Lele Buonerba is a graphic designer, art worker, and DJ/selector from Milan, Italy. Now based in Chicago, he works across the cultural sector with galleries, institutions, and artists. He co-founded the artists' books imprint Have a Nice Day Press and hosts the radio show E-Musik.
Work
Portfolio available upon request.
Sound System Letterforms
November 2025 • File under: Experimental Design
During my first semester in the Master of Design program in Graphic Design at UIC, I investigated sound systems, intended both as electrical equipment for the reproduction and amplification of sound and as concert, festival, and club PAs. I am particularly interested in Jamaican sound system culture, where mobile, temporary architectures shape social space.
DIY construction, informal plan sharing, and modular design are central to this culture. For an experimental design project, I translated these practices into typographic form by constructing letterforms from components typical of sound systems. The project began with collages from two-dimensional illustrations and developed through digital and physical processes, moving between 3D modeling, digital assembly, 3D printing, and photography.
Working with 1:18-scale speaker elements—some up to three inches tall—I approached typography as modular construction, similar to building with blocks. Fixed proportions and functional constraints made conventional letterforms impossible, encouraging experimentation, improvisation, and structural play. The resulting forms explore “impossible” architectures, echoing early digital typography designed for low-resolution displays.
Awards
Honorable Mention | UIC Image of Research (2026)
CryptoZR
March 2022 • File under: Exhibition Graphics
I designed and produced the exhibition catalogue, graphics, and promotional materials for CryptoZR: COOKIE COOKIE 2.0. Curated by Li Zhenhua, the solo show of works by CryptoZR (Liu Jiaying) was presented in Venice during the 2022 Art Biennale.
Clip
June 2021 • File under: Product Photography
In 2021 I shot and edited a series of photographs of Clip, a functional piece of jewlery designed by Nina Ballay in collaboration with Marion Colasse.
Model: Laurel Hauge
Galleria Raffaella Cortese
2019–2023 • File under: Contemporary Art
As Visual Designer & Communications Specialist with Galleria Raffaella Cortese—a leading contemporary art gallery in Milan—I was responsible for maintaining the gallery’s visual identity, producing digital content for social media and newsletters, shooting and editing exhibition videos, designing print and digital advertisements, as well as conceptualizing, researching, and designing online viewing rooms. As the principal figure creating visuals at the gallery, I also oversaw the production of PDF presentations of available works, in-depth dossiers, and artist portfolios, as well as renders of booth proposals for art fair applications and exhibition projects.
Selected projects include Nazgol Ansarinia – Pools and Voids, an online viewing room featuring two brief videos I edited about the Iranian artist’s studio and recent research; Jitka Hanzlová – Architectures of Life, a digital presentation featuring an hour‑long video conversation between the Czech artist and curator Urs Stahel I edited; conceptualizing, researching and preparing materials for the Focus On: Monica Bonvicini and Focus On: Luisa Lambri viewing rooms; shooting and editing footage as well as animating text, graphics, and artworks for the Franco Vimercati – Un minuto di fotografia exhibition video.
On the occasion of the Frieze New York Online Viewing Room (May 8–15, 2020), I produced a high-quality rendering of the exhibition project originally planned for the in-person event, a fair booth featuring works by Silvia Bächli and Luisa Lambri.