Contemporary Cyrillic lettering

I assume that this is the only part of Russian heritage that successfully exists today. Here I put some works one of the most prominent Cyrillic lettering artists — Viktor Pushkarev, who made a significant contribution to modern development and popularization of this type of national art. Also, he developed a current system of traditional lettering based on ancient references. Today, this system is the most straightforward way to learn traditional Cyrillic lettering.

Ideation

This part requires to combine all research sources into several concepts. To me, it means that I have to avoid direct repeating both historical references or any objects I evaluated. It is essential to interpret research and to adapt it to modernity. It is required to generate the list of different concepts with a written and visual explanation of the basic idea that can be further investigated. The possible outcome for this stage could be a brief for the product design development in the next semester.

Iassume this was the most sophisticated research I have made. I aimed to combine a range of different fields and to see what kind of results can be gained. To me, it was kind of risky experiment where I had no idea what to expect. My higher goal was to focus a lot on theory and history, as far as I believe that elaborating such detailed concepts can be highly beneficial for my future professional development. I do not want to hide that I mainly worked with the sources of my personal interests. Probably, for some such approach looks selfish, during the strange time we are living now. I believe that especially now, we need some items that can emotionally distract us from reality rather than another social distancing device. Looking at the research results, I see a lot of gaps, which filling in might have enriched the research. But overall, there is more than enough information to provide several design concepts that a required outcome for this project.

INTRODUCTION Walter Benjamin, the German philosopher, and art critics, once said: “The traces coming from the past are neither inert and petrified relics nor simple objects to confine to a museum. They rather need to be read as sort of sparks able to set alight the fuse of the explosive material placed in what has already been. Sparks able to build constellations rich with future in which past meets present”. This statement made almost 100 years ago looks relevant now. Today, when creative ideas must be gained as fast as possible due to the market demands, it seems pertinent to find inspiration in history (as a vast source of already developed ideas). Moreover, when the design approaches are often guiding not by creativity and curiosity, but lawyers or authorities, it seems more relevant to look at national heritage to avoid accusing in any cultural appropriation.

TASK National heritage is not only an excellent source for inspiration or a way to give another life for something from the past but also a way to add some distinctiveness to design. This project aims to find a way to apply traditional Russian art & craft to contemporary objects. The goal is to prove that references from national heritage in modern interpretation can be recognized and accepted these days.

DETAILS These days humanity is experiencing a significant shift in social behavior, which causes the rise of a lot of new long-lasting trends. Therefore, it seems relevant to evaluate such a concept as “Home” in terms of both the current environment and described ideas for research.

FIND

The project requires extensive research from a variety of fields. The success of interpretation depends on how many sources will be studied and critically analyzed. There must be the focus not only on repeating history in design but on the idea of how these findings could be applied today.

PLAY

MAKE

TALK

Present the list of concepts with detailed evaluation and explain the reasons for choosing one for the future development.

DELIVERABLES

Project Log with detailed description of research and ideation.

Several concepts based on research.

Presentation of the concepts with extensive evaluation.