Two essential works by American historian Timothy Snyder, Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin and On Freedom, have been published in Ukraine by Choven in collaboration with Local History and the bookstore Sens.

Both titles, cornerstones of modern non-fiction, explore totalitarianism, violence, and the fragility of freedom in Europe’s twentieth century – topics that have gained renewed urgency amid Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.

The Ukrainian editions are titled Криваві землі and Про свободу and were translated by Yulia Semenyuk and Galina Gerasim, respectively. Designed by Oksana Vaskiv, they merge historical gravity with contemporary visual clarity. The restrained layout and symbolic use of color evoke both archival precision and civic engagement – reflecting Snyder’s balance between moral reflection and analytical depth.

Typography enhances this duality: the covers feature Recht and Excentra, while the text is set in Georgia, Arsenal, Excentra, and Fiorina Title. The blend of classic and modern typefaces mirrors Snyder’s synthesis of historical research and public philosophy – academic yet profoundly human.

The project Wo is Heimat? (full title in English “Where is Home? Stories of Ukrainian Children and Teenagers”) explores the personal experiences of young refugees who fled Ukraine following the Russian invasion in 2022 – their memories of the first days of the war and their forced escape in search of a new shelter, a new home. The stories of these children are brought to life through powerful illustrations by Ukrainian artist Maria Vyshedska, herself a refugee.

The project was realized both as an exhibition (in Germany and Poland) and as a book. It was produced in three languages: Ukrainian, English, and German.

The choice of typeface for this project was clear from the very beginning. Originally designed as part of the brand identity for the city of Mariupol shortly before the full-scale Russian invasion, the Mariupol typeface has since become a symbol of Ukrainian cultural resistance – a political artifact. It is an example of how design can transcend the boundaries of form and become content.

Idea and project management by Christine Frick. Ulyana Shevchenko served as project coordinator and translator.

Crewplanet is a crewing agency located in the Netherlands and Latvia, supplying crews and providing crew management for almost any type of vessel. This information brochure (pdf) was designed by Alexey Murashko using Osnova.

The Black Sea Whale is a new literary and cultural magazine expanding our knowledge and understanding of Ukraine by offering a unique perspective on current affairs with a mixture of personal experiences of the war, and broader political contexts beautifully illustrated by local artists. Shown here is the second issue, published in early 2025.

It was designed by Rogue Umbrella, using Kamenyar for body text and Humus for headers. The logo is custom drawn.

Find more information about the magazine in the previous post about the premiere issue.

See the unseen.

The Black Sea Whale is a new literary and cultural magazine expanding our knowledge and understanding of Ukraine by offering a unique perspective on current affairs with a mixture of personal experiences of the war, and broader political contexts beautifully illustrated by local artists.

Some stories are vivid reflections of reality making them are hard to believe while others so outlandish, they strike you as being true life lessons.

Readers will hear echoes of their own experiences in the specifics of Ukraine in this bespoke publication for the English-speaking world because the challenges we face are universal be they in Kyiv or in London or where you might be reading this.

The Black Sea Whale sets out to become your beacon in the sea of troubles. The magazine’s staff includes Ulana Suprun (editor-in-chief), Viktoriia Antonenko (executive editor), Marko Suprun (creative editor), and Zakhar Kryvoshyya (designer). It measures 250×165 mm and will be published tri-monthly in English language.

Kamenyar is used for body text and Humus for headers. The logo is custom drawn.

The Educational Projector Foundation has launched a cultural and educational website called Typeface Alphabet for Ukrainian Identity (Ukrainian title: Шрифтова абетка української ідентичності) The primary goal of this bilingual project is to promote contemporary fonts created by Ukrainian designers and to educate people about the symbols of Ukrainian statehood.

The Revolution of Dignity (2013-2014) brought significant changes to various industries in Ukraine, including type design. Following the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Ukrainians have become even more determined to distance themselves from everything Russian, including content, products, and even fonts. This decision is driven by the fact that taxes generated from the sale of Russian products contribute to the war against Ukraine. The Projector Foundation team has initiated a cultural project aimed at helping Ukrainians discover alternatives to Russian typefaces and introducing the global community to the vibrant Ukrainian typeface industry. Many Ukrainian fonts also include Latin versions, making them accessible for designers worldwide as alternatives to Russian fonts.

The Typeface Alphabet project showcases 33 modern Ukrainian typefaces, including typefaces available from Rentafont, such as Mars Type, Palitura, Rock Star and Volja. The Abetka website shows each font representing a single unique symbol. The team has designed a dedicated page for each letter using one of the latest Ukrainian typefaces. Users can explore profiles of the typeface creators along with links for licensed use.

This project has been made possible with the support of ZMIN, a private Ukrainian Foundation that provides resources to its partners through grants, scholarships, and collaborative projects. MacPaw, a Ukrainian software company, has become the project's main partner. The Alphabet typography features headlines set in Nastup, subheaders set in Mariupol Strong and body text is rendered in Fixel by MacPaw, a new versatile typeface developed in collaboration with AlfaBravo design studio and foundry. The project’s design was created by Obys Studio.

In addition to showcasing the origin stories of each typeface, Abetka includes 33 narratives about significant events, figures, symbols, and signs that have played crucial roles in Ukraine's journey towards independence restoration in 1991 and its ongoing struggle for sovereignty. These stories highlight individuals like Ivan Franko, who was among the first in Ukrainian literature to advocate for the unity of the Ukrainian state, and Maria Prymachenko, whose imaginative artistic world made a significant impact on 20th-century art. The project's authors delve into the concept of "Volia" as an intrinsic characteristic of every Ukrainian, motivating them to strive for victory.

Telegraf.Design is a Ukrainian media company dedicated to design and creative and tech industries. In 2021, it presented a unique artifact to the world: the first printed magazine about Ukrainian design.

Issue 1 of Telegraf magazine discusses Ukrainian identity, achievements, and fears. It showcases Ukrainian design through the eyes of those who create it. The magazine consists of 200 incredibly beautiful pages and involved the participation of 25 talented contributors in its creation.

It also features the premiere of Dmytro Rastvortsev’s DR Kruk. Inerta has been used as the main typeface for the articles. Mariupol serves for the magazine logo.

The magazine was designed by Nonna Starushchenko (Нонна Старущенко), Glib Kaporikov, and Dima Muzychenko (Дима Музыченко) from LLIWELL.

Detail from the magazine website

Detail from the magazine website

Teahouse is a Ukrainian company deeply passionate about tea. Development, curiosity, openness and beauty are the paths they tread. Operating in Ukraine since 2006, Teahouse directly sources tea from plantations and personally knows farmers from all around the world. They procure aromatic herbs and fruits from local Ukrainian farmers, and operate their own tea production facility where they package and beautifully present tea, creating blends.

Two Ukrainian fonts are used in the logo and packaging design: UkrSans by Shchedryk: font help (Щедрик: шрифтова поміч) and Jheronimus by Aronetiv. Also in some packaging designs there is PT Serif from Paratype and Arsenal from AndrijType.

The Artiya Школа каліграфії (Artiya Calligraphy School) started in 2011. The project engages in developing the culture of calligraphy and type design in Ukraine, branching out into several directions: a school, a studio, a calligraphy shop and a gallery.

Every year, Artiya holds an exhibition of Ukrainian typefaces and calligraphy together with Book Arsenal in Kyiv. This event gathers calligraphers and designers who share their experience and present fresh works.

Mariupol is used throughout their website.

Mariupol in use for an exhibition on the City Day of Mariupol (September 27) at the Ukrainian House in Kyiv.

The exhibition name is a wordplay on the Ukrainian Де ти? (“Where are you?”) and the Russian Дети (“children”), written on vehicles, houses, fences and even the theater to point out the presence of kids, in hope that the Russian army will not shoot (but they did regardless).

The exhibition presented photos from the siege and further occupation by Yevhen Sosnovsky and drawings by children form Mariupol.

Espreso TV (Ukrainian: Еспресо TV) is an Internet television station in Ukraine that started to operate in November 2013. Espreso TV enabled the Euromaidan protests to be broadcast worldwide.

Re: Mariupol is a project by Sergii Rodionov representing the speculative vision of his hometown reconstruction after the war. The visual manifesto is published as a book, a website, and an exhibition poster.

The project is based on research including history and geography of the city, a Rotterdam reconstruction case study and workshops within the Dirty Old Town programme at the Independent School for the City.

The typography is set in Mariupol, released in 2017 as a custom typeface for the City of Mariupol, with headlines using the related Mariupol Strong.

See a short introduction by Sergii Rodinov on the Dirty Old Town website.

І знов я влізаю в танк (“And Again I Get Into the Tank”) is a new collection of topical journalism by a well-known writer, Oksana Zabuzhko. The book is for those who do not shy away from honest answers to pressing questions and are concerned with the challenges facing Ukrainians today. Here we are talking about the chimeras of the “enslaved mind” and about the new masks and forms that the old war takes on in the era of mass media, about the search for heroes, about iconic figures and texts, and ultimately about how dignity and resistance to the imposed rules of the game give a new hope for European civilization. This is an exclusive report from the hot spots of the information front, where the struggle against oblivion and indifference, which almost cost us the state, continues.

First published in 2016 by Komora, this is the 2019 printing. The cover pairs Osnova and Bandera, both released by AndrijType. For the book interior, a third typeface by Andrij Shevchenko, Arsenal, was added to the mix.

AndrijScript was used for a new edition of Gogol’s collection of short stories, Evenings on a Farm Near Dykanka, translated to the Ukrainian (Вечори на хуторі біля Диканьки) by Yuriy Vinnychuk and illustrated by Grycja Erde. The text typeface is Philosopher. Published by Terra Incognita in 2019.

Свіжим оком: Шевченко для сучасного читача (“Seeing With Fresh Eyes: Shevchenko for a Modern Reader”) presents an important and unhurried reading from Shevchenko’s famous works with a deep and witty commentary by Volodymyr Dibrova.

The author is a translator, literary critic and lecturer at Harvard University, and teaches Ukrainian language and literature to students from all over the world. In this collection of essays, avoiding simplification and total idealization, he “translates” some realities, contexts and reflects on the sources of the writer’s poetic influence. This book is aimed at enabling you to look at the messages of the texts “with fresh eyes”, and after rereading them, find your own Shevchenko and better understand yourself as Ukrainians. Just about the difficult and important. Interesting, fascinating and dynamic about literary texts and their influence on culture and society.

Designer Mykola Kovalchuk chose Bressay for the body copy; Osnova is used in the interior, and on the cover. Illustrations by Mari Kinovych.

#WspierajUkrainę / #standwithukraine – under this slogan we emit posters of Ukrainian artists from the Pictoric association, which are created literally now and which you can already see on our screens in the passage between I and II line of the Świętokrzyska metro and on Smart Citylight in the heart of Warsaw.

Thank you Pictoric for your trust and Rene Wawrzkiewicz for joining us.

The exhibition typography uses Humus from AndrijType.

Organic Milk has become the first company on the Ukrainian market of organic dairy products to carry out its business in a closed production cycle, from raw materials to promotion of high-level processed products at the point of sale.

The logo and the packaging use ZionTrain.

Labels and packaging of natural organic jams for a small local manufacturer in Lviv, Ukraine.
The range includes the following types: apricot jam with coffee, strawberry jam with lavender, homemade raspberry jam, pear jam with lemon, cream jam with cinnamon, viburnum jam, apple jam, blackberry jam with vanilla, jam with pumpkin with orange.

Packaging for 100% natural peanut butter of the Ukrainian brand “Good Product”. The product range includes the following peanut butters: salted, a sweetened, with apricot, with grapes, with chocolate and with nuts.

The sans serif is Kent 4F, used in all caps and paired with AndrijScript. Another range of products for this brand was shown in a previous post on Fonts In Use.

From Luta Sprava (translated and edited):

Через війну. Погляд волонтера (“War It Is! Through Volunteer’s Eyes”) is a photobook by Dmytro Muravsky. It’s the result of the three-year work by the team of the social volunteer project “When the war ends …”. The project’s photobase is more than three terabytes of memory, several tens of thousands of files, of which only a few have been made public.
The time interval and geography of photographic works cover the whole zone of the current Russian war against Ukraine on Donbas, from December 2013 to June 2017. All the photographs and stories are real, made and assembled on the front as a result of volunteer activity in different directions. In some cases, due to objective reasons, geographic names and hero names have been changed.

Photos and texts by Dmytro Muravsky (Дмитро Муравський). Design and layout by Maksym Deyneka (Максим Дейнека) and Svitlana Yeresova (Світлана Єресова). The hardcover edition has 280 pages, measures 260×290×30 mm, and was published in 2017 by Luta Sprava. The typography pairs the slab-serif Bandera with the sans-serif ZionTrain, both designed by Andrij Shevchenko for AndrijType.