The six-volume Little Hungaropedia series introduces Hungary in a whole new way: funny, informative and artistic. The project was born out of designer Zsófi Szabó's diploma project but soon became so much more. It shows the hilarious self-created image of Hungarians through the works of young writers. The books will be in Hungarian, English and Italian, and will be available in design stores, smaller bookstores and online.
The designer booklet series by graphic designer Zsófi Szabó was born out of a diploma project, but it had the possibility of becoming much more from the very beginning. “I wanted to make something that is interesting not just in my profession, but something that could be a product, which later could be the basis for a brand. I wanted to work with a group and imitate a real-life situation after my graduation, as if I worked in a company with authors and managers,” Zsófi told us.
Thus the idea of the Little Hungaropedia was born, with the goal of showing an image of Hungary and Budapest from a local's everyday perspective. The work of the young writers convey this brilliantly and the result is both informative and funny. It makes the perfect replacement for corny souvenirs with the final product reflecting the humorous self-image of Hungarians brilliantly as well as being a beautiful product in itself. In addition to being a design product and an enjoyable read the Little Hungaropedia series is interesting for foreigners wanting to get to know the real Hungary.
The idea for these booklets became serious in 2013, when We Love Publishing (the company behind We Love Budapest) saw promise in the project and decided to help make it happen. Financial and marketing plans were created, long discussions ensued, and another three authors (Viktória Vígh, Ádám Farkas, Balázs Dezse) joined the original trio (Szabina Ughy, Zsolt Hanula amd Krisztián Áldozó). Three additional themes were added and soon the debut series expanded to 6 volumes (Balatonopedia, Marketopedia, Bathopedia, Pubopedia, Clichépedia, Pálinkopedia).
In addition to the content, the cover is an extremely important element of the booklets. Their feel and smell make these all the more special – especially in our age of digital books, paper books are increasingly seen as design objects. The flexible, soft cover and thread stitched solution make it the perfect hybrid between something that is classic and beautiful, and light and easy to carry.
Zsófi thinks the booklets’ soul lies in the happy and carefree attitude of its authors. With multiple writers each book is completely different while still belonging to the same family.
The project received a Special Design Award and was selected as one of the best Central European Design diplomas, but what really matters is whether the general public will love the product, and how many people will bring joy to family and friends by putting a Little Hungaropedia under the Christmas tree.
