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Students from Ƶ won five medals at the All-Russian Student Competition ‘Sytin's Cause’
30 May

This season, the All-Russian Student Competition ‘Sytin's Cause’ evaluated the work of 100 participants from 12 universities and two specialised colleges in Bryansk, Moscow, Orenburg, St. Petersburg, Simferopol, Tver, Tomsk, and Cherepovets. The competition is held by the First Model Printing House with the support of the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation, the Russian Book Union, the magazines ‘Book Industry’ and ‘University Book’, the Prosveshchenie Group of Companies and the Alpina Publishing House. Students from the University of Industrial Technologies and Design won five medals for their original work submitted to the competition.

In the Multimedia Project category, Ksenia Markova, a student at the Higher School of Printing and Media Technologies at Ƶ, won a silver medal for her electronic publication project entitled Korean Books as a Source of Inspiration for Readers and Publishers. Ksenia has been researching contemporary Korean literature for a long time, so this project is not the first in which the author has turned to the history and modernity of Korean culture. Her book project ‘Wind’ occupies a special place in this series, in which she regularly refers to new publications by Korean authors. Ksenia is inspired not only by the aesthetics that undoubtedly permeate many Korean publications, but also by the motifs and images of the writers‘ creativity.

’In the project that I submitted to the competition together with designer Nikita Khlebnikov, we analysed the main features of the traditional appearance — the cover, binding, paper, and design. With this in mind, we also highlighted the features of the modern appearance, in which much of this is reflected. I found the concept of empty white particularly interesting. This is often lacking in books found on the Russian market.

It may seem that I am idealising, but I want to assure you that this is not the case. In my opinion, it is important to draw on the interesting experience of other countries, especially when publishing their literature, which is part of their cultural background.

In our work, we focused on colours and shapes that helped navigate the sections. In addition, I used scans of Korean books so that readers could see what the text was about. Multimedia was implemented through links and QR codes to websites and scientific papers,’ says Ksenia.

At the award ceremony, the work was particularly noted by jury member Tatyana Beloselskaya, representing the Prosveshcheniye publishing house. She praised the choice of topic, its presentation, and the visual aesthetics.

In the Graphic Design category, the gold medal went to Danil Syura, a student at the Engineering School of Clothing (College) of Ƶ, for his promotional poster based on Fonvizin's play The Minor.

‘The meaning of my work was to visually convey the sloppiness and carelessness of Nedorosl through chaotic, crooked and uneven lines. Distorted shapes, broken contours. The disharmonious composition emphasises the character's lack of order, untidiness and childishness. The rough, hastily sketched strokes create a sense of instability and immaturity, reflecting Mitrofanushka's characteristic traits: laziness, ignorance and unwillingness to develop. Thus, the plastic and sloppy style of the lines becomes a metaphor for his internal and external imperfection,’ comments the author.

The bronze medal in the same category was won by Inna Gubina, a student at the Engineering School of Clothing (College) of the St. Petersburg State University of Technology and Design. The design concept of her poster for the 280th anniversary of Denis Fonvizin's birth was based on the contrast between the past and the present. This allows the viewer, as Inna says, to see the connection between the legacy of the past and its relevance in the present.

"The focus of this composition is the image of a theatre actor who played the role of Mitrofanushka, stylised as a black-and-white photograph. The poster is done in bright purple tones, which adds dynamism and modernity, and the inscription ‘A book that unites generations’ emphasises the relevance of Fonvizin's legacy for contemporary society,’ adds the author.

Matvey Mitsik, a student at the Engineering School of Clothing (College) of Ƶ, shared the bronze medal and third place in the ‘Graphic Design’ category with Inna. The phrase on his promotional poster, ‘Learning is light, ignorance is darkness!’ became the central element, visually dividing the poster into light and dark parts. This is a reference to the confrontation between progressive ideas and stagnation. The stylistic component — vintage aesthetics, archaicisation in the style of old 18th-century publications (fonts, graphics) — pays tribute to the Age of Enlightenment.

‘I wanted to remind the viewer that Fonvizin's satire is not just history, but a mirror of society that remains relevant 280 years later,’ says Matvey.

In the ‘Book Trailers’ category, the silver medal was won by a team of students from the Engineering School of Clothing (College) of Ƶ, consisting of Violetta Nagabedyan, Nikita Razuvayev, and Anna Tsareva. The authors developed a book trailer for Fonvizin's play ‘The Minor’ in the format of an interpreted classic through contemporary genres.

‘The book trailer reinterprets Denis Fonvizin's play ‘The Minor’ through the prism of modernity, combining 18th-century satire with contemporary formats: reality shows, silent films, advertising, and avant-garde art. The main idea is to show that the issues of upbringing, hypocrisy and social inequality raised by Fonvizin remain relevant today,’ the authors share.