Book design of Obiecadło [ABC] based on Jan Kochanowski’s Epigrams

Nowy karakter polski of 1594 by Jan Januszowski, Jan Kochanowski and Łukasz Górnicki was one of the first attempts to unify the notation system for Polish language. For the book Januszowski designed and cast two new types (karakters): simple typeface and italic typeface. The typeface for Obiecadło is my own attempt to recreate the italic typeface and antiqua which bears its features. The selection of Jan Kochanowski’s Epigrams as the material to present my project was natural for me, as Kochanowski was one of the authors of Nowy karakter. I have used his epigrams to present both my typeface and illustrative reflection on what it might have been if Kochanowski lived in my day.

Illuminations

Project Illuminations draws from the medieval tradition of illuminated initials. With reference to modern times, I have decided to disrupt the uniqueness characterizing such works as Book of Kells. Characters of the typeface designed by me are accompanied by illustrative collages, consisting of content copied from leaflets, newspapers, my own pictures, web search results, or inspired by the history of art. Matrices represent three different worlds – spiritual, virtual and material. Their form – printmaking rollers – symbolizes repetition, copying, loop of events. A linear drawing is intended to deprive the work of individual nature, referring to the colouring page that everyone can colour to their liking.