The Graffiti Chronicles
Team: Shadows Project, Ukrainian Ministry of Culture, St. Sophia’s Cathedral
Role: As project lead, I led all project areas: concept creation, prototype development, creative direction, and the execution of launch and PR strategy.
Objective: Create an immersive digital platform using interactive 3D experiences to bring Ukraine’s medieval heritage to a global audience, launched on November 15th.
This project reflects a blend of cultural preservation and innovation, bridging Ukraine’s medieval history with global digital engagement.
What's the problem?
The rich heritage of over 7,500 inscriptions at St. Sophia’s Cathedral is virtually unknown to the public. Visitors often ask for ways to learn more, but there is a lack of accessible resources. Saint Sophia has no interactive technology accompanying its tours or implementing its cultural heritage. The challenge was to bridge the gap between this historical treasure and a modern audience, making it engaging and easy to explore. We decided to create an interactive website allowing visitors to see Sophia's heritage in a new, modern context.
The website features nine carefully selected symbols to avoid overwhelming users and to ensure depth of storytelling. These symbols were chosen in collaboration with the cathedral’s research team and represent three themes: education, religion, and community. Each symbol provides a lens into medieval Kyiv, from early literacy to spiritual practices.
I wanted visitors to be able to access the symbols in person when visiting the cathedral. I also designed and set up QR codes in the Cathedral itself, which are located in close proximity to the symbols, which visitors can scan. The QR codes open the corresponding symbol pages on our website.
Developing the concept
I began developing the concept for this collaboration in the summer. Through my research and ideation, I focused on understanding how to transform ancient graffiti into modern digital assets that paid homage to the legacy of our ancestors but were also relevant to contemporary audiences.
A few years ago, archaeologists created a 3D reconstruction of Yaroslav the Wise, one of Kyivan Rus’s most important rulers, which I saw on display when visiting the cathedral. Seeing how technology revitalized history and highlighted its intricacy inspired me to apply a similar approach to the graffiti. My final concept for the website was to modernize historical inscriptions as 3D-rendered symbols, preserving their authenticity while introducing them in a fresh context.
I first tested this with a simple trident drawing (a classic modern-day homage to the Kyivan Rus, now Ukraine's coat of arms) from the Cathedral, transforming it into a 3D animated element. Later, I worked with a 3D artist to bring the final selected symbols to life, ensuring each retained its historical significance while engaging modern audiences.
