Style combination · Pairs well

Soviet Central Asian Ornamental Modernism × Thaw Modernism

Borrow its laconic flat figures, orbits and rockets for posters and booklets that sit beside a mosaic wall about science and space.

From the research on Soviet Central Asian Ornamental Modernism

Mix them and make something Soviet Central Asian Ornamental Modernism Thaw Modernism

A sample layout drawn from the recipe: shapes from Soviet Central Asian Ornamental Modernism, their arrangement from Soviet Central Asian Ornamental Modernism, the finish from Soviet Central Asian Ornamental Modernism. Not a real work, and not an image of either style.

What each style brings

Each part of the design comes from the style with the stronger say in it, and each style gives at least two.

Soviet Central Asian Ornamental Modernism Thaw Modernism (Soviet and Czechoslovak)

Type from Thaw Modernism: Hand-lettering
Colour from Thaw Modernism: Flat fields
Limited spot colours
Form from Soviet Central Asian Ornamental Modernism: Non-representational
Geometric tessellation
Composition from Soviet Central Asian Ornamental Modernism: Repetition & rhythm
Framed panels
Surface from Soviet Central Asian Ornamental Modernism: Flat

The type

Open fonts standing in for each style’s own type, which is often hand-drawn or commercial.

Display · Thaw Modernism

Dawn

Jost, standing in for Zhurnalnaya rublenaya (Polygraphmash type bureau under Anatoly Shchukin, released 1947, Latin added 1962), the Soviet geometric sans after Erbar and Metro

Text · Thaw Modernism

The light, stylised modernism that replaced Socialist Realist illusionism and Stalinist pomp in Soviet and Czechoslovak graphic and applied design, from the 1956 Secret Speech, the 1957 Moscow youth festival and Expo 58 to the crushing of the Prague Spring in 1968 (a political cut-off; the manner ran on into the 1970s). Laconic flat figures, a few flat inks and clear pastels, airy asymmetric pages and the parabolas, trapezoids and spirals of the new architecture carried civic, scientific optimism into animation, children's books, magazines, tourism posters and Sputnik-age orbits and rockets.

Jost; Thaw Modernism used Zhurnalnaya rublenaya (Polygraphmash type bureau under Anatoly Shchukin, released 1947, Latin added 1962), the Soviet geometric sans after Erbar and Metro and Tyfa (Josef Týfa, 1959, cast by Grafotechna from 1960), a Czech book roman its designer said was inspired by modern architecture

The colours

The ground and leading colours come from Thaw Modernism, with a counter-accent from Soviet Central Asian Ornamental Modernism. The ink reads on the ground at 4.5:1 or more.

Soviet Central Asian Ornamental Modernism Thaw Modernism (Soviet and Czechoslovak)

#f2ead8 ground · 36%
#2b2b2b ink · 14%
#d8452f accent · 18%
#d79a2b accent · 14%
#f1c95e accent · 10%
#3ea39b accent · 8%

As CSS

:root {
  --ground: #f2ead8;
  --ink: #2b2b2b;
  --accent-1: #d8452f;
  --accent-2: #d79a2b;
  --accent-3: #f1c95e;
  --accent-4: #3ea39b;
  --font-display: "Jost", sans-serif;
  --font-text: "Jost", sans-serif;
}

Use it with care

Soviet Central Asian Ornamental Modernism: This is official Soviet monumental art made in Central Asia under rule from Moscow: treat its motifs as Uzbek, Kazakh, Kyrgyz and Tajik heritage rather than generic 'Oriental' decoration; credit named artists, among them the Jarsky brothers, Ahmet Shaymuradov and the Kazakh artist Moldakhmet Kenbaev; keep Qur'anic and other sacred Arabic inscriptions, and pseudo-Arabic letters, out of reworked tile patterns; and draw new panels instead of copying surviving mosaics. They are attributed works whose makers or heirs may still hold rights; 157 of them have been listed heritage in Uzbekistan since 25 March 2024, while Almaty has no policy to protect its monumental art, and many mosaics there have been painted over, demolished or hidden behind hoardings and advertisements.

Thaw Modernism (Soviet and Czechoslovak): This was the official design culture of one-party states, and its years ended with the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968: use its optimism knowingly rather than as innocent retro, and draw new figures and emblems instead of copying Soyuzmultfilm characters or state insignia; Soviet and communist symbols are restricted by law in Lithuania, Latvia and Ukraine, and the Czech Republic has criminalised promoting communist ideology since 2026; films such as Khitruk's (he died in 2012) remain in copyright.