Hello! I’m Dennis, a young graphic designer who’s just got his first job. I still live at my parent’s house. When I have nothing to do, I pass my time rearranging my life, from student life to working life. In this case: rearranging my bookshelf. While I was doing this, my eye caught some smuthers on the cover of my beloved “Read naked” book. I think it was already this dirty when I bought it (at a fashion store, which explains), but it never bothered me this much. I decided to go clean the book in the bathroom. I rubbed it carefully with wet paper tissues. Also, I wetted some inside pages with hot water to read some hidden text, so the book got too humid to just put it back on the shelf. One of the suggested ways to dry the book was: “Microwave oven: 5-10 minutes, full power.” And actually, me being hasty, I didn’t read the rest of the line which warned: “Although the publisher succesfully tested this method, it is not recommended.”

So: 10 minutes, full power…

Again

I didn’t want to confront my parents with a strange story about washing and microwaving books, so I spent half an hour blowing, switching on the cooker hood, opening all windows and doors, running around flapping my arms, driving the smell of baked book out of the kitchen before they returned home. My copy of “Read Naked” now has a brown stain on almost every page, starting from the middle. I can’t even keep it on the bookshelf anymore, because it still smells like shoes on a barbecue.

Dennis

On June 7, 2006 we received this email.

From: ggilliard@hotmail.com
Subject: Regarding “Read Naked,” exchanging links, using sauna font
Date: June 7, 2006 10:32:38 PM GMT+02:00
To: info@underware.nl

In January, I founded a company, Saunadream, to sell saunas manufactured in Asia. While scanning the web for basic information about saunas, I read about your company’s book, “Read Naked.”
I’m just going to ask questions and not worrying about whether you are invested heavily in competing sauna companies.

1.) How do I obtain copies of your book “Read Naked?” My 2005 GM819 Gateway computer froze up everytime I tried to access the Kijhof & Lee bookstore, who to my knowledge is the only company currently selling the book.
2.) I’m considering presenting x copies of this book to the first x purchasers (I haven’t yet determined the value of “x”).
3.) I would also like to establish reciprocal (two-way) incoming links connecting www.saunadream.com and your firm’s website, www.underware.nl.
4.) I also like your “Sauna” font a great deal. Is there a word package already featuring Sauna that I can buy for my website designer, or do I have to purchase directly from your company? If so, how much would you charge to permit each page to be written using your font?

After reading this email we got curious about the daily life of a sauna dealer.
Here is his story. (more…)

From: “Iria Cunha”
Date: 3 August 2006 11:43:25 GMT+02:00
To: info@underware.nl
Subject: a present for you all

hello,
sami, bas an akiem

how are you? i’m Iria from the workshop of matosinhos-esad? do you remember?

i have a gift for you all, and i have the chance of sending you almost in hand.

my parents wil in vacation at amsterdam from 5 to 6 July, and they will take the gift.

you only have to take it at their hotel, wich is at

hotel IBIS at aeroport
street Schipholweg, 181

if you can make it tell me something.
see you, Iria

Love language by Sasson Kung

Sasson Kung graduated in 2006 at the Piet Zwart Institute in Rotterdam. His final work Love Language is dealing with the problem: how can people with different languages (writing systems) communicate (and fall in love) with each other online. He has chosen for Chinese and Latin as basic languages. On the search for the perfect love-communication-tool he developed his own writing system which is combining both writing systems.

By choosing love as subject he narrowed the amount of words which you actually need to communicate (chat) with each other. His final work consists out of an online chat tool, and a keyboard mask. Each key is not representing a letter but a whole word. The whole word is displayed on the keyboard mask, so you know what you are typing. He merged the two languages in a kind of hermaphrodite sign-system. Half chinese half latin. Readable by both readers.

Here are some films:
Why is it so difficult to learn a new language?
Love Language System

Illusie 1991 – 2006 at van Stockum, Den Haag

Probably you do know the bookstore van Stockum still from the extreme book testing. For those who don’t: van Stockum is the design bookstore in Den Haag, located close to the central station.
Bart Lut, the young store manager, is always open for new ideas and he is always trying to stimulating the local (design)culture.
So whenever you are in the Hague, please take a look at his well sorted store, and say hello.

More info about the Illusie 1991 – 2006 book here.

Whenever you’re around in Amsterdam, visit the bookshop Nijhof & Lee, specialised in design books. Very nice people, very nice shop, and yes, nice shop windows too…

A ilusão dos Underware – exhibition at ESAD, Porto. (05.2006–03.2007)

In the city centre of Den Haag (Holland) a cultural epicentre is located at De Illusie, a house which is squatted for more than fifteen years. The building generates concerts, exhibitions, performances, lectures, parties and all kind of cultural events. Next to that, more than 25 people live in the house, and many artists have their atelier on the ground floor. As the building is not an official institution, it’s easy and quick for many people to organise (and visit) events. From a Byzantine choir to the naked drummer, anything can happen. The occupants vary from photographers, musicians, owner of a record label, artists or flamenco dancers to metal engineers and anybody in between.

This exhibition belongs to a book which notifies the last 15 years of De Illusie. Next to a random partial selection of pictures covering this period, individual typographic interpretations of every occupant of the house have been made by Underware. And yes, we also have our studio in this building.

The exhibition ‘A ilusão dos Underware’ is organized by Sérgio Correia.

From: “Harrison Bello”
Date: 28 september 2005 1:43:57 GMT+02:00
To: undisclosed-recipients: ;
Subject: COMPLIMENTS

MR HARISON BELLO
ZENITH BANK PLC.
LAGOS-NIGERIA
+234 80426 72241

Dear Friend,
I am MR HARISON BELLO, Regional Manager of Zenith Bank PLC Lagos-Nigeria. I have urgent and very confidential business proposal, which I know, might interest you.
(more…)