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Typetecture: Elena Ruiz reimagines Plymouth’s architecture through type
Monday, 21 July, 2025 — Elena Ruiz transforms Plymouth’s postwar cityscape into a typographic tribute in her final MA project at Arts University Plymouth.
At a time when cities worldwide are re-evaluating their public spaces and architectural legacies, designer Elena Ruiz is inviting a re-reading of modernism, not as cold or impersonal, but as a source of visual identity and civic pride.
<p dir="ltr">Elena's project, <a href="https://www.typetecture.com/"><strong>Typetecture</strong></a>, turns Plymouth’s overlooked modernist cityscape into an expressive typographic language rooted in history, place, and design.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Elena, who completes her Master’s in Visual Communication at Arts University Plymouth this summer, has created a sculptural alphabet inspired by the post-Blitz rebuilding of the city. Through detailed research into Plymouth’s Abercrombie Plan of 1943, she has produced a limited-run artist’s book and companion website that explore the city’s urban fabric as typographic form.<br /></p>
<p dir="ltr">“Before the MA, my work focused more on branding and packaging. Returning to Arts University Plymouth gave me the space to develop new expertise in editorial design, 3D applications, and conceptual work. I used the time to experiment and think more deeply,” Elena explains.</p>
<p dir="ltr">She continues to work as a freelancer and as part of Brand Biscuit Studio, contributing to campaigns for Newquay Airport, Plymouth Charity Trust, and Diversity Business Incubator.<br /></p>
<p dir="ltr">Elena's final project is among the last to be presented under the title MA Visual Communication, as from September 2025, postgraduate visual communication at Arts University Plymouth will become part of a newly validated <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/ma-communication-design">MA Communication Design</a> programme.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The new MA is designed to support students working across disciplinary boundaries to develop creative solutions to urgent global challenges, mirroring Elena's practice-led, research-driven approach.<br /></p>
Typography can speak for itself. It doesn’t need translating. Through my work, I hope to contribute something fresh, considered, and welcoming to the creative community here in Plymouth, and beyond.
Designer Elena Ruiz
<p dir="ltr">See Typetecture in 3D and experience the next wave of creative research. Audiences can explore Elena’s work alongside a range of experimental and interdisciplinary projects during our annual postgraduate exhibition:</p><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr"><strong>Dates</strong>: Monday 21 – Thursday 31 July 2025 (closed Sunday 27 July)</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr"><strong>Opening hours:</strong> 10am – 6pm daily (late opening Thursday 24 July, 6pm – 8pm; Saturday 26 July, 10am – 1pm)</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr"><strong>Private view: </strong>Thursday 24 July, 6pm – 8pm, sponsored by Luscombe</p></li><li dir="ltr"><strong>Venues:</strong><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr"><strong>MIRROR</strong>, Arts University Plymouth, Tavistock Place, Plymouth PL4 8AT</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr"><strong>Studio 11</strong>, Regent Street, Plymouth PL4 8BE (two-minute walk from main campus)</p></li></ul></li></ul>
<p dir="ltr">Free entry, no booking required. Both venues are wheelchair accessible.<br /></p>
Elena Ruiz - Portrait by Tom Carder Media
<p>Elena studied MA Visual Communication, which becomes part of the new <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/ma-design-communication">MA Design (Communication)</a> course launching September 2025. This new MA reflects the kind of interdisciplinary, research-led approach seen in Elena’s <em>Typetecture</em> project.</p>
<p>This course embraces conceptual experimentation and collaborative design. You’ll explore communication across typography, editorial, spatial, motion and brand design—mirroring Elena’s use of type as visual storytelling rooted in place, emotion and research.</p>
<p>Yes. Whether you’re rethinking urban spaces, designing for sustainability, or crafting immersive narratives, this MA supports practice-led inquiry. You’ll be encouraged to develop a distinctive voice through visual methods, research, and collaboration.</p>
<p>Absolutely. You’ll work in our Fab Lab, Imprint Lab, Digital Print Bureau and more—world-class resources where students prototype, print, build and exhibit. Elena’s artist’s book and 3D visualisations were developed using these very tools.</p>
<p>You’ll be supported by active designers and researchers who are leaders in their fields, including Co-Course Leaders Becky Dodman Wainwright and Jason Hirons.</p>
<p>Yes. The course welcomes applicants from across creative disciplines including illustration, architecture, writing and multimedia. We’re interested in your ideas and how you use design to make meaning, not just your job title.</p>
<p>Register your interest for September 2025 entry. We recommend applying by 1 July 2025, but late applications may be considered if places remain. Arts University Plymouth alumni receive a 15% tuition discount on MA programmes.<br /><br />📧 <a>admissions@aup.ac.uk</a> | 📞 +44 (0)1752 203434</p>
