Young Designers in Bohemia

School was the last period of their creative freedom. School helped them to get ready for real life. They were kicked out of school.
The real-life environment was a bitter disappointment. School did not help them to get ready for everyday practice at all. Studying abroad opened their eyes…
Some things, however, they do have in common—they graduated recently, and their work (innovative, undervalued, flexible, stressful, wonderful) earns them a living.

How do you perceive the work of older designers? In what way is your approach different from theirs?

“Age, or youth, for that matter,
are not valid criteria for me. Subconsciously, I am drawn to the works of people tuned to the same wavelength as I am, whether they are old or young.
But I also respect those whose approach is different from mine. The only thing I don’t like is when design is only a pretty picture—I prefer a concept, a story, a message.”

What is most difficult for young designers to learn in order
to succeed in practice?

“I don’t really know what’s most important for young designers who want to succeed in the market.
Personally, I have always tried to follow one simple rule, that is, to avoid working on projects which are destined to fail, be it because of a badly formulated assignment, the client’s approach, the overall concept, or the contents.

I think many people make the mistake of choosing commissions solely on the basis of the pay, and this forces them to blindly fulfil the client’s wishes and make poor choices. They think that they first need to achieve the status of being able to choose their clients.
But they don’t understand that it works the other way around: one must carefully select one’s clients from the very beginning in order to work on worthwhile projects. And the most difficult task is to decide whether a commission makes sense or not.”

Do you only cooperate with Czech clients,
or do you also take commissions from abroad?

“So far, I do not have any experience in working for foreign clients. During my internship at the Dumbar studio in the Netherlands, I did not get to deal with the clients at all.
In my current position, I design materials for colleagues abroad (France, England, USA), but it is not a classic client-studio relationship.”

When looking at the upcoming talents,
who do you think will become the most successful?

“It is hard to say which young designers will become stars one day.
Young designers whose works are seen (such as Adéla Svobodová, Věra Marešová, Štěpán Malovec, Mikuláš Macháček, Radim Peško, Filip Blažek and others) are successful already, and they probably don’t fit into the category of the upcoming generation anyway.

I am sure there are many young, notable designers, but since their works are not seen yet, I don’t know them. I can only name those whom I know personally:
it was the desire to meet interesting people somehow connected with graphic design that led me to launch the Pellico5 workshop project.
I appreciate the works of Petr Skala, Vojtěch Dvořák, Filip Mond and Pavlína Doležalová, Jiří Močička, Jan Vala, and Martin Pecina.”

What is your professional dream?
What commissions would you like to work on, and why?
What do you want to achieve in design?

“I do not have any particular professional dream or vision.
After some experience with TV graphics (I collaborated with the designers who worked on the redesign of Czech TV, I was an art director of the ČT 24 Sport channel), I’d like to try my hand at more motion design, such as opening film credits. Most Czech films so far only feature typography running across the opening scenes of the film.
However, the credits can be much more than just a nuisance to the camera man. I have contacted a few people from the film industry and now I’m waiting for a suitable project to turn up.”

Link: Mag Typo

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