My name is Enrico Gisana, and I’m a creative director, graphic and motion designer.
I’m the co-founder of GG—OFFICE, a small independent visual arts studio based in Modica, Sicily. I consider myself a multidisciplinary designer because I bring together different skills and visual languages. I work across analog and digital media, combining graphic design, typography, and animation, often blending these elements through experimental approaches. My design approach aims to push the boundaries of traditional graphic conventions, constantly questioning established norms to explore new visual possibilities.
My work mainly focuses on branding, typography, and motion design, with a particular emphasis on kinetic typography.
Between 2017 and 2025, I led numerous graphic and motion design workshops at various universities and art academies in Italy, including Abadir (Catania), Accademia di Belle Arti di Frosinone, Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma, CFP Bauer (Milan), and UNIRSM (San Marino). Since 2020, I’ve been teaching motion design at Abadir Academy in Catania, and since 2025, kinetic typography at CFP Bauer in Milan.
Featured work
TYPEXCEL — Variable font
I designed an online half-day workshop for high school students on the occasion of an open day at the Academy of Design and Visual Communication Abadir, held in 2021.
The goal of this workshop was to create a first contact with graphic design, but most of all with typography, using an Excel spreadsheet as a modular grid composed of editable and variable cells, instead of professional software which requires specific knowledge.
The cell pattern allowed the students to create letters, icons, and glyphs. It was a stimulating exercise that helped them discover and develop their own design and creative skills.
This project was published in Slanted Magazine N°40 “Experimental Type”.
DEMO Festival
DEMO Festival (Design in Motion Festival) is one of the world’s most prominent motion design festivals, founded by the renowned Dutch studio Studio Dumbar. The festival takes over the entire digital screen network of Amsterdam Central Station, transforming public space into a 24-hour exhibition of cutting-edge motion work from around the globe.
I’ve had the honor of being selected multiple times to showcase my work at DEMO: in 2019 with EYE SEQUENCE; in 2022 with ALIEN TYPE and VERTICAL; and again in 2025 with ALIEN TRIBE, HELLOCIAOHALLOSALUTHOLA, and FREE JAZZ.
In the 2025 edition, ALIEN TRIBE and HELLOCIAOHALLOSALUTHOLA were also selected for the Special Screens program, which extended the festival’s presence beyond the Netherlands. These works were exhibited in digital spaces across cities including Eindhoven, Rotterdam, Tilburg, Utrecht, Hamburg, and Düsseldorf, reaching a broader international audience.
MARCO FORMENTINI
My collaboration with Italian footwear designer Marco Formentini, based in Amsterdam, began with the creation of his visual identity and gradually expanded into other areas, including apparel experiments and the design of his personal website.
Each phase of the project reflects his eclectic and process-driven approach to design, while also allowing me to explore form, texture, and narrative through different media.
Below is a closer look at the three main outputs of this collaboration: logo, t-shirt, and website.
Logo
Designed for Italian footwear designer Marco Formentini, this logo reflects his broad, exploratory approach to design. Rather than sticking to a traditional monogram, I fused the letters “M” and “F” into a single, abstract shape, something that feels more like a symbol than a set of initials. The result is a wild, otherworldly mark that evokes movement, edge, and invention, mirroring Marco’s ability to shift across styles and scales while always keeping his own perspective.
Website
I conceived Marco Formentini’s website as a container, a digital portfolio without a fixed structure. It gathers images, sketches, prototypes, and renderings not through a linear narrative but through a visual flow that embraces randomness.
The layout is split into two vertical columns, each filled with different types of visual content. By moving the cursor left or right, the columns dynamically resize, allowing the user to shift focus and explore the material in an intuitive and fluid way. This interactive system reflects Marco’s eclectic approach to footwear design, a space where experimentation and process take visual form.
Website development by Marco Buccolo.
Check it out: marco-formentini.com
T—Shirt
Shortly after working on his personal brand, I shared with Marco Formentini a few early graphic proposals for a potential t-shirt design, while he happened to be traveling through the Philippines with his friend Jo.
Without waiting for a full release, he spontaneously had a few pieces printed at a local shop he stumbled upon during the trip, mixing one of the designs on the front with a different proposal on the back. An unexpected real-world test run for the identity, worn into the streets before even hitting the studio.
Ditroit
This poster was created to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Ditroit, a motion design and 3D studio based in Milan.
At the center is an expressive “15” — a tribute to the studio’s founder, a longtime friend and former graffiti companion. The design reconnects the present with our shared creative roots and the formative energy of those early years.
Silver on black: a color pairing rooted in our early graffiti experiments, reimagined here to celebrate fifteen years of visual exploration.
Tightype
A series of typographic animations I created for the launch of Habitas, the typeface designed by Tightype and released in 2021.
The project explores type in motion, not just as a vehicle for content but as a form of visual expression in itself. Shapes bounce, rotate and multiply, revealing the personality of the font through rhythm and movement.
Jane Machine
SH→SH→SH→SH is the latest LP from Jane Machine.
The cover is defined by the central element of the lips, directly inspired by the album’s title. The lips not only mimic the movement of the “sh” sound but also evoke the noise of tearing paper. I amplified this effect through the creative process by first printing a photograph of the lips and then tearing it, introducing a tactile quality that contrasts with and complements the more electronic aesthetic of the colors and typography.
Background
I’m a creative director and graphic & motion designer with a strong focus on typography.
My visual journey started around the age of 12, shaped by underground culture: I was into graffiti, hip hop, breakdancing, and skateboarding.
As I grew up, I explored other scenes, from punk to tekno, from drum and bass to more experimental electronic music. What always drew me in, beyond the music itself, was the visual world around it: free party flyers, record sleeves, logos, and type everywhere.
Between 2004 and 2010, I produced tekno music, an experience that deeply shaped my approach to design. That’s where I first learned about timelines, beats, and rhythm — all elements that today are at the core of how I work with motion.
Art has also played a major role in shaping my visual culture — from the primitive signs of hieroglyphs to Cubism, Dadaism, Russian Constructivism, and the expressive intensity of Antonio Ligabue.
The aesthetics and attitude of those worlds continue to influence everything I do and how I see things.
In 2013, I graduated in Graphic Design from IED Milano and started working with various agencies. In 2014, I moved back to Modica, Sicily, where I’m still based today.
Some of my animation work has been featured at DEMO Festival, the international motion design event curated by Studio Dumbar, in the 2019, 2022, and 2025 editions.
In 2022, I was published in Slanted Magazine #40 (EXPERIMENTAL TYPE) with TYPEXCEL — Variable font, a project developed for a typography workshop aimed at high school students, entirely built inside an Excel spreadsheet.
Since 2020, I’ve been teaching Motion Design at Abadir, Academy of Design and Visual Communication in Catania, and in 2025 I started teaching Type in Motion at Bauer in Milan.
In 2021, together with Francesca Giampiccolo, I founded GG—OFFICE, a small independent visual studio based in Modica, Sicily.
GG—OFFICE is a design space where branding and motion meet through a tailored and experimental approach. Every project grows from dialogue, evolves through research, and aims to shape contemporary, honest, and visually forward identities.
In 2025, Francesca and I gave a talk on the theme of madness at Desina Festival in Naples — a wild, fun, and beautifully chaotic experience.
Design Philosophy
My approach to design is rooted in thought — I think a lot — as well as in research, rhythm, and an almost obsessive production of drafts.
Every project is a unique journey where form always follows meaning, and never simply does what the client says.
This is not about being contrary; it’s about bringing depth, intention and a point of view to the process.
I channel the raw energy and DIY mindset of the subcultures that shaped me early on. I’m referring to those gritty, visual sound-driven scenes that pushed boundaries and blurred the line between image and sound. I’m not talking about the music itself, but about the visual culture that surrounded it. That spirit still fuels my creative engine today.
Typography is my playground, not just a visual tool but a way to express structure, rhythm and movement.
Sometimes I push letterforms to their limit, to the point where they lose readability and become pure visual matter.
Whether I’m building a brand identity or animating graphics, I’m always exploring new visual languages, narrative rhythms and spatial poetry.
Tools and Techniques
I work across analog and digital tools, but most of my design and animation takes shape in Adobe Illustrator, After Effects, InDesign and Photoshop. And sometimes even Excel 🙂 especially when I want to break the rules and rethink typography in unconventional ways.
I’m drawn to processes that allow for exploration and controlled chaos. I love building visual systems, breaking them apart and reconstructing them with intention.
Typography, to me, is a living structure, modular, dynamic and often influenced by visual or musical rhythm.
My workflow starts with in-depth research and a large amount of hand sketching.
I then digitize the material, print it, manipulate it manually by cutting, collaging and intervening physically, then scan it again and bring it back into the digital space.
This back-and-forth between mediums helps me achieve a material quality and a sense of imperfection that pure digital work often lacks.
Inspiration
Beyond the underground scenes and art movements I mentioned earlier, my inspiration comes from everything around me. I’m a keen observer and deeply analytical. Since I was a kid, I’ve been fascinated by people’s gestures, movements, and subtle expressions.
For example, when I used to go to parties, I would often stand next to the DJ—not just to watch their technique, but to study their body language, movements, and micro-expressions. Even the smallest gesture can spark an idea.
I believe inspiration is everywhere. It’s about being present and training your eye to notice the details most people overlook.
Future Goals
I don’t have a specific goal or destination. My main aim is to keep doing things well and to never lose my curiosity. For me, curiosity is the fuel that drives creativity and growth, so I want to stay open, keep exploring, and enjoy the process without forcing a fixed outcome.
Message to Readers
Design is not art!
Design is method, planning, and process. However, that method can—and sometimes should—be challenged, as long as you remain fully aware of what you are doing. It is essential that what you create can be reproduced consistently and, depending on the project, works effectively across different media and formats. I always tell my students that you need to know the rules before you can break them. To do good design, you need a lot of passion and a lot of patience.