Maksymilian Skorwider
He is an illustrator, poster artist, and visual artist, as well as a professor at the Magdalena Abakanowicz University of the Arts Poznań, where he leads the Comics and Graphic Novel Studio at the Faculty of Graphic Arts.
Born in Poznań in 1980, he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań. He collaborates regularly with Polityka weekly and Kultura Liberalna, creating illustrations for journalistic articles. His work combines satire, grotesque, and reflection on contemporary society and the impact of technology on human life.
As an illustrator, he has co-created several dozen popular science books, primarily in collaboration with Boguś Janiszewski. He is co-author of the series To, o czym dorośli ci nie mówią [What Adults Don’t Tell You], published by Agora, Publicat, and Albus, which has translated into seven languages. The books address topics such as economics, politics, artificial intelligence, emotions, climate, and history.
His work has been presented in numerous solo and group exhibitions across Europe, Asia, the Americas, and the Middle East, including in Paris, Berlin, Tokyo, and New York. He has curated international exhibitions of posters and graphic arts. His works are held in museum and private collections.
THE CONSTITUTION, OR ANT-LIKE WORK. ADULTS DON’T TELL YOU THIS EITHER (2025)
Book design and illustrations
Text: Boguś Janiszewski
Publisher: Publicat, ISBN: 9788327127495
Year: 2025
The book’s graphic design combines functionality with a creative visual approach, emphasizing its educational purpose. Comic-style illustrations, featuring bold lines and a restrained color palette, create a clear and dynamic visual-textual narrative. The artist designs illustrations to interact with the text, building a cohesive story and a dialogue between image and word. The result is a visually engaging and dynamic work that helps children (and adults) understand concepts related to democracy and law. Published by Publicat, one of Poland’s leading educational publishers, the book appeared under the patronage of the IUSTITIA Legal Education Foundation. It was presented at festivals and fairs, including Komiksowa Warszawa 2025 and the Warsaw International Book Fair, and reviewed in Kultura Liberalna and the Institute for Civic Affairs. It was also showcased at the Royal Castle in Warsaw during Constitution Day on May 3rd.
WHERE DID POLAND COME FROM? (2024)
Book design and illustrations
Text: Boguś Janiszewski and Agnieszka Jankowiak‑Maik
Publisher: Agora, ISBN: 9788383800158
Year: 2024
The book’s design combines comic-like expressiveness with a thoughtful interpretation of historical narrative. Illustrations, built on bold lines and a contrasting, restrained color scheme, form a coherent visual story that complements and strengthens the text. The artist consciously references national iconography – portraits of rulers, symbols, and maps – giving them a fresh, contemporary dimension. Elements of grotesque exaggeration animate the content and invite deeper reflection on how history is represented. The composition is clear and rhythmic, presenting Polish history in an engaging and accessible way for young readers. The book was awarded the “Smart Book of the Year 2024 for Children” prize by Jagiellonian University.
BOOK ABOUT DRUGS. A NON-GUIDE (2024)
Book design and illustrations
Text: Boguś Janiszewski
Publisher: Agora, ISBN: 9788326841996
Year: 2024
The book’s visual layer combines a comic style with an educational message. Bold lines, contrasting colors, and exaggerated facial expressions give the illustrations energy and humor, softening the challenging subject of addiction. Grotesque elements and symbolism help readers engage with the topic without moralizing, while the layout of panels and infographics creates a dynamic narrative rhythm. The artist builds a coherent visual language that attracts young readers and supports their understanding of educational content. The book functions both as an informative guide and as an artistic story illustrating how drugs can distort perception of reality. It appears in the “Polish Books for Children and Young Adults 2025” catalog by the Book Institute and received recognition in the Poland Section of IBBY’s “Book of the Year 2024” competition, awarding Boguś Janiszewski a distinction for the text. Additionally, it was listed on the Museum of Children’s Books’ 2024 Treasures List as one of the “Best Polish Books” of the year.
HOW TO SUPPORT A CHILD IN A SCHOOL THAT DOESN’T WORK. A PARENT’S GUIDE (2023)
Cover and illustrations
Text: B. Janiszewski, J. Rawecka
Publisher: Publicat, ISBN: 9788327127303
Year: 2023
This publication is a practical guide for parents seeking to support their children within an educational system that is often flawed and not tailored to individual student needs. The cover and overall graphic design reflect the guide’s purpose: simplicity of style, clarity of form, and light composition facilitate engagement with emotionally charged content requiring reflection. Illustrations act as subtle commentary, complementing the text without dominating it, softening the narrative tone, and allowing readers to form their own interpretations. They take the form of metaphorical scenes, dialogues, satirical drawings, and graphic annotations, highlighting the absurdities of school life, tensions between the system and the individual, and the emotions “behind the scenes” of education. In this way, the visual design echoes the guide’s main ideas. The book was published by Publicat, one of Poland’s largest and most recognized educational and advisory publishers.
