sLOVEnsko

It was year 2015, I returned from my internship from Japan and I had absolutely no idea what to do with my life. I moved back to my parent’s house in Slovakia and I started looking for jobs.

Michal, a friend of mine, needed a little graphic help to design a logo for his organization called Slovenský dom v Brne. The organization was a center for Slovak expats in Brno, Czech republic. For example, they organized Slovak-themed events and taught Slovak. While creating the logo, I started thinking about what makes me Slovak. What are the most iconic places in Slovakia, the best spots to visit. My beautiful country is still a hidden gem in the middle of Europe, largely unknown to tourists.

Why is that so? Well, one of the reasons could be that Slovaks are not very good at promoting what the country has to offer. I got inspired to create my own series of graphics that can catch any tourist’s eye.

One little detail to add – I was dating a German man. If he could fall in LOVE with sLOVEnsko, I was sure I could convince more foreigners!

Long before I had any graphical tablet, I still had very fine motoric skills. The illustrations are made with a mouse, line by line, drawing on photographs.

I thought these illustrations would look great on stamps too! Once I went to an art fair and met a person who knows what it takes to design an official post stamp in Slovakia. The whole process takes around 2 years! I got discouraged. Nowadays I can also send the design and the post office will print a batch of stamps for me. But my own stamp still needs to be sent with another, the official, stamp. Hmmm. Maybe one day…