At the beginning of the work, the aim was to create a coherent visual language, universal enough to be able to illustrate both very simple and very complicated representations.
A very important aspect of work was to learn the rules and recommendations regarding Polish heraldry. Some of the most important of them are:
- using the outline on the emblem and the shield
- striving for image symmetry
- the emblem should fill the shield as well as possible
The presence of the outline allows to easily create an achromatic version and a version on a black background.
In Polish heraldry, there are 4 basic colors and 2 metals. I decided to make them coherent for all coats of arms.
The heraldic commission in Poland, when creating coats of arms, recommends using the so-called Spanish shield for reasons of its simplicity and capacity. The shield is made of 6 by 7 squares with the use of the simplest geometric shapes, a square and a circle.
Along with the black outline present in each coat of arms, I wanted it to be part of the visual language, not just a mechanically added element to the form. That is why each coat of arms was redesigned with great attention to detail.
A few photos from my master's degree defense.
