Black Dolphin was inspired by the Russian prison tattoo culture and the aesthetics of the unique lettering found within it. Being Russian myself, I was surrounded by the prison culture in our arts and literature scene. It projected its values and secrets into our day to day environment from prison riddles to popular songs. The typeface is named after a popular song about one of the top security life sentence prisons in Russia, with a jarring pink fountain with a black dolphin in its yard. The text reads ‘A head held high is not for everyone’, which is a direct translation from Russian from the original tattoo on a prisoner’s body that served as a starting point for the development of the font.

The Latin and Cyrillic letterforms create a hand-crafted feel, being almost carved into the space. Inspired by a real tattoo on a prisoner’s body, Black Dolphin combines different type systems in a unified mix. The main features are runic, traditional Slavic lettering, and symbols from the Slavic church ligatures. Together, these create the idea of tradition, ancestry, and moral values, which, given the context, create a juxtaposition effect.

The juxtaposition is further intensified by the involvement of the Russian calligraphic style. This writing is mostly associated with the school system, where little kids just begin learning how to write in cursive before developing their unique handwriting styles later. This detail of something so ingrained in the memory of the tattoo artist, so child-like and innocent, creates an astonishing contrast between the childhood and the tough environment of his adulthood.

The type specs were done in collaboration with Libby Hiatt to showcase the font in the same context it came from, on a human body. I wanted to become the canvas for my font to connect with my cultural heritage. The projection of the letterforms on my body also served as the continuation of the prison theme and the idea of the panopticon, the constant surveillance in prisons and the feeling of constantly being observed.