JT Picolo featured in the identity of the Polish Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale.
On April 20, 2024, we celebrated the official launch of our type foundry with a small gathering in The Hague. It was a meaningful moment to reflect on nearly a year and a half of dedicated work and to acknowledge the collective effort that brought the foundry to life. After finishing my studies, I realized how much I missed the collaborative spirit fostered within an art academy. From the beginning, I wanted to recreate that sense of shared creativity within the foundry. My goal was not to be the sole "mastermind" but to build a space where collaboration and teamwork could thrive.
Starting in January 2023, as the foundry was taking shape for its April 2024 launch, I invited a diverse team of designers Anna Moschioni and Hyeonjeong Kim, coder Nedislav Kamburov, two talented interns, Ngoc Mai and Stavros Gialamidis, and painter friend, Mateusz Kubiak, who brought our mascot, "Globe," to life. As a longtime fan of comic books and illustration, the idea for the foundry mascot emerged in the early months of 2023. The Globe mascot represents the exciting potential of incorporating diverse scripts into the typefaces of our JT library. While our expertise lies in Latin, we are dedicated to developing and integrating a wider range of writing systems in the future. Coming from a Polish-Ukrainian background, I was determined from the start to include Cyrillic script alongside Latin in the three fonts we prepared for the launch: JT Peleton, JT Picolo, and JT Multona. Adding Cyrillic was both a challenge and a rewarding experience, marking one of my first completed projects involving dual scripts. Reflecting on it now, I see it was an ambitious plan, but also a valuable opportunity to deepen my understanding of Cyrillic alphabet.
The roots of JT Picolo trace back to 2021, when my friend Risto Kujanpaa and I, freshly graduated and eager to dive into new projects, visited the Noord-Hollands Archief in Haarlem, Netherlands. Our goal was to explore the rich history of 19th- and 20th-century type foundries—and, of course, to discover unexpected gems along the way. I had already begun my research into high-contrast 19th-century grotesque typefaces, so this visit was an opportunity to see if I could uncover more examples of this particular style. As is often the case with archival research, I was completely overwhelmed by the great number of type specimens and the exceptional craftsmanship of the metal type era. We lost track of how many books we went through, but one thing was certain—we had a delightful overdose of type. :–)
Back in the studio, I went straight to the drawing board. My initial sketches were inspired by some of the quirkier models I discovered, such as Breede Grotesque from Van der Wiel & Hooijer te Arnhem (1875) and its later iteration by the Amsterdam-based foundry Tetterode. As the design process evolved, I gradually simplified the forms, keeping only select features from the historical references. Finding the right balance between expressive and subtle elements took time but was essential in shaping the final design. I was grateful to have the time to fully immerse myself in this self-initiated project—time, after all, is an essential ingredient in refining and strengthening any design. From the start of designing JT Picolo, I knew I wanted to include Cyrillic. The design of both scripts had to relate to each other; therefore, dedicating time to perfecting the Latin script first provided a strong foundation for the development of the Cyrillic. I came across a few type specimens from Ukraine, found in a second-hand store and printed during the communist era. In some ways, these became reference points similar to the archival materials I had researched, at least in the early stage of design. I envisioned JT Picolo as a typeface with a generous x-height, subtly blending display elements inspired by historical sources—most notably the distinctive forms of the "r" and "g," which lean toward more expressive, display-oriented solutions.Â
Towards the end of the project, I invited two friends I met at Type & Media in The Hague, Anna Khorash and Nika Langosh. I was grateful they agreed to assist in refining JT Picolo, alongside our intern at the time, İbrahim Kaçtıoğlu, who primarily focused on the slanted styles. While we were busy working on production in the studio, a few designer friends began testing a beta version of the font and providing valuable feedback. One thing became clear: while type designers like myself favored the more expressive versions of the "r" and "g," graphic designers consistently preferred the quieter, simpler alternates. This insight helped shape the final design decisions for JT Picolo, particularly regarding the default character set and alternates. We kept the more expressive letterforms as alternates, which are more closely aligned with the historical examples, while the default set is somewhat more calm.
In early January 2024, Warsaw-based designer Jan Bersz contacted me with an interesting proposal: he was preparing a book to accompany the Polish Pavilion's identity and exhibition at the 60th Venice Biennale and expressed interest in using our fonts. I saw this as a fantastic opportunity for JT Picolo’s first large-scale application, perfectly aligned with my initial goal of making our fonts accessible to Ukrainian users and a broader audience. Jan introduced me to his collaborators, Jerzy Gruchot and Wojtek Koss from the Warsaw-based studio The Full Metal Jacket, who were responsible for the pavilion’s identity. They also saw potential in incorporating JT Picolo into their work. Until then, JT Picolo had been used mainly by designer friends for smaller projects—booklets, Instagram posters, and the like. This was its first opportunity to shine across a comprehensive identity. For the book, Jan used our fonts JT Peleton for the running text alongside JT Picolo. The book was distributed at the Biennale, the Warsaw Zachęta Museum, and various art bookstores.
The Polish Pavilion project, titled Repeat After Me II, is an audiovisual installation by the Ukrainian Open Group collective. It explores the interaction between people and spaces in a performative and participatory way, with a poignant focus on the ongoing war in Ukraine. Through the format of karaoke, the piece presents civilian refugees describing the sounds of war—guns, missiles, explosions—and invites the audience to repeat these sounds. Filmed over two years (2022 and 2024), the installation juxtaposes the persistence of memory with the evolution of war technology. The project highlights war as a collective experience, urging viewers to confront its personal toll. Jan Bersz designed the book Repeat After Me II, which accompanied the Polish Pavilion's identity and exhibition. For the book, Jan used our fonts JT Peleton for the running text alongside JT Picolo. The book was distributed at the Biennale, the Warsaw Zachęta Museum, and various art bookstores.
JT Picolo’s inclusion in the Polish Pavilion’s identity at the Venice Biennale was especially meaningful given the exhibition’s powerful exploration of human experience, pain, and tragedy during war. The pavilion’s project, Repeat After Me II, confronts the reality of war through sound and memory, making it an important and moving initiative. Language, songs, poetry and alphabet all and deeply connected to the national identity. We are grateful that our typeface could play a role in a project with such profound significance.