My name is Wojciech Ciągło. I typeset books, monographs and catalogues in a one-person studio in Kielce. This page is the story of where this work came from and what it looks like from the inside.
You can typeset anything, flyers, posters, packaging, large-format banners. I chose books, because it is a medium that stays with the reader for weeks, sometimes for a lifetime.
Every typographic decision, margin width, choice of typeface, leading, the density of the page composition, affects how the text resonates in the reader's mind. A well-typeset book is invisible: nobody notices the typography, because everything is where it should be.
Bad typesetting, on the other hand, is felt instinctively, as discomfort, an inability to focus, the need to keep returning to the same line. My work is about eliminating that discomfort before anyone even notices it.
I work slowly, on the details. I begin every project with a sample, a dozen or so pages on which we establish the typographic character of the whole publication. Without that conversation there is no typesetting. The studio always works to one rhythm: one book at a time, to the end.
For three years I ran the computer typesetting desk at the Kielce branch of Gazeta Wyborcza. This is where my DTP experience begins.
Together with two journalists I co-found Studio Full Scan in Kielce. As head of production I am responsible for graphic design and illustrations for encyclopaedias, books, textbooks and catalogues.
The album „And I Still See Their Faces” (Shalom) wins first prize in the Polish Book Publishers Association competition for the most beautiful books of the year. I was responsible for scanning and image editing.
Studio Full Scan is awarded the Golden Gryphon (Złoty Gryf) 1998.
Work on the album „Nad złoto droższe. Treasures of the National Library”, published by the National Library, presenting one hundred and five of its most precious written artefacts.
I move to the in-house studio of Jedność Publishing. Book typesetting, scanning and photo editing for numerous titles.
On 1 February I start my own business, today Wojciech Ciągło Studio DTP. I continue working with existing clients and take on new ones.
I work with many publishers, universities, museums and brands across Poland. Typesetting of books and monographs, catalogues, prepress and retouching, always with care for fidelity to the original.
I came to typesetting back in 1990, from journalism, at the Kielce newsroom of Gazeta Wyborcza. Then for thirteen years I co-ran Studio Full Scan, in charge of production, and our work earned recognition in national competitions. Later came book typesetting at Jedność Publishing, and since 2012 my own studio. Over all these years I have grown certain of one thing: the most valuable part of this work is what a computer cannot do for us, that is feeling, patience and fidelity to the original. That is what keeps me in typography to this day.
Just a short enquiry describing what you have in mind. I usually reply within 1-2 business days with a free quote.