Who wants to be a designer? Designer by profession

EN■

In November last year, the gates of the Moravian Museum of Decorative Arts opened to students of secondary (art) schools and their teachers, where a number of leading experts in design, or rather teachers of universities dedicated to design in the Czech Republic, were eagerly awaiting them. The discussion forum focused on comprehensive presentations of the respective universities, offering a useful insight into the functioning of individual disciplines and the philosophy of the entire institutions. The presentations, including the discussion that followed, were moderated by Prof. Jiří Pelcl, designer and former rector of UMPRUM in Prague.

This unique event aimed to create a stimulating platform for sharing experiences and practical advice primarily for potential applicants, but also for the wider professional public interested in current trends in design education. In addition to the open days of individual schools and public final projects, the newly established platform also offered a comprehensive insight into the functioning of Czech higher education in the field of design.

The Czech design scene grows every year with new promising gradu- ates, creators of new visions, ideas and realizations. "Most of our students graduate and work in their field of study, often for companies with which they have already established cooperation during their studies. However, it is not unusual for graduates to start their own brands. Only a small percentage of graduates leave their field of study to pursue something else in their professional lives," says Mgr. Vít Jakubíček Ph.D., curator of the design collection at the Regional Gallery of Fine Arts in Zlín and lecturer at the Faculty of Multimedia Communications at Tomáš Baťa University in Zlín. Successful graduates, i.e. those who succeed in the compet- itive environment, "are not necessarily defined by the number of awards won in competitions or excessive media coverage of their work, but rather by designed products that are actually on the shelves and are popular with end customers," states doc. MgA. Zdeněk Veverka, the guarantor of the Design and Applied Creation study programme at the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen. According to Vít Jakubíček, a good and successful designer should work and design things "in such a way as to create design that creates safer, higher quality and more friendly objects and environments for end users, and not just to be an 'aesthetician' of things, as it is sometimes perceived by the wider public."

The pilot edition of the Discussion Forum at the Moravian Gallery was attended by representatives of universities such as the University of Applied

Arts in Prague, the Czech Technical University in Prague, Mendel University in Brno, the Faculty of Fine Arts of the Brno University of Technology, Tomas Bata University in Zlín, the Faculty of Art and Design of Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem and others. This autumn, the Moravian Gallery is preparing the second edition of this successful event in an even more extended format, which will offer a narrower focus on individual areas of design studies.

EN■

WHERE TO STUDY DESIGN? DIRECTORY OF DESIGN COLLEGES IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

ART&DESIGN INSTITUTE in Prague www.adi.cz

AVU – Academy of Fine Arts in Prague www.avu.cz

FA ČVUT – Faculty of Architecture of the Czech Technical University in Prague www.fa.cvut.cz

FaVU VUT – Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Technology in Brno www.favu.vut.cz

FA VUT – Faculty of Architecture of the University of Technology in Brno www.fa.vutbr.cz

FAST VUT – Faculty of Civil Engineering of the University of Technology in Brno www.fce.vutbr.cz

FAST VŠB-TUO – Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Mining and Metallurgy - Technical University of Ostrava www.fast.vsb.cz

FDULS ZČU – Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art - University of West Bohemia in Pilsen www.fdu.zcu.cz

FSI VUT – Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Technology in Brno www.fme.vutbr.cz

FSV ČVUT – Faculty of Civil Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague www.fsv.cvut.cz

FU OU – Faculty of Arts, University of Ostrava www.fu.osu.cz

FMK UTB – Faculty of Multimedia Communications, Tomas Bata University in Zlín www.fmk.utb.cz

LDF MENDELU – Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno www.ldf.mendelu.cz

SCHOLASTIKA – Scholastika Higher Vocational School of Visual Communication www.scholastika.cz

TUL – Technical University of Liberec www.tul.cz

UMPRUM – College of Applied Arts in Prague www.umprum.cz

UJEP – Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem www.ujep.cz