T-shirts with fonts by Ukrainian type designers

The article is about a series of T-shirts with Ukrainian fonts, presented at the Book Arsenal 2021 in Kyiv. The T-shirts feature the fonts of three popular Ukrainian type designers: Dmytro Rastvortsev, Kyrylo Tkachov, and the Shchedryk type community. I explain the background and style of each designer, encourage people to support Ukrainian fonts and use them in their projects. It is written in Ukrainian, but I’m ready to edit it and translate in English.

Noakin

Noakin is a distinctive and versatile sans-serif typeface for general practice: a workhorse grotesque designed to be clean and legible at all sizes. The typeface uses ink pastes and offers a shape to improve readability, providing a functional advantage for small sizes and, at the same time, a stylistic element for larger ones. There are five weights, from Light to Black, each with matching oblique italics. Noakin family covers most languages written with Latin and Cyrillic scripts.

36 Days of Type on Rentafont

Participating in a #36daysoftype challenge I decided to mix fonts in a certain way. For each letter I took a popular search tag, opened rentafont.com, and searched fonts for that tag. Then I’ve chosen 10-15 typical font styles and created a new font image, using equable blending. That’s how generalized font stereotypes appeared for delicious, fabulous, childish, martian, jazz, fonts. On the Ukrainian font stereotype, you can see how averaged images come out from fonts in Ukrainian style.

Telegraf. Воля (Volia)

Telegraf.Воля (Volia) showcases how the unique volia lifestyle shapes Ukrainian culture and defines its visual expression in design, fashion, filmmaking, and the history of Ukrainian art, which was repressed by the Soviet Union.

“Volia” is a unique Ukrainian word that means “will” and “freedom”, perfectly capturing the Ukrainian mindset.

The art book’s design captures the essence of Ukrainian visual traditions, centering around the main metaphor of a bird being released within the book’s pages

Puma

The puma, with its silent grace, fierce strength, and territorial courage, embodies a symbol of defense in the wild. This artwork celebrates the puma’s strong and resolute personality as a formidable protector. Inspired by Ukraine’s defenders.

Typographic patriotism. How to get rid of Russian influence on Ukrainian design

The article is about the importance of using Ukrainian fonts instead of Russian ones, as a way of resisting cultural and economic colonization. It explains how fonts influence the perception and identity of a nation, and gives examples of how to choose and support Ukrainian fonts. I also introduce Rentafont, a service that offers many Ukrainian typefaces for various needs. It was written in Ukrainian, but I’m ready to edit it and translate in English.

Telegraf. Creativity of the Brave

Telegraf. Creativity of the Brave is an art book dedicated to visuals of the wartime. It is about a new reality where creativity is the weapon against the aggressor, and every graphic work is not only a symbol, but also an instrument of resistance.

An art book portrays the war in Ukraine
through the lens of art and graphics created by Ukrainian artists and designers during
the first months of the full-scale invasion.

Glued Moments: Reflecting Before and After

The series features double-exposure photos from various parts of Ukraine, including power grids in Lutsk and flowers on concrete in Kyiv. It also includes images of a flower placed in a zip bag within the concrete, symbolizing a second chance at life. Carpathian landscapes and urban scenes hold newfound significance. The series was rendered using cyanotype to emphasize the passage of time.

It’s Time

The visuals for the track “It’s Time” reflect a sense of anger and loss, inspired by the significant events after February 24th. They illustrate the disintegration of cherished values and dreams, symbolized by an apple deteriorating, representing life and integrity. It’s a portrayal of uncontrollable entropy and the loss of a once-familiar world.

The Analyst

The snake is like my inner protector. When I get scared by something that doesn’t pose any actual threat, I imagine there’s a little creature inside me. It checks for any real dangers, so I can stay calm and only react when there’s a genuine threat.

“Cossacks. The power of the earth”

The “Cossacks” series is based on a dedication to Ukrainian soldiers – the Cossacks of Ukraine.
Cossacks, as a symbol, who from time immemorial were the personification of strength, courage, valor, guarded the faith, protected their native land from invaders.
Now behind every defender, there is a strong Cossack who gives strength to fight like never before and not to retreat. A call to remember the strength of one’s family and native land.