How Navalny Changed Russia
A book that explores how Alexei Navalny challenged the Putin regime’s power in a unique and lasting way.
Role
Designer
Collaborators
Amy Auman
Rachel Silverberg
Tools
InDesign
FigJam
Timeline
March 2024 -
May 2024
Every book has a central question that, through the content and visual design, it aims to answer. How can design considerations support and intuitively covey the underlying argument? For this project, I picked the text from Foreign Affairs Magazine titled How Navalny Changed Russia. Through the visual design and treatment of this text, I aimed to answer the question: How is Alexei Navalny rooted in Russia’s deep history of anti-authoritarian activism? How is he unique from past dissidents?
The first step of this process was to collect visual research where Russia’s graphic design history and political history collided. I found a rich history in the Russian Constructivist design movement, born out of the Soviet Union. The design artifacts I found suggested a strong visual direction to take the book in.
Concurrently, I was researching how the typeface choice could support the books central question. I found many English typefaces that were inspired by Russian glyphs. In a deep dive into these, many were designed by Russians who were specifically inspired by the Constructivist movement. This fit well into the visual direction of the book, and one such typeface would become the display typeface for the book.
For the body-copy typeface, I discovered UAF Memory, a contemporary serif typeface designed in 2023 by Dmytro Rastvortsev. Many of the Ukrainian typefaces are based on Russian glyphs, so after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an action Navalny was squarely opposed to, the Ukrainian Digital Ministry commissioned Rastvortsev to design a new official typeface based on historic Ukrainian glyphs. This typeface is used by Ukraine’s military and is the typeface used on graves commemorating those who died fighting against Russia. To find this typeface, I contacted designers in Ukraine through Telegram (with the help of Google Translate). I felt that it was fitting to honor Navalny’s legacy and his fight against Putin’s war of aggression by using this typeface.
With typefaces decided and the visual direction set, I began producing the layout of the book. This started with (many) thumbnails to figure out the pacing and content that would be on each spread. I also developed the book’s grid at this point in the process. The book used a flexible two-column grid.
From these early iterations, I developed a refined grid that worked for this book. Once text was flowed through the book according to the grid, I set my focus to the illustrations. Inspired by the Constructivist images I had uncovered during research, I decided to work in collage. I used three colors of construction paper to create compositions to compliment the existing spreads. I also developed an alphabet using these collages for details on the inside cover of the book.
Early visual research into the Russian Constructivist movement.
Russian Constructivist poster with letterforms that inspired Tagir Safayev’s Rodchenko typeface.
Telegram messages with a Kyiv-based designer who helped me find the typeface OTF files.
Early grid iteration in InDesign with titles.
Early grid iteration in InDesign with pull quotes.
Small write-up of my research about the typeface set in Rodchenko.
The final step was printing. I was intentional about the format and paper that the book was printed on to give the book the right feel in the readers hand. After a late night in the printing and binding studio, I had a completed book. Here’s a few detail shots.
Before printing, the last design step was to work on the cover. I iterated on the cover throughout the course of a week and brought in many versions for group critique.
Two different iterations for group critique in studio.
Cover iterations for critique in studio.
Through rounds of iteration, I worked to combine the illustrations and type in a way that felt natural to readers and emphasizing the experience of the reader from page to page. I answered the books question in the progression of the pages - as the reader gets further into the book, the collage becomes less structured and more fractured. I wanted this to show how Navalny fractured the Russia in a way that hadn’t been done in history. I worked with instructors and peers to make sure the flow through the book felt consistent with that idea.
Collage inspired by Constuctivism.
My messy desk.
Alphabet for inside cover.
How Navalny
Changed Russia
A book that explores how Alexei Navalny challenged the Putin regime's power in a unique and lasting way.
Role
Designer
Collaborators
Amy Auman
Rachel Silverberg
Tools
InDesign
FigJam
Timeline
March 2024 -
May 2024
Early visual research into the Russian Constructivist movement.
Concurrently, I was researching how the typeface choice could support the books central question. I found many English typefaces that were inspired by Russian glyphs. In a deep dive into these, many were designed by Russians who were specifically inspired by the Constructivist movement. This fit well into the visual direction of the book, and one such typeface would become the display typeface for the book.
Every book has a central question that, through the content and visual design, it aims to answer. How can design considerations support and intuitively covey the underlying argument? For this project, I picked the text from Foreign Affairs Magazine titled How Navalny Changed Russia. Through the visual design and treatment of this text, I aimed to answer the question: How is Alexei Navalny rooted in Russia’s deep history of anti-authoritarian activism? How is he unique from past dissidents?
The first step of this process was to collect visual research where Russia’s graphic design history and political history collided. I found a rich history in the Russian Constructivist design movement, born out of the Soviet Union. The design artifacts I found suggested a strong visual direction to take the book in.
Key Learnings
(1) Book design is UX. Throughout the book design process, I found myself thinking about the reader a lot. This was most obvious in the final steps of the process as I decided on the format, size, and paper for the printed book. I thought about the feel in the reader’s (user’s) hand and how the physical aspects of the book could help drive home the themes. Good design will always center the user.
(2) Grid fundamentals translate from books to screens. This was my first experience building and working with a grid system for books. I did a lot of readings for the studio about the grid system and throughout the process learned how to work inside of a grid (and intentionally, effectively break it). Working with a grid is just as relevant on a screen as it is in print.
(3) Root work in research but still make it your own. I was really excited about the research I was doing for this project. I knew that there was so much visual culture behind the themes of the book and wanted to make sure that the research I did was shown in the final product. It was a challenge to truly make the Constructivist imagery even more my own. By doing that, I can add another layer to this book to make it even more complex and impactful.
Case Study
Click any image to expand.
With typefaces decided and the visual direction set, I began producing the layout of the book. This started with (many) thumbnails to figure out the pacing and content that would be on each spread. I also developed the book’s grid at this point in the process. The book used a flexible two-column grid.
Early grid iteration in InDesign with titles.
Early grid iteration in InDesign with pull quotes.
From these early iterations, I developed a refined grid that worked for this book. Once text was flowed through the book according to the grid, I set my focus to the illustrations. Inspired by the Constructivist images I had uncovered during research, I decided to work in collage. I used three colors of construction paper to create compositions to compliment the existing spreads. I also developed an alphabet using these collages for details on the inside cover of the book.
My messy desk.
Collage inspired by Constuctivism.
Alphabet for inside cover.
Through rounds of iteration, I worked to combine the illustrations and type in a way that felt natural to readers and emphasizing the experience of the reader from page to page. I answered the books question in the progression of the pages - as the reader gets further into the book, the collage becomes less structured and more fractured. I wanted this to show how Navalny fractured the Russia in a way that hadn’t been done in history. I worked with instructors and peers to make sure the flow through the book felt consistent with that idea.
Two different iterations for group critique in studio.
Before printing, the last design step was to work on the cover. I iterated on the cover throughout the course of a week and brought in many versions for group critique.
Cover iterations for critique in studio.
The final step was printing. I was intentional about the format and paper that the book was printed on to give the book the right feel in the readers hand. After a late night in the printing and binding studio, I had a completed book. Here’s a few detail shots.
How Navalny Changed Russia
A book that explores how Alexei Navalny challenged the Putin regime's power in a unique and lasting way.
Role
Designer
Collaborators
Amy Auman
Rachel Silverberg
Tools
InDesign
FigJam
Timeline
March 2024 -
May 2024
Every book has a central question that, through the content and visual design, it aims to answer. How can design considerations support and intuitively covey the underlying argument? For this project, I picked the text from Foreign Affairs Magazine titled How Navalny Changed Russia. Through the visual design and treatment of this text, I aimed to answer the question: How is Alexei Navalny rooted in Russia’s deep history of anti-authoritarian activism? How is he unique from past dissidents?
The first step of this process was to collect visual research where Russia’s graphic design history and political history collided. I found a rich history in the Russian Constructivist design movement, born out of the Soviet Union. The design artifacts I found suggested a strong visual direction to take the book in.
Concurrently, I was researching how the typeface choice could support the books central question. I found many English typefaces that were inspired by Russian glyphs. In a deep dive into these, many were designed by Russians who were specifically inspired by the Constructivist movement. This fit well into the visual direction of the book, and one such typeface would become the display typeface for the book.
Case Study
(1) Book design is UX. Throughout the book design process, I found myself thinking about the reader a lot. This was most obvious in the final steps of the process as I decided on the format, size, and paper for the printed book. I thought about the feel in the reader’s (user’s) hand and how the physical aspects of the book could help drive home the themes. Good design will always center the user.
(2) Grid fundamentals translate from books to screens. This was my first experience building and working with a grid system for books. I did a lot of readings for the studio about the grid system and throughout the process learned how to work inside of a grid (and intentionally, effectively break it). Working with a grid is just as relevant on a screen as it is in print.
(3) Root work in research but still make it your own. I was really excited about the research I was doing for this project. I knew that there was so much visual culture behind the themes of the book and wanted to make sure that the research I did was shown in the final product. It was a challenge to truly make the Constructivist imagery even more my own. By doing that, I can add another layer to this book to make it even more complex and impactful.
Early visual research into the Russian Constructivist movement.
Telegram messages with a Kyiv-based designer who helped me find the typeface OTF files.
With typefaces decided and the visual direction set, I began producing the layout of the book. This started with (many) thumbnails to figure out the pacing and content that would be on each spread. I also developed the book’s grid at this point in the process. The book used a flexible two-column grid.
Early grid iteration in InDesign with titles.
Early grid iteration in InDesign with pull quotes.
From these early iterations, I developed a refined grid that worked for this book. Once text was flowed through the book according to the grid, I set my focus to the illustrations. Inspired by the Constructivist images I had uncovered during research, I decided to work in collage. I used three colors of construction paper to create compositions to compliment the existing spreads. I also developed an alphabet using these collages for details on the inside cover of the book.
My messy desk.
Collage inspired by Constuctivism.
Alphabet for inside cover.
Through rounds of iteration, I worked to combine the illustrations and type in a way that felt natural to readers and emphasizing the experience of the reader from page to page. I answered the books question in the progression of the pages - as the reader gets further into the book, the collage becomes less structured and more fractured. I wanted this to show how Navalny fractured the Russia in a way that hadn’t been done in history. I worked with instructors and peers to make sure the flow through the book felt consistent with that idea.
Two different iterations for group critique in studio.
Before printing, the last design step was to work on the cover. I iterated on the cover throughout the course of a week and brought in many versions for group critique.
Cover iterations for critique in studio.
The final step was printing. I was intentional about the format and paper that the book was printed on to give the book the right feel in the readers hand. After a late night in the printing and binding studio, I had a completed book. Here’s a few detail shots.
Key Learnings
(1) Book design is UX. Throughout the book design process, I found myself thinking about the reader a lot. This was most obvious in the final steps of the process as I decided on the format, size, and paper for the printed book. I thought about the feel in the reader’s (user’s) hand and how the physical aspects of the book could help drive home the themes. Good design will always center the user.
(2) Grid fundamentals translate from books to screens. This was my first experience building and working with a grid system for books. I did a lot of readings for the studio about the grid system and throughout the process learned how to work inside of a grid (and intentionally, effectively break it). Working with a grid is just as relevant on a screen as it is in print.
(3) Root work in research but still make it your own. I was really excited about the research I was doing for this project. I knew that there was so much visual culture behind the themes of the book and wanted to make sure that the research I did was shown in the final product. It was a challenge to truly make the Constructivist imagery even more my own. By doing that, I can add another layer to this book to make it even more complex and impactful.
Case Study
Telegram messages with a Kyiv-based designer who helped me find the typeface OTF files.
Small write-up of my research about the typeface set in Rodchenko.
For the body-copy typeface, I discovered UAF Memory, a contemporary serif typeface designed in 2023 by Dmytro Rastvortsev. Many of the Ukrainian typefaces are based on Russian glyphs, so after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an action Navalny was squarely opposed to, the Ukrainian Digital Ministry commissioned Rastvortsev to design a new official typeface based on historic Ukrainian glyphs. This typeface is used by Ukraine’s military and is the typeface used on graves commemorating those who died fighting against Russia. To find this typeface, I contacted designers in Ukraine through Telegram (with the help of Google Translate). I felt that it was fitting to honor Navalny’s legacy and his fight against Putin’s war of aggression by using this typeface.
Russian Constructivist poster with letterforms that inspired Tagir Safayev’s Rodchenko typeface.
Small write-up of my research about the typeface set in Rodchenko.
For the body-copy typeface, I discovered UAF Memory, a contemporary serif typeface designed in 2023 by Dmytro Rastvortsev. Many of the Ukrainian typefaces are based on Russian glyphs, so after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an action Navalny was squarely opposed to, the Ukrainian Digital Ministry commissioned Rastvortsev to design a new official typeface based on historic Ukrainian glyphs. This typeface is used by Ukraine’s military and is the typeface used on graves commemorating those who died fighting against Russia. To find this typeface, I contacted designers in Ukraine through Telegram (with the help of Google Translate). I felt that it was fitting to honor Navalny’s legacy and his fight against Putin’s war of aggression by using this typeface.
Key Learnings
Russian Constructivist poster with letterforms that inspired Tagir Safayev’s Rodchenko typeface.
Click any image to expand.
Click any image to expand.