We’re excited to announce the release of 45 Symbols — Clay to Code, a new publication documenting the decade-long, global design research project exploring visual language, symbolic systems, and collective ways of seeing.
The book is being released and distributed by Slanted, and you can explore it and order your copy here.
In our increasingly AI-saturated visual landscape, authentic creative voice has never been more valuable—or harder to develop. How do you transform research, personal stories, and complex ideas into compelling visual language that cuts through the noise?
This book reveals how emerging artists and designers worldwide are answering that question, developing systematic approaches to visual language inspired by one of humanity’s most mysterious communication artifacts: the 3,700-year-old undeciphered Phaistos Disc. From personal narratives to planetary challenges, the work curated for this publication demonstrates how to build distinctive visual grammar—unique systems for translating ideas into images that resonate. It’s less about “getting it right” and more about cultivating critical disruptions—through asking sharper questions, telling bolder stories, and rethinking how we see the world.
Over more than a decade, 45 Symbols has grown from six simultaneous design seminars into a global community shaped by open calls, workshops, exhibitions, and risograph publications. The 2,025 symbols gathered here are not only a living archive of research inquiries, but also a reflection of the impact of collective experimentation and cross-cultural dialogue.
For students, educators, and practitioners alike, this book offers both inspiration and actionable methods for cultivating the visual storytelling skills our image-flooded world needs most—authentic, systematic, and uniquely personal.
The book is being released and distributed by Slanted, and you can explore it and order your copy here.
All images © Slanted Publishers
Instagram: @45symbols
