The evolution of the principles of “defamiliarization” in children’s illustration (1920s-2020s)

Abstract

The research aims to identify the evolution of the principles of “defamiliarization” in children’s books from the 1920s to the 2020s, tracing the transformation of the formal method from avant-garde constructivism (V. V. Lebedev, the publishing house “Detskaya Literatura”, or “Detgiz”) through changes in the artistic language of the 20th century to contemporary project-based approaches. The article argues that the formal method, based on Viktor Shklovsky’s theory of defamiliarization, established the principles of book architectonics (the active use of white space, the symbolic nature of graphics, and the synthesis of typography and imagery) that persist in subsequent publishing projects. The scientific novelty lies in the substantiation of the concept of “technological defamiliarization” – the intentional use of algorithmic glitches and generative mutations as a tool to create a new visuality that opposes the uniform digital design of mass media products. Furthermore, the study identifies two contemporary directions within this single tradition: the creation of analog publishing projects and the use of digital technologies to renew the language of illustration. This work provides the first comparative analysis of defamiliarization techniques in both the avant-garde books of the 1920s and modern practices. The results show that the evolution of defamiliarization has passed through five main stages: avant-garde construction (1920s-1930s), academic synthesis (1930s-1960s), the return of the authorial principle (1970s-1980s), the proliferation of digital technologies and the emergence of standardized products (1990s-2010s), and the contemporary divergence of directions (2010s – present). The formal method remains an essential tool for overcoming visual monotony, and its legacy continues in both handmade uniqueness and experimental digital forms.

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About this article

Publication history

• Received: April 10, 2026.
• Published: May 13, 2026.

Keywords

• формальный метод
• принцип остранения
• детская книга
• ленинградская школа книжной графики
• В. В. Лебедев
• formal method
• principle of defamiliarization
• children’s book
• Leningrad school of book graphics
• V. V. Lebedev

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