Rakovski’s Handwriting Revived
The National Card and Payment Scheme (NCPS) commissioned us to transform the unique handwriting of Georgi Sava Rakovski into a modern digital font. This project bridges Rakovski’s revolutionary spirit with today’s generation, honouring his legacy and keeping his ideals alive.
Following the digitisation of the scripts of Hristo Botev, this project marked our 2nd collaboration with the NCPS and the next milestone in their mission to preserve Bulgaria’s cultural heritage. We approached this project with the same care and reverence for Rakovski’s remarkable legacy as we did with Hristo Botev’s.
Who is Georgi S. Rakovski?
Georgi S. Rakovski was a Bulgarian revolutionary, writer, and publicist who laid the foundation for Bulgaria’s national liberation movement. Naturally, his handwriting style reflected his vibrant, revolutionary spirit. Moreover, renowned for his bold ideas, strategic diplomacy, and unwavering dedication to freedom, Rakovski remains a cornerstone of Bulgarian cultural and historical identity.
Uneven, intricate, and filled with personality, Rakovski’s script posed unique and exciting design challenges ahead of us. To authentically replicate his style, we studied his original manuscripts preserved in the “SS. Cyril and Methodius” National Library and explored his hometown of Kotel where we met and talked with historians and museum experts. Each stroke of his pen we saw, coupled with the conversations we had, told a much greater story than we imagined. Our goal was to capture all nuances while ensuring the font's practical applications in modern contexts.
To extract the “DNA” of Rakovski’s handwriting, we gave particular attention to features such as the strong pressure used on the letter “х,” the expressive endings of “а,” “и,” and “е,” and the characteristic two-stroke rendering of the small “ъ.” These elements, while challenging for readability, became the essence of the new typeface. Thanks to the use of advanced OpenType features, we were able to preserve these traits while ensuring good readability and realistic results. As a result, the font is functional for both digital and print applications.
Launched in November 2024 at the Georgi Sava Rakovski Military Academy, the final font has received acclaim from global typography experts, including Lucas de Groot, and the Bulgarian illustrator Kiril Zlatkov. Both praised the font’s harmonious aesthetics and versatile usability, capturing the dynamic and expressive personality of Rakovski.
