Omana Katsarska is a graphic designer, typographer, and illustrator.
She graduated from the Academy of Arts with a degree in "Book, Illustration and Printed Graphics", and then even decided to enroll in a master's degree at the same place - in short, she probably liked it more than at the art high school before.
She works on individual projects in the field of design - logos, typographic inscriptions, illustrations, graphic design of books and others, as a freelancer, and some of the larger and more challenging things she has realized have been done as a full-time team game - such as the visual identity of the community centers in Plovdiv for 2019 - "Culture is the Sun" or the identities of a Bulgarian film festival with a focus on human rights.
Hello, Omana. The font you created, “Buki”, became part of our first book “Night Adventures” and we would be happy if you could share interesting information with our readers. Thank you for accepting our invitation to answer a few questions.
Thank you for the invitation, and for including me in something so exciting!
Question: How did you come up with the idea of creating a font that would be Bulgarian and intended for children?
It all started a few years ago, when I was finishing my bachelor's degree, and during that time I was working as a freelancer. The idea came from a real order for a children's book series. At that time, there was no such specialized font for children's publications on Bulgarian soil, and then I felt that I would like to do something about it. This motivated me to enroll in a master's degree in Font Design. My motives were to help our environment - the function of a font (and of design) is to solve a specific problem.
Question: How long did it take you to create the font and what was the biggest challenge you encountered in the process?
First of all, I want to say that I have enormous respect for the work of type designers – it's a labor of love that is taken for granted.
Specifically, it took me nearly two years, and later I made additional corrections, expanded the number of strokes of the font. In the process of work, I went through all sorts of states. The most important thing that typeface art showed me is endurance, perseverance and tenacity, as well as how important it is to be focused for a long time. For me, the most interesting thing was what kind of concentration something like this can lead to - because it requires complete dedication and hours of staring at black and white shapes. And then it is important not to lose the direction and the ultimate goal for which such a work is intended.
I kept asking myself whether this was the right packaging for the idea, whether it would do a good job, whether it would be used for its intended purpose.
Question: How important is the font in a book, especially a children's book?
In my opinion, fonts are an extremely important means of visual communication. For children and children's books, this is especially true because they form small personalities who learn to see and understand. For example, from the point of view of semiotics, typography could affect an emotional level. Letters can evoke in a child a sense of form, depending on the font, as "round, motherly, friendly" or "cold" and distant, as "for adults", or other associations.
Of course, different points of view may intervene here and these statements that I have been researching may be refuted, but I keep telling myself that in the end, the more important thing is to have diversity in visual and design aspects. From there, everyone can choose their own truth.
I'm not a slave to one thing or another, I do what I feel like doing.
Question: Should we expect a new font from you and what are your creative plans for the near future?
I work on the principle of "when I have something to share with the outside world, I do it." I am not a slave to one thing or another, I do what I feel like doing. I think that every artist and creative person needs the freedom to express themselves in more than one way.
Question: We are sure that many people and teenagers see you as an inspiration. Would you share any advice for them on how to set goals and achieve them?
Thank you, I don't know if I'm perceived as an inspiration, but I would like to share the following - everyone has fears, but it's important to be bigger than them. There are many ambitions, but the most important thing is the meaning behind them. And one of the best goals a person can set is to live consciously.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts and we wish you lots of inspiration and new challenges!