{"id":5012,"date":"2026-03-22T12:28:42","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T12:28:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.bitsia.com\/koma\/?p=5012"},"modified":"2026-03-26T17:49:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T17:49:19","slug":"notes-from-the-history-of-koma-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.bitsia.com\/koma\/2026\/03\/22\/notes-from-the-history-of-koma-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Notes from the History of Koma"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\r\n\t\t\t\tHome<\/a><\/span> <\/span> Notes from the History of Koma<\/span>\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t\t \t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Notes from the History of Koma<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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These are short notes from the history of KOMA Design Studio, published on the occasion of its 30th anniversary.
Originally shared as a series of short posts, each entry is connected to a specific project, moment or context.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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1994 \u2014 Margina<\/h5>

Margina magazine (1994\u2013) was a true Don Quixote of the cultural market in North Macedonia.
KOMA was tasked with translating its ideas into visual form \u2014 bold, experimental, and at the time almost unprecedented in local publishing.
This collaboration went beyond design; it was an attempt to open space for a different kind of visual language, at a time when such approaches had no clear place in the local context.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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1996 \u2014 Dnevnik: Media and Bit<\/h5>

The collaboration with the daily newspaper Dnevnik began in 1996. KOMA was responsible for the design of \u201cMedia\u201d, a weekly supplement covering TV, film and comics (editor: Nikola Gelevski), and later \u201cBit\u201d, one of the first specialized supplements dedicated to computers, IT and multimedia (editor: Goran Gulabovski).
At the time, production was still physical \u2014 printed layouts were literally transported by bus to the newsroom. We were working in a period that anticipated the boom of print media in independent Macedonia, with circulations that would later exceed 100,000 copies.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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1993\u20132023 \u2014 KOMA Logos<\/h5>

The logos of KOMA Design Studio (1993\u20132023) evolved together with the studio itself.
Each redesign was intentional \u2014 a way to stay in sync with time, to reflect change, growth and adaptation within an ever-changing market.
Special thanks to the designers who contributed across different periods:
1993 \u2014 Goce Duchevski
1997 \u2014 Goce Duchevski & Nebojsa Gelevski
2003 \u2014 Vane Kosturanov
2009 \u2014 Vane Kosturanov (with a minor typographic intervention by Nebojsa Gelevski)
2013 \u2014 Vane Kosturanov (a version we rarely use \u2014 still waiting for it to fully settle)<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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1993\u20131999 \u2014 Elfasko<\/h5>

Elfasko was born in the same year as KOMA \u2014 1993.
The student magazine of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering was formalized slightly earlier, and may well have been one of the impulses behind the creation of KOMA.
Between 1993 and 1999, KOMA provided strong logistical and technical support \u2014 from design work to training new contributors in computer use and basic graphic design.
In the second issue, somewhat self-referentially, both the Elfasko team and the founders of KOMA appear together \u2014 more on that in a future note.
Logo design: Goran Gulabovski & Nebojsa Gelevski
Cover design, issue 1: Goran Gulabovski & Nebojsa Gelevski (designed on Atari STE)
Cover design, issue 2: Goce Duchevski & Nebojsa Gelevski<\/p>

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1993 \u2014 The Beginning<\/h5>

Three friends decided to start a company for prepress and computer-based print preparation.
The investment was simple: one computer each (not exactly cheap for students) \u2014 and themselves.
They needed a printer. Not just any printer, but the best available at the time \u2014 the HP LaserJet IV, with a resolution of 600\u00d7600 dpi. It wasn\u2019t available locally, so they had to get it from Sofia. How they managed to bring it across the border is a story for another time \ud83d\ude42
That was the beginning of KOMA.
The photo shows the founders around 1993:
Nebojsa Gelevski, Goce Duchevski and Goran Gulabovski.
(As for the fashion \u2014 best left uncommented.)<\/p>

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2002 \u2014 To\u010dka<\/h5>

In 2002, we worked on the logo for Cultural Center To\u010dka \u2014 a space that quickly became iconic in Skopje.
The concept was by Nikola Gelevski, with execution by Nebojsa Gelevski.
But the real story came later.
During installation, the hammer \u2014 originally drawn perfectly vertical to form the letter \u201cT\u201d \u2014 was \u201caccidentally\u201d rotated 20\u201330 degrees to the right, as if in motion.
Artist Igor Toshevski suggested keeping it that way.
We agreed \u2014 and from that moment on, the logo lived in its improved form.
A simple reminder that design sometimes happens in the process, not only on the drawing board.<\/p>

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Late 1990s \/ Early 2000s \u2014 Avalon<\/h5>

Towards the end of the previous millennium, we began collaborating with Avalon Production.
As enthusiasts of record design, working on CD covers felt like a natural direction.
In the years that followed, we designed around ten releases for some of the most prominent Macedonian artists \u2014 To\u0161e Proeski, Karolina Go\u010deva, Erz\u030cana, Break, Igor D\u017eambazov and others.
The first CD we worked on was for the band Area. At the time, many artists didn\u2019t have a defined logo \u2014 including Area. We designed both the logo and the cover, and we\u2019re glad to see the logo still in use today \u2014 a small imprint of a specific moment in local graphic design.
Design: Antonio Rusevski \u2014 Dr. Bonsek & Nebojsa Gelevski<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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2013 \u2014 #NaTochak<\/h5>

In 2013, we designed the logo and branding for one of our favorite informal activist groups \u2014 the Skopje cycling community #NaTo\u010dak.
A small project in scope, but significant in meaning. We worked with a group not defined by structure, but by shared energy and initiative.
We\u2019re especially glad the logo is still in use.
Perhaps the best sign that the design has truly lived on.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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2002\u20132023 \u2014 KOMA Calendars<\/h5>

Around 2002, we decided that a design studio should create its own calendars \u2014 on its own terms, without compromise.
That decision led to a project that continued until 2023 (with a short break during COVID).
Each year brought a new theme, a new experiment, a new visual language.
The calendars and agendas became a kind of annual ritual \u2014 a space for ideas, play and freedom.
For the 30th anniversary, we created a new edition inspired directly by the 2003 calendar.
Digitalization makes us question whether this tradition will continue.
Over the past 20+ years, many ideas and visual approaches emerged \u2014 some of them will be curated and revisited in this series.
Design: Gordana Goceva, Antonio Rusevski, Nebojsa Gelevski
Text: Nikola Gelevski (Surrogates project)<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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2005 \u2014 Milica Stojanova Monograph<\/h5>

Probably one of the most immersive projects we have worked on.
Research, analysis, continuous dialogue \u2014 not only with the team, but with the story itself.<\/p>

In 2005, together with \u0160kart (Belgrade), we designed the monograph of Milica Stojanova for the publisher Templum.<\/p>

The process was intense and personal. We tried to understand her not only as an actress, but as a person \u2014 through fragments of life and performance.<\/p>

The cover emerged as a contrast:
soft and tactile (velour) against raw and rough (cardboard).
Her presence is not directly shown, but suggested \u2014 like a shadow composed of many roles.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Keep Reading<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\"\"<\/div><\/a> February 26, 2026<\/span> <\/span>

Designing when the font doesn\u2019t exist<\/a><\/h3>
Read More<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> \r\n <\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\"\"<\/div><\/a> March 23, 2026<\/span> <\/span>

Designing with scissors<\/a><\/h3>
Read More<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> \r\n <\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\r\n \r\n March 26, 2026<\/span> Process<\/a><\/span> <\/span>
When the cover moves<\/a><\/h5> \r\n <\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\r\n \r\n March 23, 2026<\/span> Process<\/a><\/span> <\/span>
Designing with scissors<\/a><\/h5> \r\n <\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\r\n \r\n March 22, 2026<\/span> Experiments<\/a><\/span> <\/span>
2013 \u2014 Mikser \/ experimental books<\/a><\/h5> \r\n <\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\r\n \r\n March 22, 2026<\/span> Notes<\/a><\/span> <\/span>
Notes from the History of Koma<\/a><\/h5> \r\n <\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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