Every year, the Frankfurt Book Fair hosts the most illuminating ideas from renowned publishers and international authors. This year’s theme was francophone literature and followed the motto “Frankfurt auf Franzoesisch” (Frankfurt in French). The current guest of honor finished their journey and made room for another one to bloom. In the last day of the event, on October 15, France handed the guest of honor status to Georgia.
The country, sitting at the intersection of Europe and Asia, celebrated its presence at the event with a four-minute film dedicated to the nation’s contemporary alphabet. The animation was created at the initiative of the Georgian National Book Center, for which JWT Metro and Metrograph joined with a touch of creativity and historical essence.
Georgia’s writing symbols continue to fascinate people all over the world. It has captured UNESCO’s attention already, which included the country’s three alphabets in its patrimony. But now, Georgia’s main purpose was to use the curves and beauty of the letters to seduce the event’s audience and online public alike.
Through the video “Georgia Made of Characters,” the book center gives credit to each of the 33 letters that make up the alphabet. The brand connected the symbols with visual illustrations in order to preserve the country’s long history and cultural distinctiveness.
To visually craft the country’s national identity, which encompasses a unique literary tradition based on the native language and alphabet, the Tbilisi-based agency gathered an army of artists – as many as the number of letters – and asked them to highlight each character’s importance in the country’s cultural heritage. They took inspiration from the letters’ beauty, and outlined the elegance of each and every one of them into small art pieces.
The artists honored the letters with exclusive designs, unique shapes, and relevant explanations. The characters magically blend to form words, and words transform into stories that ultimately unfold in front of the viewer’s eyes in the form of images. The whole artistic ensemble contains interesting facts that reflect Georgia’s amazing past and modern history.
Each letter invites you to discover the following one. For example, A stands for “Anbani,” Georgia’s original alphabet; B is for “Bassiani,” a great battle in the past and a great club in modern days; and G represents “Galaktioni,” the nation’s beloved poet and definitely a good reason to start learning Georgian.
The video opens just like a book and elaborates ideas that spin around the country’s traditional heritage. The pages are written using the Anbani alphabet. And while we presented you just the first three letters, we won’t steal the pleasure of discovering the country’s rich culture on your own. Enjoy!
Credits:
Client: Georgian National Book Center
Agency: JWT Metro
Production Company: Metrograph
Concept and Branding: Connect