From DAWN, a display typeface family developed in 2025-26, to drawings that began after Paris in 2021, alongside photographs and long-running project work between Zurich and Tokyo.
Trieste, 18:18 Art Across Borders. May 9 to June 6, 2026.
A few projects that frame the wider archive.
These drawings began as a way of processing experience through memory and reconstruction. What appears here is a current selection from an ongoing body of work that started in 2021.
Illustrations made in spare hours, revisiting a digital technique through Instagram feed images and a visual language inspired by Tom Purvis.
Born in Chur, Switzerland, in 1980, Colin Schälli began with an apprenticeship under Peter Zumthor, where precision, material presence and a sharp sense of detail became foundational to his practice.
He later studied at Zurich University of the Arts, moving between industrial design, graphic design, typography and layout. After working with FREITAG, he ran an independent studio from 2006 to 2014, developing identities, publications, objects, packaging and exhibition-related work across Switzerland and abroad.
His work has been shown in Zurich, Paris, Milan, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Kyoto, published widely in print and online, and recognized through awards including Design Prize Switzerland. Today he works at Designers'Club in Zurich, while continuing an independent artistic practice outside commissioned work.
1980, born in Chur. Apprenticeship with Peter Zumthor. Studies at Zurich University of the Arts. Work with FREITAG. Independent studio, 2006-2014. Designer at Designers'Club, Zurich. Ongoing independent artistic work.
2x Design Prize Switzerland, Red Dot Design Award, Foundation for Grisons Arts and Crafts, Culture Promotion Prize of the Canton of Graubünden, plus support from the Foundation for Innovation of the Canton of Graubünden.
Lectures and appearances at the Swiss Design Symposium Tokyo, A+D Museum Los Angeles, Sangsangmadang Seoul and Lucerne School of Art and Design. Residency at Tokyo Arts and Space. Jury member for Die Besten 2011, Hochparterre.
Work shown at Museum für Gestaltung Zurich, Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, A+D Museum Los Angeles, Salone del Mobile Milan, Design Tide Tokyo, Showcase Tokyo, IFFT Tokyo and Urban Research Gallery Kyoto. Published by Birkhäuser and Lars Müller Publishers, and featured in magazines, newspapers and online platforms including Hochparterre, Milk, Casa Brutus, NZZ am Sonntag, Core77, Designboom and Domus. Patent: V30 FREITAG Skid.