Cover Page Design for the Periodical Magyar Iparművészet (Hungarian Applied Arts)

This ink drawing by Pál Horti was made for the cover page design competition of the Magyar Iparművészet (Hungarian Applied Arts) periodical. The combined arrangement of the text and image on this cover page design follows various aesthetic and practical typographical considerations. The cover page design is divided in the middle into two vertical rectangles. The name of the periodical, “MAGYAR / IPAR- / MŰVÉSZET”, is enclosed with a black background in the upper third of the left-hand side, which has a black frame. In the lower segment, tendrils curl outside of the frame of the square densely decorated with stylized peacock-feather ornamentation. This makes up a part of an asymmetrical structure that is unusual in Hungarian ornamentation, where the light-colored outlines and the silhouettes play the major role. There is a narrow row of decorations with an Art Nouveau motif at the top of the right side of the cover page design, with the name “HORTI” in small letters legible in the right corner along the edge. Below this row of decorations is the editor of the publication, its volume, and its date. Pál Horti designed his Art Nouveau lettering carefully, and it has an elegant and aesthetic appearance with its contrast of black and white.