Etaoin Shrdlu Studio is a collective founded in 2014 by Edda Bracchi and Stefano Cremisini. From editorial to exhibition design, we enjoy transforming concepts into objects. We also believe in the importance of contamination between different fields: from typography to architecture; literature to illustration. A close relationship between technical knowledge and artisanal work lies at the heart of our approach.
( graphics and typography ) The nonsensical phrase Etaoin shrdlu originates from a typographical error that often appeared in old newspapers: hot-type machine operators would signal a typesetting mistake by running a finger down the first two columns of the keyboard. Over the years this sequence of letters accidentally appeared in print so many times that it entered newspaper lore.
( computing ) Shrdlu was a computer language developed by Terry Winograd at MIT in the 1970s. The language makes it possible for the user to instruct a computer to carry out simple actions, such as moving objects, naming collections and querying the state of a simplified “block world”: essentially a virtual box filled with different blocks.
Person: Pick up a big red block.
Computer: Ok.
( literature ) Etaoin Shrdlu is the title of a short story by Fredric Brown about a sentient Linotype machine. It appeared in Cosmolinea B1, an anthology of 34 comic–fantasy stories written between 1941 and 1950.
( a ) ADI Design museum, Archivio Elisabetta Catalano ( b ) Fabio Barile ( c ) Marina Caneve, CAST Type Foundry, Lara Ciarabellini, Circolo del Design ( e ) Edizioni di Comunità, Elica Group ( f ) Fondazione Bruno Zevi, Fondazione Ermanno Casoli, Fondazione Olivetti, Forte di Bard, From Outer Space ( g ) Ghella SpA ( i ) ICCD — Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione, Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Bucharest ( k ) Kehrer Verlag ( l ) Leporello photobooks et al. ( m ) Matèria, MAXXI — Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo ( o ) Open City Roma ( p ) Paolo Pellegrin ( q ) Quodlibet ( s ) Dario Salamone, Siens Eye Code, Brian Sironi, Spalvieri & Del Ciotto, Stefano Russo, Symbola — Fondazione per le qualità italiane ( u ) Unfolding pavilion — Biennale di Venezia 2018 ( v ) Il Vittoriano — Monumento nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II
IED — Istituto Europeo di Design, Photography, Graphic Design, NABA — Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti, Visual Arts & Curatorial Studies, Exhibition Design 1 / 2
Palazzo delle Esposizioni — La democrazia dello sguardo, Museo Nazionale Romano Palazzo Massimo, Sapienza University, Rome — Faculty of Architecture (Master Exhibit Design, 2019) and Faculty of Design, University of Camerino — School of Architecture and Design, IED — Istituto Europeo di Design, Master Exhibit Design 2019, MAXXI — National museum of XXI century arts (Know how — Esporre: postgraduate diploma course, 2017, 2018), For Friends Not For Brands, Quasar Institute for Advanced Design, Through the book(s) #6 — Leporello photobooks et al.
Carissimo Pinocchio, designer e grafici italiani ridisegnano il burattino più famoso del mondo, ADI Design museum, Milan, Welcome to the Post-Analog Condition* — Circolo del Design, Novum (De) — Typography Special, Icon Design, Page Magazine (De), Page Online, Leporello photobooks et al., Site Inspire, Cieloterradesign, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Internal Affairs, Your Place — Videocittà 2019, Salon für Kunstbuch 21er Haus — Wien, Expo Gate — Milano, Cosebelle Magazine, Illywords, Vormator project (BIS publishing)
#TDC64 Certificate of Typographic Excellence — Type Directors Club, AWDA 2015 (selected project)
We do not have any positions vacant at present. Please check again another time.
( freelance ) We like to work with people from other creative fields. If you want to collaborate with us and think you have an interesting portfolio in photography, illustration, coding or anything else, please submit your portfolio to: info@etaoin-shrdlu.com
We receive many more requests for internship than we can realistically offer places. Usually we look for interns who already have at least 3 years of study behind them and are available for a period of several months. While we try to respond to everyone, we regret that due to all our other commitments this isn’t always possible. Nonetheless, if interested please submit your portfolio to: info@etaoin-shrdlu.com
Etaoin Shrdlu!
Etaoin Shrdlu!
Etaoin Shrdlu!