Reviving Renaissance: The Catalogue of Incunabula

Aleksandra Toborowicz's Award-Winning Design Echoes the First Renaissance Prints

The "Catalogue of Incunabula" is no ordinary book series. It presents the sixth-largest collection of 15th-century prints in Poland, held by the National Library of Poland (BNP). The design inspiration is drawn from the first Renaissance prints and typography, reflected in the selection of materials, typography, and printing techniques. The result is an elegant, hand-made cover paper and inside pages that echo the aesthetics of the Renaissance era.

The unique properties of this design lie in its meticulous attention to detail. Large initials serve as the project's leitmotif, and the two-color typographic printing in the title of the cover adds a touch of sophistication. The cover features a subtle blind debossing of the Renaissance grid, enhancing the design's elegance and strengthening its historical references. Furthermore, the Adobe Jenson Pro font, reminiscent of the first text face cut in Venice by Nicolas Jenson around 1470, is used in the publication.

The realization of this design involved the use of high-quality materials and advanced printing techniques. The cover is made of Arches White 400 g/m2, a top-tier product made of 100% cotton, which gives the paper a rough and harmonious texture similar to hand-made paper. The inside print is done on Munken Premium Cream 1.3, 90 g/m2, with a 2+2 (black + Pantone 199 U) color scheme. The binding technique used, known as otabind, allows for easy opening of the book and enhances the reading experience.

The design process was not without its challenges. The most significant was designing the layout – a complex, specialized, and multi-part hierarchy and typographic layout, with a voluminous text material while limiting the page limit. However, the team, led by Aleksandra Toborowicz and including Katarzyna Niewczas and Monika Michowicz, successfully navigated these challenges to create a design that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing.

The "Catalogue of Incunabula" is not just a design masterpiece; it is also a significant contribution to the field of research into the oldest surviving examples of printing. It describes incunabula from several important historical collections and presents a number of unique items not covered in existing literature. This project is a testament to the enduring power of print media and the potential of design to breathe new life into historical artifacts.