sofia 2019
letter logo, visual identity
sofia 2011

the lettering itself reveals what’s so special: the latin and cyrillic characters not only communicate sofia’s geographical position within europe; the use of two alphabets also underlines the city’s exceptional cultural melange whose richness is reflected in the diverse typographic forms.  

the underlying shapes of the letters forming the two word marks are derived from historical ornaments and motifs that can be found in the bulgarian capital. thanks to the geometrical rendering of the lettering, based on a graphic matrix, the various letters of the two alphabets form a visual unit. moreover, these shapes can also be used to generate a happy, festive mood which, in line with the occasion, can be simple and understated or powerful and large scale.  

the statement announcing the candidacy appears in green and red rectangles, playfully integrated into the overall pattern. in more formal contexts, on a letterhead for example, these are aligned with the word mark. the complementary colours are small vibrant splashes in a monochrome setting that echo the country’s national colours. the deliberate absence of colour reinforces the creative contrast with the dynamic patterns that arise out of the typography, forming a graphic decor that sends out a clear message far and wide:  

sofia! celebrate! culture!