"The function is of utmost importance. The designer should do what he or she is supposed to", surmise the designers. They prioritize functionality over formal means, but nevertheless admit that Grafixpol was not created out of love for pure and simple forms. When they design logos, visual identifications, books, posters or interactive realizations, they are interested primarily in the harmony, minimalism and meticulousness of the created works. The design studio may be new but they already have earned the trust of such institutions as the Office of the City of Łódź, the Museum of the Warsaw Uprising, Boston Café or the Soundedit festival.
Katarzyna Worpus-Wrońska graduated from the Łódź Academy of Fine Arts, obtaining her diploma from the workshop of publishing graphics. Jan Worpus-Budziejewski is an art historian by education of Łódź University. He also studied photography at the European School of Photography in Warsaw. Before Grafixpol was founded, just after her studies, Worpus-Wrońska was an intern at Carré Noir, a Parisian agency specializing in designing visual identifications for large companies. She was also involved with a small, independent studio in Paris named Undo-Redo and later worked for two interactive agencies in Łódź. Worpus-Budziejewski has worked as a freelancer and dealt with graphic design and photography since 2006.
The pair began collaborating in 2009 and in a conversation with culture.pl Jan tells their story.
Before, we only knew each other very briefly, just enough to say "hi." Kasia was employed at an agency and she was thinking about working on her own accord. She found my portfolio and she liked it, so she wrote to me.
Our work is pure madness. We work together and apart. We rivalize with each other. We labour 24 hours a day and we do it everywhere. Our promise that we’ll work from 9:00 to 17:00 has long ago been broken.