CODES OF HERITAGE — Stereogram Generator
A Chrysalis Mag project

A code of heritage,
hidden in plain sight

A stereogram generator built on Belarusian national ornaments — so we remember what they mean, effortlessly, while having fun. Export your design and print it as a poster — your wall keeps the depth in 2D.

01 tribute

A tribute to the awakening of Belarusian culture and national identity

Codes of Heritage is the second merch drop from the Chrysalis Mag team. We built it to celebrate and preserve Belarusian native culture — to help people remember and recognise the meanings of national ornaments in a way that feels like play, not study.

Each print, each pattern, each pixel of the generator is a small act of remembering. A reminder that the language of ornament is not decorative — it is a code.

02 method

Each tile becomes a pattern. Each pattern hides its meaning

We take a Belarusian ornamental tile, generate a repeating pattern from it, and encode the tile's symbolic meaning inside that pattern as a stereogram. For example: the Tree of Life tile → Tree of Life pattern → an encoded icon for infinity, floating inside the weave.

step 01
Tile
A traditional ornamental unit — the smallest semantic brick of Belarusian textile.
→
step 02
Pattern
The tile is repeated into a field — the surface you see at first glance.
→
step 03
Stereogram
The meaning of the tile is embedded as a hidden icon — visible only with stereo vision.
03 stereogram

Unlock a new dimension with your eyes

A stereogram is an image designed to create the visual illusion of a three-dimensional scene from a flat, two-dimensional one. The effect is binocular: your left and right eyes feed slightly different views to the brain, and the brain reconstructs depth from the difference.

Relax your focus, look through the surface, and a second image appears — floating inside the ornament, exactly where it belongs.

04 universal

Art is a language that needs no translation

What if the meaning of an ornament were embedded in the ornament itself — obvious and visible even to those who don't speak the language of Belarusian ornament?
— the question behind the project

Visual art knows no language barriers. It speaks to everyone, regardless of the words they use — like mathematics.

We chose to embed icons as hidden symbols rather than words, because art is a universal grammar. By coding the meaning into the ornament, the symbol becomes legible to anyone — Belarusian speaker or not.

The project becomes a multifaceted visual experience: a surface to admire, a code to decipher, and a piece of heritage to carry with you.

05 interpretation

A note on reading the ornament

The vocabulary of Belarusian ornament is rich, regional, and centuries deep. Each pattern in this project is our interpretation of a traditional motif — carefully researched, but not the only possible reading.

Variations exist, and we acknowledge them. Folk symbolism is a living tradition — meanings shift between regions, eras and weavers. Treat what you see here as one careful reading among many, and a starting point for your own.
06 origin

Made by Chrysalis Mag

Chrysalis Mag is a contemporary art platform devoted to Belarusian culture — a space where heritage, design and new technology meet. Codes of Heritage is the second merch drop from the team.

Palina — Editor-in-chief & Nadzeya — Founder

A platform for Belarusian contemporary art and ideas.
Visit chrysalismag.org

Find the encoded symbols with us.

Open the generator, pick an ornament, and let your eyes do the rest. Decode the patterns. Carry the meanings. Help keep them alive.

Open the generator