Envisioning a modern day scriptorium to celebrate 1000 years of monastic life in Brabant

Graphic design has a rich tradition that is closely linked to monastic life: the development of manuscripts, illustrated texts and the development of printmaking. It could be argued that the monastic scriptoria laid the foundation for contemporary graphic design. Medieval monks contributed to the availability and dissemination of knowledge by copying manuscripts into scriptoria. They also developed handwriting and punctuation to make texts more readable.

As part of the Brabant Monastery Year, Autobahn conceived and designed a mobile scriptorium that will visit monasteries, libraries and events in Brabant to collect the handwriting from the general public. This interactive installation automatically converts the collected manuscripts into digital fonts: after drawing the alphabet on a sheet of paper, the creator can download and use the digitized version for free. Autobahn developed a new font containing all collected manuscripts using AI (computer learning). This Brabant manuscript is used together with a new visual and editorial concept in the December issue of the street newspaper Sammy.

Like the monks, the partners in this project are committed to helping the less fortunate and raise awareness for their situation. The project also aims to build a bridge between past, present and future by introducing the general public to (the social relevance of) graphic design in a low-threshold manner.

Scriptorium is awarded with a golden Print Magazine award. The jury reports: "It examines monastic life with a graphic design lens to re-contextualize its practices through a socially relevant, low-threshold manner."