Designers in Seoul
Designers in Tokyo
Designers in Taipei
Column Four
© 2024 Polish Graphic Design Foundation. All rights reserved.
Motto
Stay curious
Poland
Zofia
Dzierzawska-Bojanowska
Design
Comics
Bio
Zosia Dzierżawska is an illustrator & comic author from Warsaw, Poland, and a co-founder of Studio Armad’illo, an illustration and graphic design studio based in Milan. She works for a variety of international publishers, using her soft, expressive lines in children’s books, comics and editorial illustration.
Previous collaborations include Oxford University Press, Rizzoli, Candlewick Press, and others. Her works have been awarded twice at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair Illustrators Exhibition, as well as at the Society of Illustrators in New York.
She loves getting her hands dirty with inks, watercolors, greasy pencils, and other traditional media.
Clients
Nobrow, Candlewick Press, I'm Changing, Oxford University Press, The Chopin Museum, The New York Times
Awards
Bologna Children's Book Fair Illustrator's Exhibition (twice),
Society of Illustrators New York Annual (twice),
Sydney Taylor Book Award (US),
Children's Literature Festival (PL)
More Speakers and Mentors
Ada
Zielinska
People from other countries might not know that the design culture in Poland is deeply rooted in both tradition and innovation. The iconic Polish School of Poster, which emerged in the mid-20th century, remains influential, known for its unique blend of surrealism, symbolism, and minimalism. Another lesser-known aspect is the role of graphic design. While Polish posters have gained international recognition, graphic design, including elements like logos, packaging, and printed materials, has only recently been rediscovered and appreciated. Polish graphic design icons such as Karol Śliwka, Jerzy Treutler, and Roman Duszek are behind these influential works.
Miroslaw
Klis
In the world of graphic design Poland is known for Polish School of Posters active in 1950s-1980s with expressive solutions based mainly on illustration. In the last years we finally started discovering the unknown heritage in logo design and typography with great masters such as Karol Śliwka, Ryszard Bojar and many more.
Patryk
Hardziej
In Poland after World War II, many designers were active in creating graphic symbols. Due to specific political conditions, these projects could be much more free and artistic than in the West. Besides the Polish poster, it is the graphic symbol that is particularly noteworthy when it comes to design in Poland.
Bartlomiej
Witanski
I have the impression that design culture in Poland has been changing in a good way over the last few years. Increasingly, clients see value in what we do and appreciate it. Of course, there will also be people who do not fully value our work, in which case it is better to let such a project go.