Márton Tóth’s organic-meets-metallic visuals are all about setting the mood

Márton Tóth, or as you might know him from his musical pseudonym, Asio otus, is a Hungarian graphic designer whose two practices collide and combine to form a rough, real and ultimately organic visual world. Having not originally studied graphic design, instead finding himself fiddling with Photoshop to create graphics that mirrored his music, Márton began making posters for his friend’s parties. “That’s how it started with graphic design for me,” Márton says, “it’s all connected to music, the experimental, and the club scene.”

Whether it’s cover art, flyers, posters or gig effects, there is an ineffable tone that feels distinctly Márton’s, perhaps forged by his approach to translating the vibe of specific music or events into abstract graphics. “I always try to do something that has a strong mood to it,” he says, “whether that's something warm, ethereal, nature-like, nostalgic, or metallic, icy and dark, or anything in between.” Whatever the feeling, it’s achieved through a rigorous process of effects and iteration in the face of sincere dedication to typography, resulting in striking dreamscapes. 

“Overall I prefer keeping things abstract,” Márton adds, culminating in a particular industrial-meets-gothic, heavy-duty tone. “I guess the tone depends on the individual piece,” he continues, speaking to his specific visual aesthetic. “It can definitely feel very tactile, almost skeuomorphic.” By that, he means that it imitates the appearance or characteristics of real-world objects, introducing metallic-like surfaces and bulbous, fluid forms – akin to fantasy RPGs. “It can also feel airy and ethereal, or nature-like,” Márton ends. “I enjoy giving a sense of depth to them most of the time.” This depth is what defines Márton’s work, blurring the line between the digital and organic to create abstract and immersive new worlds.