  We believe that with every new project or challenge, we can uncover solutions and discover the possibilities of Design and Risograph printing.

 

 

In the studio we have two designers which are Forty and myself (Pip). We both graduated from the same design school but I studied 3D animation while Forty studied Installation art, so as you might notice some of our works are not only works on paper and some are not only digital projects.

Most of the time we work on design projects, some of which are commercial in nature, and we have also launched a wide variety of workshops. Actually, all of our personal projects are our saviors, which means that they are what we really love!

 

 

I understand that Risograph printing is your specialty and you described that you think of your studio as “a stage for a Risograph play.” Could you talk further about the medium and its appeal/fit within your creative practice?
O.OO: We were attracted at our first glance at risograph! Because prints made with risograph always have registration inaccuracy and we were so fascinated by its halftones and dot formations. Now people are too accustomed  to doing anything (brainstorming, research, design… ) on the computer with digital files and it seems that everything needs to be perfect and accurate. Because of that, a lot of products have lost their  vitality and  personality, and that is what we want to keep in this  generation. Anything made with risograph is so unsure and rough and to use risograph in different ways from the past while still maintaining its unique point is one of the major things that we care about and really strive to do.

Your often work both on and off the page, through print and installations. Is there any common approach that you take toward either format? Something characteristic of O.OO that finds its way into your work regardless of format?
O.OO: Generally, when an idea comes up, I don’t think about if it will be realized on or off the page, the point that causes me to decide what kind of material it should be made from depends on what I want to show to the people or what I want to convey, especially since there are so many different types of media in the world now.

 

 

 

My ideas always come about due to a need to solve the problem and make things to be easier to understand. For our recent project (Breaking with Reflection, The Experimental Exhibition, The Experimental Notebook Series), we focused on interaction with guests and collected feedback from them. For example, in Breaking with Reflection and The Experimental Exhibition people could have a different visual experience through the installation and they could further have a unique user experience with  The Experimental Notebook Series.

 

 

How would you describe the graphic design scene in Taipei currently, any trends that you see unfolding?
O.OO: Over the last few years, the people in Taipei have started to understand how graphic design plays an important character in the city. Nowadays, people are constantly  improving due to the Internet and so many kinds of social media. This has led us to be international by nature, and I think we don’t have any specific trend or style that could be considered a “design trend.” All I know is that people are starting to care and want to have a revolution in their lives. Based on this point, I believe that Taipei is becoming a natural city.

 

 

What are you working on currently? Any new projects on deck for 2017 that you are particularly looking forward to?
O.OO: During this year we have started to slow down our living tempo, aiming toward further projects and in every project we want for them to be deeper and increasingly different, no matter the concept or means of production. We recently just started working on a Stamp project that could also lead people to better understand risogrpah printing easier and faster, while also allowing for our work to interact with other people.

 

www.odotoo.com