Interview by Nini Barbakadze

Meet the Georgian-born, Prague-based designer behind Akme's branding and visual identity.

"I wanted to design something that would blend imagery and type into one concept with a radically stripped-back colour scheme. Back to basics. Black and white, light and darkness, relentless push and pull.

Stories bigger than life, bigger than death, packed in neat boxes, mimicking narratives and histories stitched meticulously in the seams of footwear.

The grittiness of it all is a nod to my design style: calculated, intentional chaos. There is something very Eastern European about it, which some would think would not be the first port of call for an LA-based brand created by a Japanese and a Mexican. But Akme, above all, is about capturing the moments in time and considering the current socio-political climate in Eastern Europe, it seemed fitting to go with my gut. 

The overall visual language is an amalgamation of visual interpretations of the concept behind Akme and a remix of two of my recent zines, "YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S AROUND THE F CORNER" and "I don't understand what this means (but it looks nice)". The former looks at identifying, defining and defying stories told through graffiti, bringing forth the beautiful ugliness and ugly beauty of the everyday, while the latter renders the in-between realms of existence through typography.

Akme is much like graffiti: rebellious and radical, creating rules and breaking them. Typography is the most elementary carrier of meaning. But It has so much story to tell between the lines, aside from its literal denotations. The condensed typeface I used here is traditionally used for newspaper headers. Just like Akme, it is designed to make you look. And it is up to you what you see."