45 Symbols / Clay to Code

How can research findings, personal experiences, and complex ideas be translated into a concise visual identity?

45 Symbols—Clay to Code examines how emerging artists and designers develop systematic approaches to a visual language, inspired by one of the most enigmatic objects in media history: the 3,700-year-old, still-undeciphered Phaistos Disc, embossed with 45 distinct symbols. The works present a range from personal narratives to global themes and demonstrate how an original visual grammar can be constructed.

Over more than a decade, the internationally organized design seminar series The Phaistos Project–Forty-five Symbols has developed to a global community driven by open calls, workshops, exhibitions, and risograph publications. The present volume, 45 Symbols—Clay to Code, brings together over 2,000 symbols as the result of these joint efforts. It is not only a living archive of research inquiries but also a testament to collective experimentation, bold visions, and the expression of intercultural dialogue.