Slanted Magazine #33—Prague

slanted 33

prague

slanted 33 visits and authors 20YY Designers, Patrik Antczak, Anymade Studio, Artishock, Michal Bačák, Peter Bankov, Filip Blažek, Braasi Industry, Briefcase Type Foundry, Tomáš Brousil, Monika Čejková, Čezeta motors, Anežka Hrubá Ciglerová, Design Herynek, Displaay, Petra Dočekalová, Kristina Fišerová, Fontstore, Karel Haloun, Heavyweight Digital Type Foundry, Martin Hrdina, Jitka Janečková, Kolektiv Studio, Jan Šrámek Kolouch, Linda Kudrnowská, Laboratoř, Františka Lachmanová, Zuzana Lednická, LINOSTOCK, Ian Lynam, Dermot Mac Cormack, Matyáš Machat, Man—Machine Type, Master & Master, Šimon Matějka, Monsters, Veronika Rút Nováková, Oficina, OKOLO, PageFive, Parallel Practice, PBG, Pavla Pauknerová, Tomáš Pospiszyl, ReDesign, Rosetta Type Foundry, Side2, Radek Sidun, Adam Štěch, Storm Type Foundry, Studio adela&pauline, Studio Marvil, Studio Najbrt, Studio Novák & Balihar, Studio Petrohrad, Suitcase Type Foundry, Superior Type, superlative.works, Marta Sylvestrová, taketaketake, Tomski&Polanski, TypeTogether, uathentic, Rostislav Vaněk, and _ZVUK_.

video interviews slanted.de/prague

Welcome to Prague

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When the Russians came to Prague, I was in Paris. Milos Forman

STUDIO NAJBRT → P 251

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Studio Najbrt The Velvet Underground: Reunion 15 6 1990, 2018, Packaging, Design by Zuzana Lednická

STUDIO NAJBRT → P 251

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STUDIO NAJBRT → P 251

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Studio Najbrt 51st Karlovy Vary IFF, Film Servis Festival Karlovy Vary, 2016, Festival Design, Design by Zuzana Lednická, Aleš Najbrt, Michal Nanoru. See also p. 1

STUDIO NAJBRT → P 251

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STUDIO NAJBRT → P 251

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Peter Bankov Gorky, 2017, Poster

PETER BANKOV → P 246

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Peter Bankov Poster Workshop Berlin, 2016 , Poster Montenegro New York, 2018, Poster

PETER BANKOV → P 246

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Studio Novák & Balihar Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava, 2018, Poster

STUDIO NOVÁK & BALIHAR → P 251

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Studio Novák & Balihar Festival of Progressive Theater, Theater World Brno, National Theater Brno, 2015, Visual Concept, Posters, Video Spot, Web Design

STUDIO NOVÁK & BALIHAR → P 251

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Rostislav Vaněk Czechoslovak Airlines, 1991, Typeface Logotype, Visual Style, Collaboration with Radomír Leszczynski

ROSTISLAV VANĚK → P 252

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Rostislav Vaněk Metro Manual, 1988, Information and Orientation Pictograms

ROSTISLAV VANĚK → P 252

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Parallel Practice Center For Contemporary Art Futura in Prague, 2013, Visual Identity, Posters, Applications, Booklets, Microsites

PARALLEL PRACTICE → P 250

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Parallel Practice New Dictionary of Old Ideas, MeetFactory Prague, 2018, Visual Identity

PARALLEL PRACTICE → P 250

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OKOLO Art is Truth, Pasta Oner, DSC Gallery, 2017, Exhibition Catalog

OKOLO → P 249

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OKOLO → P 249

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20YY Designers Roger Hiorns, Galerie Rudolfinum, 2015, Exhibition Identity

20YY DESIGNERS → P 246

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20YY Designers Jiří Kolář: Grimace of the Century, National Gallery Prague, 2018, Exhibition Identity, Catalog, 208 pages, 21 × 27 cm

20YY DESIGNERS → P 246

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Studio Marvil TON Collection 2016–2017, TON, 2016, Identity, Catalog, 21 × 26.5 cm, Design by Jiří Karásek, Pavel Zelenka, Tereza Pavelková

STUDIO MARVIL → P 251

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STUDIO MARVIL → P 251

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Anymade Studio Lunchmeat Festival 2018, 2017, Visual Identity

ANYMADE STUDIO → P 246

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Anymade Studio Brno Art Open—Sculptures in the Streets, The Brno House of Arts, 2017, Visual Identity

ANYMADE STUDIO → P 246

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ReDesign Živel No. 26, 2005, Magazine, 29 × 23 cm, Art Concept by Petr Krejzek, Design by Radim Peško, Photo by Adam Holý

REDESIGN → P 250

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ReDesign Živel No. 1, 27, 25, 39, 1995–2018, Art Conc. by Petr Krejzek, Design by Klára Kvízová, Radim Peško, Petr Krejzek, Photos by Václav Jirásek, Adam Holý

REDESIGN → P 250

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Briefcase Type Foundry TYPO 9010, 2015, 399 Czech digitized typefaces 1990–2010, Book, 288 pages, 22 × 30 cm, Design by Zuzana Lednická, Radek Sidun

BRIEFCASE TYPE FOUNDRY → P 246

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BRIEFCASE TYPE FOUNDRY → P 246

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Heavyweight Digital Type Foundry Pano, 2016, Typeface Specimen, 70 × 100 cm

HEAVYWEIGHT DIGITAL TYPE FOUNDRY → P 247

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typfaces by briefcase type foundry

PRAGUE PRAG

PRAHA slanted prague is printed by

www.stober.de

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CZECH BRANDS

Braasi Industry Čezeta motors Master & Master PBG

CZECH BRANDS

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Czech Brands

Braasi Industry is a family boutique factory founded by a couple of two young architects Šimon Brabec and Eliška Slámová. They specialize mainly in the produc­ tion of everyday carry backpacks from quality materials made in Czechia.

Šimon and Eliška started to produce back­ packs for their own and their friends’ use years ago. As demand grew, they decided to move on. Nowadays you can find them in a workshop, they designed themselves, based in a recon­ structed old factory in Prague’s trendy district of Holešovice.

Less is more in Braasi and so the produc­ tion follows simple rules: Combining functionality and aesthetics, timelessness and practicality.

Products are simple and functional, yet stylish and detail-focused.

CZECH BRANDS

124 Company name: Braasi Industry Founded in: 2014 Founder: Šimon Brabec and Eliška Slámová Employees: 6 Points of sale: Shops and webshops in Europe and Japan Core: Urban backpacks Headquarter: Dělnická 67a, Prague 7 Holešovice Most popular model: Wiker, Noir URL: braasi.com

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Czech Brands

Čezeta motors The Čezeta, Koch created, quickly became the iconic scooter design all over the communist world from Cuba to Vietnam. Recognizable for its chic aerodynamic look, it’s style captured the excitement of Sputnik, Gagarin and all the starry wonders of the 1950s. Home in Prague, it re­ ceived its nickname “The Pig,” a fair comparison to western Europe’s little Vespa.

Its look charmed the world with over 120,000 being sold. Many of these vintage bikes are still in use today as proof of their legendary quality.

In 2013, Čezeta launched one of Europe’s first projects to build a hi-tech electric scooter.

After five years in development, the production started in 2018 and a first series of 30 bikes were produced. From Spring 2019, a second series of improved Čezeta are available to rent and buy.

CZECH BRANDS

125 Company name: Čezeta motors Founded in: 1957 Designer of its iconic shape: Jaroslav František Koch Employees: 11 Core: Electric scooters Factory: Prostějov (CZ) Most popular model: Čezeta Type 506 (winner of “scooter of the year” at Prague Motosalon 2019) URL: cezeta.com

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Czech Brands

Master & Master founded by Ondřej Zita and Luděk Šteigl a few years ago, excels in a production of simple and efficient contemporary furniture of minimalist forms and natural production tech­niques. They create furniture as a product of everyday life.

They pay homage to the legacy of the everyday product design, which is simple and easy to produce and use.

CZECH BRANDS

126 Company name: Master & Master Founded in: 2012 Founder: Ondřej Zita, Luděk Šteigl Points of sale: Webshop and showroom in Prague Core: Furniture Headquarter: Milady Horákové 6, Prague 7 Holešovice Most popular model: Diamond table trestles URL: masterandmaster.eu

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Czech Brands

PBG is a Prague-based fashion accessories studio founded in 2011 by Aneta Vojtová and Tereza Horáková. PBG is designing and producing minimalistic and practical bags, backpacks, and other leather accessories.

They create all of their products from scratch, source the highest quality materials from all over the world and pride themselves on the best quality and design for a practical but fashion­ able accessory.

CZECH BRANDS

127 Company name: PBG Founded in: 2011 Founder: Aneta Vojtová, Tereza Horáková Points of sale: Webshop, showroom in Prague, shops across Europe Core: Bags and fashion accessories Headquarter: Bečovská 1567/1b, Prague 22 Uhříněves Show Room: Klimentská 3, Prague 1 Most popular model: Cross body purse URL: pbgstudio.com

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FONTNAMES ILLUSTRATED

Michal Bačák Magdalena Rutová Jan Šrámek Kolouch Tomski&Polanski Patrik Antczak Jindřich Janíček Františka Lachmanová

FONTNAMES ILLUSTRATED

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Pivo / Michal Bačák

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Klaviatura / Tomski&Polanski

FONTNAMES ILLUSTRATED → P 252

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Happy Killer / Patrik Antczak

FONTNAMES ILLUSTRATED → P 246

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10 × 10 INSIDE PRAGUE

Petr Babák Monika Čejková Anežka Hrubá Ciglerová Kolektiv Studio Jan Matoušek Oficina Pavla Pauknerová Side2 Petr Štěpán Adéla Svobodová

10 × 10 → P 246–252

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137 1.

What made you become a designer / illustrator / photographer / typographer / curator?

Petr Babák Well, I always sit on multiple chairs and I enjoy it. I am a graphic designer, university teacher, and journalist.

I’m often invited to projects as an artist, and we often work with architects. I’m also a football player, a member of the F1 Team! In 2002 I set up my own graphic studio Laboratoř and since 2005 I have a graphic design studio and teach New Media at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. I try to write and do so regularly.

Monika Čejková It was kind of natural for me, but I would say I was influenced a bit by my grandfather who was a telegrapher for the Czechoslovakian air force and he was rejected out of army after 1968. So he had more time for his hobby—painting, which he spent loads of weekends with. As a child I was fascinated by it. I graduated at fashion design high school and after that I decided to get a wider view, so I moved to Prague to study History of Art at Charles University. At the same time I started to work at Meda Mladek’s Museum Kampa and then I started my own exhibitions.

Anežka Hrubá Ciglerová My parents.

My father is an architect and mother is a photographer also my grandparents were artists. My younger brothers are architects. So I always say that I have no genes for anything else than art, architecture or design.

Kolektiv Studio Personal computer and Times New Realism.

Jan Matoušek The original excitement came from graffiti—that was where I discovered the magic connection between a person, letters, and the microcosm of the urban landscape. In graffiti, you create a visual code, you build a fictional and real character at once, you build interactions with the other characters in the game and inhabitants of the city.

I think I’m simply pushing the essence of this excitement to other levels and forms.

Basically, I’m just following what was 10 × 10 → P 246–252

ignited a long time ago. I see where I’m going the right way and where I go astray. If you’re conscious of them, mistakes are the best education. That’s why I don’t regret anything. In a way, it’s a game, and in this game, I push my character to the goals I’ve set through the limits that are set externally.

Jan Matoušek, New Wave—Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, 2017. Book, 16.5 × 22 cm.

Oficina Oficina started in 2008 and it was the only studio fully dedicated to motion design in the Czech Republic.

Motion design was not a very well known term back in those days. For us it was a natural form of expression mostly because two founding directors are graduates from graphic design and animation. We’ve influenced each other and learned from each other, too.

Embracing the un­known and gaining more knowledge became the source of studio’s vitality. We do not put anybody into a strict role. Everyone in the studio, as well as external collaborators, are usually multidisciplinary creatives.

Pavla Pauknerová I have not been courageous enough to study graphic design, however, I am currently writing and lecturing about it, curating exhibitions, etc. I see this as a great privilege. Instead of arguing with clients, I can talk to students about topics I choose freely.

I’m not forced to make any compromises.

Side2 Well, I guess it was gradual: frenetic doodling as a little boy at the beginning, attending after-school art classes next, later passing aptitude exams to a secondary art school and then to an art college. Surely, an important factor was meeting the right inspirational people at all these levels. Originally Slanted 33—Prague

151 Anežka Hrubá Ciglerová I have three small kids. I am looking forward to switch from diapers and toys, back to work. I am planning to work on a few more books, continue on my long term projects and find some time to pimp up my website.

Kolektiv Studio Goodbye and if we should not ever meet anew | it really was delightful and quite enough for some | Goodbye and if we should yet make a rendezvous | maybe instead of us another guest will come | It really was delightful but everything has an end | Hush tolling bell I know that sadness from before | A kiss a napkin siren ship’s bell to portend | three or four smiles and then to be alone once more.

Kolektiv Studio, Suture Press, Identity, 2018.

Jan Matoušek To make pure work with pure people. And thus get pure results.

Go to the essence. To push myself and thus the discipline itself. Thus enrich the world around me. Create synergy between excellent people. Get a great Porsche. Be a soul and a hand, a man and a machine with infinite possibilities.

Oficina We have a very well balanced team from diverse creative and technological fields. We’re on the international competitive edge in terms of our knowledge and passion for work. We’d like to prove it with a few more international clients. Also we want to continue developing the Mouvo festival and its brand new workshop outlet called Mouvo Lab. Our goal with that is to bring the best foreign motion design lecturers to the Czech Republic.

Pavla Pauknerová I would like to learn more systematically, so that I can educate more systematically. Regarding 10 × 10 → P 246–252

specific goals, I would like to compile a reader of both translated and local texts on selected problems from the history and the theory of graphic design. I have other intentions, too, but I do not want to specify them for someone to do it faster.

Side2 I don’t make any medium- or long-term plans whether it is my private or professional life. I am simply happy just to live, work, and love.

Petr Štěpán I do not make plans much.

There is a redesign project of one Prague theater, I developed together with Kolmo architects. I’ve got running contracts for some interesting book editions, I’d like to continue designing some more enjoyable places to eat and drink at, for Together restaurants, there may be some more exhibition projects with Pink productions. Shortly, I’m going to enjoy the pleasant cooperation with all my honorable regular clients, and I am looking forward of what comes. Oh, and I finally have to launch my website.

Adéla Svobodová We already have some book projects planned for the next years. There is a dictionary for teenagers we’re going to do, a huge book about the history of Czech art exhibitions and one children’s book.

Adéla Svobodová, Jiří Thýn Garden, NAMU Prague, huntkastner, 2018. 176 p. Book, 20.5 × 25.5 cm.

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10 × 10 OUTSIDE PRAGUE

Kristina Fišerová Jan Herynek Martin Hrdina Monsters Veronika Rút Nováková Lukáš Pumpr Jan Šrámek Kolouch František Štorm Marta Sylvestrová Jan Urbánek

10 × 10 → P 246–252

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153 1.

Why did you become a designer / illustrator / photographer / curator?

Any regrets?

Kristina Fišerová I became a designer because my older brother naturally was my superhero. Every sibling tries to be as good as the older, smarter, and especially stronger one is. (During puberty I discovered that there were more opportunities what to do, but it was too late.)

I don’t regret anything.

Jan Herynek First of all I absolutely do not regret becoming a designer. When I was about fifteen years old, a poster Letraset Typeface Range from the 80s set off my interest in typography and graphic design. I carefully examined the differences between Baskerville and Calson and my concern for typography lasts to this day. I enjoy creating something new and that is why I do graphic design as well, these days.

Martin Hrdina I studied Architecture initially and that decision was a little bit naive at the time, as I didn’t really know much about the profession. As a youngster I simply liked to draw a lot and was pretty good at mathematics. Later I realized it had been the right choice, as it opened up the whole world of art, design, theory, history, and translation of ideas into visuals and spaces for me.

This I still enjoy immensely. And I like the freedom of the profession, working as a freelancer, the feeling of somehow being left alone. Later when I started doing more graphic design I briefly regretted not studying that instead but I got over it.

Monsters Actually, it was by chance.

We started our graphic design studies (at the Faculty of Art and Design in Ústí nad Labem) without having any clue of this profession’s meaning or impact. It’s turned out to be a lot of fun, also a possibility of self-realization and a challenge for our social skills and sense of responsibility. As designers we have the ability to modify the reception of information and processes. It’s the way we can influence even very personal areas of others’ lives.

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Veronika Rút Nováková Honestly, it wasn’t a plan, I just liked drawing, so I applied to artistic high school and it got me. I was lucky to be part of a very nerdy visual artist’s collective—we basically spent the four years at galleries and school, constantly creating drawings, etchings, woodcuts, screen prints, all that jazz. It felt natural to go on.

Around the second year at the university in Zlín, I needed to make some money, so I tried to get some clients as a graphic designer and in that work I’ve found every pleasure and pain I need for life, so I’ve done it since then.

Lukáš Pumpr I studied Film originally and afterwards Multimedia. However, after a few years I realized that I much prefer graphic design, which for me per­ son­ally creates a perfect link between image and text. I love film but I wouldn’t be able to work in such large teams, which most film-crews are.

Lukáš Pumpr, Brigada: Subversive We Stand, Symbols, 2017.

Jan Šrámek Kolouch After my graffiti experience I decided to study at a fine arts school. I started as a painter but soon I discovered the magic of the moving image and I started using digital software on my works more often.

This was literally the first step in my career as an illustrator.

František Štorm No regrets. As a young boy, I could play with colors and tools in my mother’s studio, my father is an architect. I love the smell of an artistic studio and printing inks. Typography lies right nearby.

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10 × 10 Outside Prague

Marta Sylvestrová During my grammarschool studies I was interested in visual culture and wished to become an illustrator attending a private art course led by painter Petr Skácel, but his lectures from Art History inspired me to attend the Art History and Theory studies at the Masaryk University in Brno. Still as a student I got to work for the Brno Biennial editing the BB catalog (since 1978) and later I became the curator of the graphic design collection at Moravian Gallery. I see it as a direct path, fulfilling my fate.

Jan Urbánek My dad wanted me to graduate from arts school, so graphic design was a clear choice. The only thing I regret is not being an unemployed loaded reindeer.

2.

“Where are you from?”—“From the Czech Republic.”—“What? From where???”—“From Prague.”

OK, most foreigners have heard about Prague but the term “Czech Republic” isn’t too familiar to them. Other Czech cities are even more unknown to them.

Where are you from? And what makes the place you live in special—and different from the capital?

Kristina Fišerová I am from Kobylisy.

It is part of Prague, but on the periphery and my friends always laugh at me, saying that I‘m not from the capital but from a small village where foxes say good night.

Jan Herynek I live and work in Olomouc, an old city with a university spirit and former fortress, which retains its original character, with many sights to boast of. There are many Baroque fountains, the Holy Trinity Column (Unesco World Heritage), parks. Our city is the second most valuable reservation site after Prague. For me the most special place is the house where I live. The house was built in 1912 in the Viennese Secession style and has influenced me a lot. My studio is housed in the city center in a building that used to be a mill, with a view of the preserved city gate. Olomouc and Prague are in some aspects alike.

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154 Martin Hrdina I have lived in Brno for a decade now, after having moved here from Amsterdam. I love Brno as it doesn’t have the hectic pressure of the capital, being the “second city” of the country. In that I think it offers more opportunities for a designer / architect because its development has been a little slower than Prague, more gradual and detailed. The absence of hoards of tourists is a major plus, as things are designed for the citizens of the city and in that way are meant to last and cannot rely on the quick buck from the passing tourist. This fact improves the quality of what’s on offer. Also, in a smaller city it’s easier to design something that’s missing, because it’s not so hard to have a pretty complete overview of what already exists.

Monsters We live and work as designers and teachers in the northern part of the Czech Republic, in Ústí nad Labem, nicely situated just in the of the way between Prague and Dresden. When we were asked a similar question years ago, something along the lines of “… what is it like to live here in Ústí?,” we said: “The quiet and romantic landscape

by Czech-German borders has a strong contemplative character. This could sound a bit too vague, but we feel that for graphic designers in general, stuck in virtual commodities and app interfaces, it is very important to be hugged by real landscape and a real group of close friends as well. Another “specific taste” of Ústí nad Labem is the extreme contrast between the relative poverty and hopeless situation of serious parts of Ústí citizens on one side, and the enthusiasm and activity of mostly younger people and college students on the other …“ It’s a bit particular to see those sentences after some time again.

It remains the same magical feeling remains in the hills and countrysides around the town and the “Jekyll and Hyde” contradiction between “active” and “resigned” groups of the town’s inhabitants has maybe even grown. It’s kind of a gap between the strategies of surviving and enhancing / improving Slanted 33—Prague

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10 × 10 Outside Prague

working on an interesting documentary on interiors in Pilsen designed by the architect Adolf Loos. The documentary is directed by my colleague Petr Polak.

We are using original photographs of Jewish families who commissioned work

by Adolf Loos but who eventually spent only very few years in these interiors as most of them died in concentration camps soon after. The photographs in the documentary are being projected on the same places where they have been taken and are animated with videomapping. Petr and I are currently also working on a photography publication about an interesting socio-architectural phenomenon of family homes extensions occurring at the Czech countryside in the 80s. We’d like to publish this book next year. We also founded a mini streetwear label “Brigada” (brigadawear. tumblr.com) together with colleagues Lukáš Beran and Přemysl Černý, which we’d like to focus on more in spring.

We’d also like to publish a book on kids’ weapons together. We’ve got loads of plans.

Jan Šrámek Kolouch Currently I am finishing an illustrated children’s book with my colleague Veronika Vlkova about Prague’s subway. I am also working on an animated movie, which describes the history and function of building No. 21 in Zlín, also known as Baťa’s Skyscraper.

After these projects I want to start working on my art book about Czechoslovak architecture from the years 1949–1989. This publication will continue my previous project “Special Circumstances,” an illustrated guide to demolished, removed, and relocated art in public spaces from the period of communism. We are also preparing an illustrated book with Pavel Ryska about the history of cinematography.

František Štorm Another album with my band, finish some building works on my cottage and visit India after 2-seasons pause.

Marta Sylvestrová I have been working on two team research projects that will be finalized in the next two to three years and published in book form. The 10 × 10 → P 246–252

first one is led by Ondřej Táborský who is dealing with the so-called “socialist promotion”: Advertisement and consumption of socialist society under the state control in Czechoslovakia from 1948 till 1989. The other team project led by Marketa Svobodova is devoted to František Kalivoda, the Czech modernist architect, typographer, curator, publisher, and organizer, who initiated saving the Villa Tugendhat by including it on the National list of Cultural Heritage in 1969. At the end of the WWII. This outstanding Tugendhat house served as quarters and stables for the Soviet army and in the 50s was used as a children’s physiotherapy center and hardly damaged. For the Moravian Gallery I am also preparing two monographs accompanying the proposed exhibitions on Czech personalities in graphic design: Jan Rajlich sen. (1920 Dírná–2016 Brno) and Jiří Rathouský (1924 Prague–2003 Prague).

Jan Urbánek Working on our studio development, creating a comfortable working environment for my co-workers, and acquiring new interesting and creative jobs. Book covers, for example.

Jan Urbánek, Magazine FOTO, Magazine, 2016. Layout, 21 × 27.4 cm.

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Essays

167

Nobody lives there anymore. Only tons of puking tourists. I hate it.

Karel Haloun Filip Blažek Petra Dočekalová Radek Sidun Linda Kudrnovská Tomáš Pospiszyl uathentic Dermot Mac Cormack Adam Štěch Ian Lynam Tomáš Brousil Zuzana Lednická ESSAYS

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Karel Haloun

168

Once Upon a Time at the Hop Garden

The story I am going to narrate, started to unfold in 1981 in an unattractive hall of a dilapidated house on the ugly outskirts of Prague, the capital of the then Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. The story itself is an adventurous one, that’s why I paraphrased the title of the famous spaghetti western by Sergio Leone and used it in my heading. Above all, I am going to talk about the following: whether, and under what circumstances, it is still possible to find and keep inner freedom under a totalitarian regime.

ESSAYS

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169 I’ll try to give you an idea what it was like to experience the sense of belonging, to be close to people who refused to be lobotomized by official “culture,” the people who gathered around a newly-established club.

Let me mention the feeling of joy working in a team that I experienced at that time, and that joy is here to stay. I’ll try to explain the role of a designer, whose principal attitudes and sets of values are still binding on me. My desire is to submit a personal account of intensive life on a little island of freedom, artificially built in the sea of hostile communist stupidity.

So-called “Real Socialism” If I am to recall the very beginning and operating the Junior Club at the Hop Garden, I can’t avoid a brief description of the time context. In the mid-70s, it was clear what strategy the ruling politicians adopted towards culture in general—only simpletons would not able to see what was going on. As a result, especially after the fabricated political trial with the rock band Plastic People of the Universe in 1976, the society divided into three groups. The first one chose to get along with the regime and enjoy all the advantages of privileged servants. Group two was made up of silent majority. People in this group would express completely different opinions at home than in public. The third group was later labeled as the “grey zone.” This nasty name referred to a significant alternative to official culture, known by its opposition towards betrayal of esthetic and professional ideals. Although such artists were allowed “to pursue their activities” in public, they were constantly bullied by the hostile surveillance of pertinent authorities. Their bureaucratic measures were supposed to put artists under pressure to change their attitudes and reform those who were not resistant enough (fig. 1).

1

Karel Haloun—Once Upon a Time at the Hop Garden → P 247

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182

Filip Blažek

Fundaments of

Contemporary Czech Typography

Over the past two decades, the Czech Republic has witnessed an incredible boom in type design. While increased interest in typography can also be seen in other European countries, Czech typographers’ successes at international competitions and the respect their work has earned among users testifies to a certain level of prodigy. To find the reasons behind this success you must look back in history to the early 20th century.

ESSAYS

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183

The Roots of Czech Type Design In 1904, Typografia hired a new editor, type designer Karel Dyrynk.

Through his work, the first issue published in 1905 featured an important essay by Czech literary critic František Xaver Šalda titled Kniha jako umělecké dílo (The Book as a Work of Art). Following the British arts and crafts movement, Šalda believed that Czech book design would be inspired by the approach taken by William Morris. This call led thirty intellectuals to establish an association of Czech bibliophiles few years later and raised public demand for well-crafted books from the cover to the typographic details.

Czechoslovakia gained independence in 1918 and for many artists, the need to have a national typeface became a primary task. Seven years after the republic was established and twenty years after F. X. Šalda’s article was published, Karel Dyrynk published his book České původní typografické písmo (Czech Original Typeface) to celebrate Preissig Antikva, a book typeface with a cubist flavor created by graphic designer, painter, and illustrator Vojtěch Preissig.

From Early Pioneers to Oldřich Menhart After 1925, a number of typefaces were created and several were cast.

However, the most of the pre-war typefaces reflected the artists’ lack of experience. The first Czech type designer of truly international stature was Oldřich Menhart. He was without a doubt the country’s most talented type designer of 1940s and if it had not been for the communist putsch of 1948, he would have likely become an internationally important figure in typography. But Menhart entered into the service of the new communist regime and significantly contributed to creating the typographic “face” of the state. Menhart’s post-war typefaces designed after 1948 no longer gained acceptance and Menhart focused more and more on book design.

Filip Blažek—Fundaments of Contemporary Czech Typography → P 247

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But the most interesting was the drawing of the linear sans-serif dynamic typeface Vega for hand and machine typesetting from 1957–63, which was originally designed in a semibold version. Maršo managed to sense trends in book, magazine, and newspaper layout, and he tried to adapt the development of typographic letterforms and graphic design with his typeface production. His simultaneous effort to modernize the drawing of typeface characters was consistent with the approach of typographers in other European countries.

Maršo’s typefaces are distinguished by such things⁵ as simplicity, geometric proportions and interesting details without unnecessary embellishments. The basic requirements were high demands placed on good readability of the characters and their practicality in typographic setting. One piece of evidence, for example, is the bold grotesque Orion from 1960–62, which despite its character as a poster typeface was intended for use at text sizes for magazine typesetting.

During its nearly 40 years of existence (1951–89), the Grafotechna type foundry produced a number of typefaces. Today these typefaces remain as part of an important polygraphic heritage. At the moment the national company fell apart, everything disappeared with it. The machines were sold off, the type was stolen and sent off for scrap, and the archive probably disappeared in the rubble. Most of the designs, documents and memories were not preserved, and after three decades, everything is considered lost.

In 2018 we managed to discover and carefully examine Stanislav Maršo’s archive, in which after 30 years we also discovered fragments of Grafotechna’s company documentation, including printed matter recording the sale and production of typefaces. We had no idea that such materials still exist and that they could be untouched and hidden. On the basis of this discovery, we at Briefcase immediately set out to uncover individual parts and to work with all of the material. And what is better suited to an inventory of Czech type foundries’ activities than an effort to preserve the history of Czech typeface works?

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In addition, a large part of the archive is made up of Maršo’s private, unpublished, unproduced, or unfinished typeface designs. The sansserif typeface Grafotyp, the last of Maršo’s typefaces created at Grafotechna, which he planned to develop for phototypesetting machines, suddenly saw the light of day. It is the first instance of such a typeface in Czechoslovakia, and its existence and analysis alone would be worth its own article. And despite Maršo’s typefaces bearing a strong period character, they can be very trendy today. Work with Maršo’s archive will keep Briefcase busy for a very long time, but it won’t be boring! The digitalization has just begun …

Treasures of Stanislav Maršo’s archive. Photo types and sketches of Grafotyp, Public and Vega typeface. Vega and Grafotyp.

1 Grafotechna was the Czechoslovak equivalent of Germany’s VEB Typoart.

2 Jindřich Vichnar, Antonín Rambousek, Původní československá typografická písma (Original Czechoslovak Typographic Letterforms), Ministerstvo kultury ČSR, Prague 1972, pp. 59–81.

3 Vladislav Najbrt, Stanislav Maršo, písmař a typograf— 100 let (Stanislav Maršo, Type Designer and Typographer—100 years), Typografia 1217 / 10 / 10, Prague 2010.

4 The digitized redistributed version is available under the name RePublic by Suitcase Type Foundry.

Petra Dočekalová and Radek Sidun—Stanislav Maršo → P 246, 247

5 For example the naming of most of Maršo’s typefaces is derived from the names of constellations …

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Adam Štěch

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Graphic Moments in 20th Century

Prague Architecture

Walking around the center of Prague, architecture and design editor Adam Štěch captured some of the exciting architectural details of iconic Prague buildings throughout the 20th century. Photos reveal strong graphic elements and motives used by Czech architects to design surprising structures, surfaces, and decorations.

ESSAYS

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Otakar Novotný—Štenc House, 1909–1911 Pixel-like facade of Štenc House is the important example of early Czech modern architecture. The structure was built as an apartment building and print factory. Otakar Novotný used expressive brickwork to create a dynamic building of various geometrical patterns.

2.

Otakar Novotný—Apartment Building for Teachers, 1919–1921 Otakar Novotný is one of the important architects of the first half of the 20th century who changed his style very quickly. From early expressionism he moved toward fashionable cubism and designed the diamondshaped facade of the Teachers Apartment Building at the Old Town.

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Josef Gočár—Legiobank, 1921–1939 Josef Gočár was a true pioneer of early modern architecture, cubism, and modernism. In between all varieties of styles he adapted decorative Art Deco to the so-called National Style which celebrated the birth of new Czechoslovakia after 1918. Legiobank with all curved decorations, inspired

by Czech folkloric motives, is the prime example of this movement.

Adam Štěch—Graphic Moments in 20th Century Prague Architecture → P 250

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Tomáš Brousil, Petra Dočekalová, Karel Haloun, Zuzana Lednická & Radek Sidun

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19. Splendid Quartett—František Štorm Splendid Quartett is a somewhat mysterious quartet. Amidst the plethora of Franta’s Baskervilles and Walbaums lies a masked veil of quiet invisibility, a poor family composed of four styles—certainly no rocket that Franta’s creativity caused to veer off course. Actually, the very opposite is true. The quartet—two English modern bolds, one masterful American-style script and a German Grotesk with rounded and straight stroke endings—is anything but ordinary. In all of the styles, František’s personal imprint is dialed down to zero; the fonts clearly evoke their historical models and as a result they soundlessly serve František as a pop-up for new typefaces, specimens, texts, and prints. A secret servant of unusual subtlety, nobility, and elegance.

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20. Prague Street Sign—Filip Kraus Every once in a while, students in the Type Design and Typography studio get the chance to work on real, proper font jobs. This was the case for Smalt, a typeface for Prague’s street signs. Enamel signs are made using the negative stencil method, through which the excess layer of paint is removed with a scraper. The typeface must have the simplest characters perfectly lined up on the baseline, with absolutely no overshoots and minimal stress. Filip Kraus designed an original, cultivated typeface that respects every detail of the limits of production, turning this disadvantage into an advantage by creating the shapes that came to define the typeface. The typeface is used in four styles and stencils of varying widths. The fact that Filip Blažek was able to successfully implement this project can be seen in the new street signs that adorn all of Prague’s neighborhoods.

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APPENDIX

Hot Spots Useful Words Publications Playlist Contemporary Czech Typefaces Index Colophon

APPENDIX

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Hot Spots

Prague 7

Prague 1

Prague 3

Prague 2

Prague 10

Prague 5

Hotel

Music / Club

Gallery / Art Space

Bar

Shopping

Architecture

Café / Tea

Theater / Cinema

Books

Restaurant

Have a look

Park

Fast food

Museum

Prague 1 Formally the Prague 1 Municipal District, is a second-tier municipality in Prague. It includes most of the medieval heart of the city. All of the Old Town and the Jewish Quarter are in the district. The district has remained intact since its creation in 1960. Most of Prague 1 is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and almost all of Prague’s major tourist sites are in the district.

KANTÝNA

Politických vězňů 1511 / 5

Prague 1 kantyna.ambi.cz With the chefs’ claim to cook what the butchers bring, the menu is changing very quickly and

HOT SPOTS

therefore is always and every time a bit different. They also offer a dinner night for 12 people, in the spirit of “from the snout to the tail.” Everything grilled in the center of the table directly in front of you.

Jan Palach Memorial

60-62 Václavské náměstí

Prague 1 A place definitely worth a visit.

Jan Palach, a student who committed suicide by self-immolation in political protest, he killed himself on January 16th, 1969, after the Soviet Union invaded his native Czechoslovakia to crush the reforms of Alexander Dubcek’s government during the Prague Spring.

Ovocný Světozor

Vodičkova 39

Prague 1 ovocnysvetozor.cz The Hájek & Boušová Company was officially founded in 1992, but in fact the Ovocný Světozor (meaning fruit delicatessen) shops reach back to the early 1970s.

You can find delicious cakes, ice cream, tarts, and sandwiches there, all self-made.

Mincovna

Staroměstské náměstí 930 / 7

Prague 1 restauracemincovna.cz Famous and in competition with other touristic establishments, this is the best recommendation concerning traditional Czech food.

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Sansho

Petrská 25

Prague 1 sancho.cz Chef Paul Day created a restaurant that resembles and feels more like a gathering of friends.

That is what makes Sansho such a special place.

Prague Castle

Pražský hrad

Prague 1 hrad.cz Being older than a thousand years, Prague Castle has always been an important symbol of the Czech state. Czech rulers and later on presidents used it as their seat.

Papelote

Vojtěšská 9

Prague 1 papelote.eu Thanks to Kateřina Šachová this store opened in 2009 during her studies, due to lack of good quality paper and stationery stores.

Charles Bridge

Karlův most

Prague 1 After Judith Bridge had been destroyed in 1342 by floods, Charles Bridge was build and is now the oldest bridge in Prague.

For sure it is Prague’s number one tourist attraction.

The Room by Basmatee

Školská 7

Prague 1 basmatee.cz The selection of international “it” brands is for guys with a subtle yet trendy sense of fashion. They also serve you with some nice local, talented brands there.

Botas 66

Skořepka 4

Prague 1 botas66.com Come on and get yourself a pair of trainers that only very few people have. In 2008 this brand was founded to design traditional, lifestyle Czech footwear.

Groove Bar

Voršilská 6

Prague 1 groovebar.cz This friendly bar is for people who like Dark & Stormy or Old Fashioned when electronic music runs in the background. If yes, your are made for this place.

Clementinum

Mariánské náměstí 5

Prague 1 klementinum.com The library was build in the mid16th until the mid-18th century and was used as a Jesuit dormitory. It is still one of the biggest building complexes in Europe.

Lucerna

Vodičkova 36

Prague 1 kinolucerna.cz Being opened in 1907, this is one of the oldest and biggest cinemas in whole Prague. Definitely worth a visit! On top of the Lucerna you can find a rooftop bar during summer, that also gives a home to some rabbits.

HOT SPOTS

National Theater

Národní 2

Prague 1 narodni-divadlo.cz The National Theater was built with funds from nationwide collections. It’s second opening was two years after the first due to a devastating fire. It is the representative stage of the Czech Republic.

Pragtique

Pasáž Platýz, Národní 37

Prague 1 pragtique.cz Pragtique is the best place to buy locally designed, well-curated souvenirs from Prague, other than in generic souvenir shops.

Old Jewish Cemetery

Široká 3

Prague 1 jewishmuseum.cz Maybe the most dreamy cemetery there is. The last burials took place there until 1787. The first burials go back as far as the first half of the 15th century.

Naše Maso

Dlouhá 39

Prague 1 nasemaso.ambi.cz The warm meat loaf with fresh bread and mustard from the best of traditional Czech butcher trade is totally worth your time, since it is super small and can be super packed sometimes.

Kafka Snob Food

Siroka 64 / 12

Prague 1 @kafkasnobfood If you do not feel like mainstream, this is the place for you. Small menus, filled with great creations, and nice attentive service make this place special.

Zlatý kříž Chlebíčeks

Jungmannovo náměstí 19

Prague 1 lahudkyzlatykriz-praha.cz The famous Chlebíčeks of Zlatý kříž are very high in demand.

So be warned if you have to wait a bit in line for them.

Lehká hlava

Boršov 2

Prague 1 lehkahlava.cz This is the best spot for vegetarians in Prague as veggie restaurants are still very rare to find in the this city.

K-a-v-k-a Bookstore

Krocínova 5

Prague 1 kavkaartbooks.com If you are into books on fine arts, architecture, graphic design, photography, and design in general, you are in the right spot.

Designum

Nerudova 27

Prague 1 designum-gallery.cz Filled with a marvelous mix of Czech porcelain, glass design, and jewelery by local designers, this shop can be found as a nice surprise under most of touristic souvenir shops.

Hotel Josef

Rybná 20

Prague 1 hoteljosef.com This lovely and cozy design hotel was built by Czech architect Eva Jiřičná. It is a special place with its light, airy spaces, and lots of glass.

The Nicholas Hotel Residence

Malostranské náměstí 5

Prague 1 thenicholashotel.com With the aim to be the nicest and most charming hotel of Prague, the Nicholas convinces with nine romantic suites on the top floor of the Rococo palace. Perfect for a romantic weekend in the city.

Deelive Design Store

Smetanovo nábřeží 334 / 4

Prague 1 deelive.cz This shop is a one-of-a-kind showcase where you can find handpicked and unique furniture, magnificent lights, home decor, and everything you need for your home of Prague’s best local designers and craftsmen.

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PageFive

PageFive is a Prague-based art bookstore and publisher specializing in the sale and publishing of art & design books, periodicals, and original prints. They offer a wide range of Czech and foreign publications on the subject of fine art and theory, design, architecture, illustration, photography, and poetry. They are obsessed with paper, books, and various forms of visual culture.

PageFive Veverkova 5 Prague 7 170 00 +420 777 847 047 info@pagefive.com Monday—Friday: 10 a.m.—7 p.m.

Saturday—Sunday: 11 a.m.—4 p.m.

Kurátor is a pocket guide for traditional galleries, contemporary spaces, paintings, and sculptures, art cafés and art in the streets by people who have something to say about it. Published by three friends: Ján Gajdušek Valérie Dvořáková, and Štěpánka Veselská. Kurátor handpicks the best of what art and design has given to Prague. It remains unbased in its subjectivity and at the same time uncluttered in its diversity. It will show you Prague as you may not have seen any other city before.

Kurátor: Prague Art Guide / Dvořáková, Gajdušek, Veselská / Universum, 2018 / 12.5 × 17.5 cm

The publication PENISNOW offers a selection of drawings created by the graffiti collective CAP crew and dedicated to the penis symbol. This topic is present in the work of the group from its very beginning as an archetypal graffiti gesture and primeval model of spontaneous public artistic expression. The book brings together 400 drawings ranging from drawn jokes to an expressive approach tending towards abstraction.

PENISNOW / CAP crew / PageFive Publishing, 2018 / 15 × 21.5 cm

Prague, the year 2116. A groundbreaking transportation system is out of control.

Living matter fills the city. You have to stop it. Páteř is a second person sci-fi story and a graphic guide to the city of the future. This manual summarizes the function and mission which Páteř—as both a transportation system and an organization—has towards the public. Please cease embarking and disembarking, the doors will now envelop you.

Páteř 2116: Prague Transmit Manual / Jan Novák / PageFive Publishing, 2017 / 16.5 × 22 cm

Prague Brutally Beautiful is a publication that features distinguished personalities presenting exceptional buildings constructed in Prague between 1969 and 1989.

Education platform Scholastika decided to draw attention to this architecture and in 2015 kicked off a series of guided tours and lectures with renowned theoreticians, artists, and architects, who presented the uniqueness and hidden beauty of these constructions. Gradually, some of these buildings started to irrecoverably disappear and it became necessary to think of a way, how to preserve this important part of the history for the general public.

Prague Brutally Beautiful / Ondřej Horák / Scholastika, 2018 / 22 × 23.5 cm

The Magazine is a semi-annual, comprehensive 120pages periodical that has been published in both Czech and English versions since 2002. The Fotograf 07 association functions as an art platform and carries out extensive publication, exhibition, and educational activities in the field of photography as well as in certain other overlapping disciplines. This organization aims to promote and support photography to increase public awareness about photography not only in the Czech Republic, but also at a visible level on the international scene.

Fotograf Magazine #32 non-work / Fotograf 07 / biannual, October 2018 / 22.5 × 29 cm

The book takes its readers through uncharted waters of the Czech fanzine scene. It brings stories of those to light who fell for computer games or wrote sci-fi stories, who obsessively compiled their own metal music charts, who were driven to street demonstrations by hardcore punk music, or who wanted to change the standing of women in society. And who then wrote about it freely in their magazines. The bilingual publication features unique archival content and should be of interest to foreign readers too, as the zine culture outside of the AngloAmerican scene is practically unmapped.

I shout “That’s me!” Stories of Czech fanzines from the 80s till now / Miloš Hroch / PageFive Publishing, 2017 / 17.5 × 24.5 cm

PUBLICATIONS → 250

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_ZVUK_

_ZVUK_ is an independent platform for music education, creative dialog, and new projects in the fields of electronic music and sound arts.

_ZVUK_ PRAHA: Open Media Lab Krymska 14 Prague 10 Czech Republic

Scan the QR code or follow this link to turn on the music: bit.ly/2H3tSKQ

zvukpraha.cz info@zvukpraha.cz @ZVUKPRAHA

Prague based clarinetist and composer Floex just made an amazing album with Tom Hodge, with extraordinary imagination of wonderful soundscapes.

Floex & Tom Hodge / John Doe Arise / 2018

Somewhere between nu-jazz and cinematic compositions, these guys are worth listening to, even if you might not like accordion!

Zabelov Group / Na krev / 2018

This one is very special. Ponk play traditional murder ballads from Slavic villages with a very special, sensitive touch. I bet you never heard a cimbalom being played this way!

Ponk / Göding / 2015

Super talented songwriter Jakub Kaifosz, Wild Tides band leader, also performs solo as Laser Viking.

His radical karaoke shows are usually a phenomenal experience.

Lazer Viking / Less Than Tree / 2018

The darkest electronica, noises, and vocals. Prague underground phenomenon with very hypnotic vibe. This is the first single from their forthcoming album.

Lavra / Unthrone / 2019

OTK is the flagship of Czech alternative rock since 1988. Aside from great songs, they also have a very unique sound—that’s because OTK are led by one of the most respected Czech producers, Ondrej Jezek.

OTK / Radost má vždycky jen hulvát / 2018

Enchanted Lands is part of the Prague based collective Genot Centre. Her ambient collages consist of field recordings, asmr samples, sound manipulations, and secret ingredients.

Enchanted Lands / Trending Poetess / 2017

Sara Vondraskova aka Never Sol is an extraordinary singer and songwriter, her new album introduces her also as an outstanding producer.

Never Sol / Zoe / 2018

This Prague based duo with hidden identity performs live improvisations on analog synthesizers. Even listening to their recordings is magical, but seeing their vibe live even more is fascinating.

Touchie Touchie / Take it of / 2017

B4 is an experimental band with many faces.

On this record they covered the legendary 70s underground band Plastic People of the Universe and this song is all about Prague.

B4 / Magische Nacht / 2016

Prague has a strong, lively hardcore punk scene. Repelent SS is formed by a few hardcore matadors, precise in the studio and destructive entertaining live.

Repelent SS / Crustovej lokaj / 2016

František Štorm is well-known for his fabulous fonts, but the black metal community all around the world is familiar also with his band Master’s Hammer. Cult classic with amazing lyrics.

Master’s Hammer / Vracejte konve na místo / 2012

PLAYLIST → 252

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BC Baseliner / Šimon Matějka, P 246, 249

238

Typelabel: Briefcase Type Foundry URL: briefcasetype.com Year of Release: 2018 Styles / Weights: 2 widths, each in 2 styles Language Support: Latin OpenType Features: Localized Forms, Superscript, CaseSensitive Forms, Ordinals, Fractions, Stylistic Sets Optimized for Web: Yes About: Baseliner is a variable font.

It allows typesetting with very tight linespacing, because the diacritics can be completely embedded into the body of the character. Incorporating the diacritics also leads to atypical solutions to the construction of the characters themselves. The compactness is also achieved by variable shortening of the lower baseline (e. g. the g, q, & p). A new weapon in the fight against noncompact lines is out in the world.

CONTEMPORARY CZECH TYPEFACES

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Dracula / František Štorm, P 250

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Typelabel: Storm Type Foundry URL: stormtype.com Year of Release: 2017 Styles / Weights: 2 styles, each in 5 weights from Light to Black Language Support: Latin OpenType Features: Multiple Styles, Oldstyle Fig., Ligatures, Swashes, Historical Forms Optimized for Web: Yes About: Dracula is a typeface dedicated to classical horror.

František Štorm started to draw its letters along with his illus­tra­tions for Argo Publishers in spring 2017. He needed a specific typeface for a book cover and chapter titles to emphasize the mysterious atmosphere of the text. Sharp teeth and claws on a thin blackletter skeleton shall remind of the early vampirism in literature.

CONTEMPORARY CZECH TYPEFACES

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Index

P 38, 48–55 20YYdesigners. com video interview: slanted.de/prague 20YY Designers, Prague (CZ) 20YY Designers is a graphic design studio founded in 2011 by Robert Jansa, Sébastien Bohner, Petr Bosák, and Adam Macháček.

Collaborations include, among others, Brno Biennial, California College of the Arts, Chronicle Books, Galerie Rudolfinum, Munic­ipality of Montreux, Museum of Czech Literature, Museumsquartier Vienna, National Gallery in Prague, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. P 133 patrikantczak.com

Patrik Antczak, Prague (CZ) Patrik, Prague-based, his illustrator’s and graphic designer’s heart beats for paper cut-outs. His illustrations are filled with humor and playfulness. For his didactic book ALFABETA he received The Golden Ribbon, an annual award that recognizes the best authors and illustrators of books for children and youth in the Czech Republic.

P 67–73 anymadestudio. com video interview: slanted.de/prague Petr Cabalka and Filip Nerad / Anymade Studio, Prague (CZ) Anymade Studio was established in 2009. Its founders, Petr Cabalka and Filip Nerad, currently live and work in Prague.

The graphic studio is interested in visual communication and is inspired by music, contemporary fashion, and visual arts. They use a wide selection of disciplines such as graphic design, illustration, animation, installation, or photography while working on contracts.

INDEX

P 152–166 artishock.cz

Jan Urbánek / Artishock, Brno (CZ) Jan Urbánek has 20 years of experience in graphic design.

Currently, he is a creative director and co-owner at the Artishock studio. He played theater and participated in the production of several student films. He studied at Secondary School of Art and Design in Brno where he became acquainted with graphic design in addition to the classical artistic techniques.

P 129 michalbacak.com

Michal Bačák, Prague (CZ) Michal Bačák, Czech illustrator, born and raised in Moravia, now based in Prague. He is passionate observer, storyteller and gardener—both he is using in his work to turn the world into poetical and sometimes gleeful image of magic realism. He was awarded by Elle Decoration Design Award and Czech Grand Design Award as Illustrator of the Year.

He likes nature, sci-fi, Biedermeier, and beer.

P 11–17 bankovposters. com video interview: slanted.de/prague Peter Bankov, Prague (CZ) Peter Bankov spent the last five years living between Moscow and Prague. He studied Statuary in Minsk, where he was born, and Book Design in Moscow. He has settled down in Prague in 2010 after he organized a studio called Design Depot and edited the KAK design magazine in the Hero-City of Moscow in 1997. Now, constantly rosy-cheeked and cheerful, he is designing a poster everyday. 900 and counting.

P 80–85, 186–189, 238 briefcasetype.com video interview: slanted.de/prague Briefcase Type Foundry, Prague (CZ) Briefcase offers a wide range of unique and original Czech fonts by authors, who may not wish to set up their own type foundry. It profiles itself as an independent type foundry. Briefcase digitizes original font designs, offer fonts by young authors and help publish older, previously unreleased fonts.

The project is a logical extension of the Suitcase Type Foundry.

P 80–85, 216–226, 238, 241 briefcasetype.com suitcasetype.com video interview: slanted.de/prague Tomáš Brousil / Briefcase Type Foundry, Suitcase Type Foundry, Prague (CZ) Tomáš Brousil devotes him­self primarily to fonts and typography. He graduated at the Prague Academy of Arts, Archi­tecture and Design in 2009 with the project of 96 styles of the Tabac typeface. He founded his own Suitcase Type Foundry serv­ing as an outlet for his creative work.

P 80–85, 186–189, 214–224, 235 briefcasetype.com petra-d.com video interview: slanted.de/prague Petra Dočekalová / Briefcase Type Foundry, Prague (CZ) Petra continues her studies at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (UMPRUM) with her PhD thesis about New Lettering Forms. She is the editor and author of the books Jaroslav Benda 1882–1970, TYPO9010, and Script for shop windows. She is a member of Briefcase Type Foundry.

She is also a type designer, let­terer, and sign painter. Photo: © Tomáš Princ

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P 80–85, 186–189, 214–224, 235 briefcasetype.com video interview: slanted.de/prague Radek Sidun / Briefcase Type Foundry, Prague (CZ) His graduation thesis at the AAAD (UMPRUM) dealt with the issue of diacritics in world lan­guages. As a result, he is a sought-after consultant to font designers and foundries all over the world. Together with Tomáš Brousil he founded Briefcase Type Foundry which distributes fonts

by Czech authors. He’s serving as a pedagogue at the Type Design and Typography Studio of UMPRUM academy.

P 136–151, 198–201 monikacejkova. com

Monika Čejková, Prague (CZ) Monika Čejková is an independent curator and writer based in Prague. In her exhibitions she mainly focuses on painting and its outreach to other media; in her recent projects she fused free forms of art and design. She worked for the Museum Kampa, Prague City Gallery, Hauch Gallery and currently she is a co-director of exhibitions and programs at the Kvalitář Gallery.

P 136–151 anezkaciglerova. com

Anežka Hrubá Ciglerová, Prague (CZ) Anežka Hrubá Ciglerová (*1984) studied at the Typography Studio at AAAD in Prague, gradu­ating in 2012 with her SmellMap project. During studies, she had got an internship at Graphic Design Studio at KABK in The Hague. She collaborated on the graphic identity of the Prague Spring Festival with ReDesign Studio and created the visual style for ViPer Gallery. She focuses on book design.

INDEX

P 152–166 herynek.com

Jan Herynek / Design Herynek, Olomouc (CZ) The Czech graphic designer based in Olomouc, started his work as an art director in advertising agencies. In 2002 he founded the studio Design Herynek focus­ing on graphic design and visual communication. It specializes in packaging and branding. In his free work he creates manipulated images and photography. He exhibits at home and abroad and is represented in several art collections, and sculptures.

P 182–185 designiq.cz

Filip Blažek / Designiq—studio grafického designu, Prague (CZ) Filip Blažek works as a graphic designer since 1993. In 2003, he established Designiq studio in Prague. He focuses on corporate identity, book design and editorial design and typog­ra­phy. He regularly contrib­utes to professional periodicals in the field of graphic design. Since 1999, he lectures on Type Design and Typography. He is the Czech deputy of the international organization ATypI. P 62–66, 244 displaay.net video interview: slanted.de/prague

Martin Vácha / Displaay, Prague (CZ) Displaay is an independent type foundry and design studio founded by Martin Vácha based in Prague. He mainly focuses on graphic and type design. Displaay started as a final MA project in June 2014. The first five font sketches were created whilst studying at UMPRUM in Prague.

P 152–166

Kristina Fišerová, Prague (CZ) Graphic designer Kristina Fišerová lives and works in Prague.

Specializing in visual identities, author of numerous books, her work covers an entire spectrum of various graphic activities. She has received a number of design awards, among them The Most Beautiful Czech Book and Red Dot Design Award. She is the head of the Studio of Graphic Design at the Faculty of Design and Art at the University of West Bohemia.

P 168–181, 216–226 tretidilna.cz

Karel Haloun, Prague (CZ) Karel Haloun was born 1951 in Prague, where he studied at the UMPRUM Academy. His profes­sion is graphic design, but he also works as publicist, writer, curator, and pedagogue. He mainly does design for music bands, book lay­outs, and corporate systems, and was awarded with many prices, among others the Czech Grand Design Award. Since 2006 he is a member of the Czech Rock Hall of Fame. Photo: © Lucie Raškovová.

P 92–96 heavyweight.cz video interview: slanted.de/prague

Heavyweight Digital Type Foundry, Inca (ES) Heavyweight Digital Type Foundry is based in Prague and has been established by Filip Matějíček and Jan Horčík in 2013.

Both used to study at Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague in the Studio of Typog­raphy led by Karel Haloun and Tomáš Brousil. Heavyweight designed five typefaces so far, their own website is going to be released.

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Index

P 134 sorry-lazy.tumblr. com

Jindřich Janíček / taketaketake, Prague (CZ) Jindřich Janíček is an illustrator born in Znojmo, a small city near the Austrian border, now based in Prague. Somehow he is still in school working on his PhD at the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design in the Illustration Studio. He is co-founder of the small publishing house taketaketake and smaller bookshop of the same name.

P 132 tomskipolanski. com

Luke Tomski and Ilona Polanski / Tomski&Polanski, Prague (CZ) Tomski&Polanski is a four-handed illustrator based in Prague since 2012. Their work focuses on colorful illustrations about interesting people and their lifestyle. It’s easy to find T&P illustrations done with different techniques such as digital paint­ing, acrylics, airbrush, pastels, crayons. The goal of T&P studio is to spread illustration out to the world of objects, textile, porcelain, etc.

P 190–193, 243 type-together.com

Veronika Burian / TypeTogether, Querol (ES) Veronika Burian is a type designer and the co-founder of the indie type label TypeTogether with José Scaglione, publishing award-winning typefaces and working on tailored typefaces for a variety of clients. She is also involved with Alphabettes, a showcase of typography, and type design by women. She continues to lecture and give workshops at international conferences and universities.

INDEX

P 243 type-together.com

José Scaglione / TypeTogether, Buenos Aires (AR) José Scaglione is a type desig­ner, and co-founder of the indie type label TypeTogether with Veronika Burian. He teaches typography at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, coauthored the book Cómo Crear Tipografías: Del Boceto a la Pantalla, and was appointed president of the Association Typographique Internationale (ATypI) from 2013 to 2017.

P 237 zvukpraha.cz

Martin Tvrdy / _ZVUK_ PRAHA : Open Media Lab, Prague (CZ) _ZVUK_ is an independent platform for music education, creative dialog, and new projects in the field of electronic music and sound arts. Among lectures, courses, and workshops you can find the SYNTH LIBRARY PRAGUE here as well.

P 198–201 uathentic.com

Monika Čejková, Romana Drdová, and SacredZero / uathentic, Prague (CZ) uathentic represents an east­ern European mindset in high­light­ing the culture of creating values out of wrong copy–pasting and decayed symbolism. uathentic is a collective and project by the art curator Monika Čejková, visual artist Romana Drdová, and writer SacredZero.

P 24–31 video interview: slanted.de/prague

Rostislav Vaněk, Prague (CZ) Rostislav Vaněk is a typographer and graphic designer who has worked in nearly all fields of graphic design. He worked on logos, posters, books, exhibitions, large visual communication projects, corporate identity, and has a focus on type design in the last years. His works have been awarded internationally. Since 2001, he is the head of the Graphic Design and Visual Communication Studio at the AAAD in Prague.

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slanted video interviews 175+ figures of the design scene slanted.de/videos switzerland istanbul paris new york marrakech portugal warsaw helsinki athens

tokyo dubai prague

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Colophon

SLANTED MAGAZINE TYPOGRAPHY & GRAPHIC DESIGN SPRING / SUMMER 2019 33 PRAGUE PUBLISHER Slanted Publishers Nebeniusstraße 10 76137 Karlsruhe Germany T +49 (0) 721 85148268 magazine@slanted.de slanted.de Editor in Chief (V.i.S.d.P.)

Lars Harmsen Managing Editor

Julia Kahl Assistance

Isabella Krüger Art Direction

Lars Harmsen Graphic Design

Julia Kahl Assistance Graphic Design

Alex Staudt, Clara Weinreich Video Editing

Laura Urbach SLANTED WEBLOG

Editor in Chief (V.i.S.d.P.)

Julia Kahl Editors slanted.de/en/publisher/profile-contact

VIDEO Video interviews slanted.de/prague

ISSN 1867-6510 Frequency 2 × p. a.

(Spring / Summer, Autumn / Winter) Copyright © Slanted, Karlsruhe, 2019 All rights reserved.

COLOPHON

PRODUCTION Printing & Finishing

Stober GmbH, Druckerei und Verlag

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HKS 14 K + HKS 43 K Fonts

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Design: Stanislav Maršo

Label: Briefcase Type Foundry / briefcasetype.com

BC Minim R8, 2019 Design: Matyáš Bartoň Label: Briefcase Type Foundry / briefcasetype.com

Crabath, tba Design: Tomáš Brousil Label: Suitcase Type Foundy / suitcasetype.com

Suisse Int’l / Neue, 2011 Design: Swiss Typefaces Design Team Label: Swiss Typefaces / swisstypefaces.com

AWARDS (Selection of design awards for publications by Slanted) ADC of Europe 2010, 2008 ADC Germany 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2008, 2007 Annual Multimedia 2008, 2013 Berliner Type 2008 (Bronze), 2009 (Silver) Designpreis der BRD 2009 (Silver) European Design Awards 2011, 2008 Faces of Design Awards 2009 iF communication design award 2007 German Design Award 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 Laus Awards 2009 Lead Awards 2008 (Weblog des Jahres), 2007 Lead Awards 2013 (Visual Leader / Silver) red dot communication design awards 2008, 2017 Type Directors Club NY, 2011, 2008, 2007 Tokyo Type Directors Club 2015, 2014 Werkbund Label 2012

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SALES AND DISTRIBUTION

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Slanted Magazine can be acquired online, in selected book­stores, concept stores, and galleries worldwide. You can also find it at stations and airports in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. If you own a shop and would like to stock Slanted Magazine, please get in touch with us.

We offer a wide range of advertising possibilities online and in print. For advertising enquiries please get in touch with: Julia Kahl (advertising management / sales)

+49 (0) 721 851 482 68, julia.kahl@slanted.de Isabella Krüger (advertising sales)

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offer Order a 2 years subscription of Slanted Magazine and receive the Prague Special Edition for free!

1. Visit www.slanted.de/en/publisher/ subscription 2. Add your subscription + the Prague Special Edition to your cart 3. Use the discount code WeLovePrague at checkout!

COLOPHON

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 20YY Designers, Patrik Antczak, Anymade Studio, Artishock, Michal Bačák, Peter Bankov, Filip Blažek, Braasi Industry, Briefcase Type Foundry, Tomáš Brousil, Monika Čejková, Čezeta motors, Anežka Hrubá Ciglerová, Design Herynek, Displaay, Petra Dočekalová, Kristina Fišerová, Fontstore, Karel Haloun, Heavyweight Digital Type Foundry, Martin Hrdina, Jitka Janečková, Kolektiv Studio, Jan Šrámek Kolouch, Linda Kudrnowská, Laboratoř, Františka Lachmanová, Zuzana Lednická, Linostock, Ian Lynam, Dermot Mac Cormack, Matyáš Machat, Man—Machine Type, Master & Master, Šimon Matějka, Monsters, Veronika Rút Nováková, Oficina, OKOLO, PageFive, Parallel Practice, PBG, Pavla Pauknerová, Tomáš Pospiszyl, ReDesign, Rosetta Type Foundry, Side2, Radek Sidun, Adam Štěch, Storm Type Foundry, Studio adela&pauline, Studio Marvil, Studio Najbrt, Studio Novák & Balihar, Studio Petrohrad, Suitcase Type Foundry, Superior Type, superlative.works, Marta Sylvestrová, taketaketake, Tomski&Polanski, TypeTogether, uathentic, Rostislav Vaněk, and _ZVUK_.

This issue comes along with a limited special edition exclusively available at slanted.de/shop. It contains a photographic newspaper by photographer Dirk Gebhardt with a text by Jan Arndt, catching the raw pubs of old Prague.

Thanks a lot to Anna Štysová (Czech Design Map) for the helpful tips and for the opportunity to include a map about the hottest design spots in Prague in our special edition.

Thanks to Laura Urbach for editing the video interviews and to Radek Sidun and Zuzana Josková for helping with the transcriptions.

A big thank you to the guys from OKOLO (Adam Štěch, Matěj Činčera, and Jan Kloss). Lars: “Without your invitation to the 28th International Graphic Design Biennale in Brno to be a member of the jury, I would not have had the idea to come to Prague so quickly ... I owe my first encounter with Prague to Fabian Kern—shots, shootings, pool positions, and pole bars.”

Last but not least: Thanks a lot to Holger Tietje and Dagmar Näther (Holmen Paper) as well as Frederique Rosenauer (Iggesund) for the amazing paper support, and to Thomas Appelius, Joachim Schweigert, and their team (Stober) for the support and great printing!

DISCLAIMER The publisher assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of all information. Publisher and editor assume that material that was made available for publishing, is free of third party rights.

Reproduction and storage require the permission of the publisher. Photos and texts are welcome, but there is no liability.

Signed contributions do not necessarily repre­sent the opinion of the publisher or the editor.

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Dirk Gebhardt, Aleš Najbrt, Julia Kahl, Lars Harmsen

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Go! Přineste nám pivo.

DĚKUJI, PRAHA!

Slanted 33—Prague

We had a number of good reasons to visit Prague. We wanted to meet some good friends and great designers—but also beginners, hipsters, and old cracks. We wanted to immerse ourselves in history and culture, see Josef Koudelka’s documentation of the Velvet Revolution, experience the disturbing world of Franz Kafka, enjoy the musical elegance of Dvorak and save our souls by inhaling the aura of UMRPUM, Prague’s Academy of Art, Architecture and Design (founded in 1885). After the Dubai edition, we also felt the need to experience a historically grown city. And have a beer. We quickly learned that the Czechs are the most proficient beer drinkers in the world (156 liters per capita and year). Photographer Dirk Gebhardt’s homage to Prague’s “drinking cathedrals”—yesterday bars with a mixture of brutal tristesse and desperate reality—is published in our special edition.

We’ve never been to Prague before, fearing its overexposure, overvaluation, and overtourism. There is a strange thing about places everybody has been to, places that are shortlisted with other big tourist cities in Europe like Barcelona, Amsterdam, or Venice. The equation seems to be global: low-cost airline plus cheap apartments, equals accessible traveling for just about anyone. Over 10 million people visit Prague each year, almost ten visitors for every one of Prague’s 1.25 million residents.

For those we met, Old Town Square, Charles Bridge, or Prague Castle don’t exist. The old Prague is a myth. It’s all for Russian investors.

Or Asian couples having elaborate fake wedding pictures that reflect their romantic fantasies—to end up at the McDonaldized Wenceslas Square and choke a burger. And for stag parties (the ultimate business) offering AK-47s shootings followed by a bath with beauties in a pool filled with mud.

One thing is sure: The people we met are the real folks from Prague. Their stories are wonderful. They have a lot of humor. Some of them like to drink a beer (or two). But, above all, they are one thing: damn good designers! They know where they’re from and their roots give them a clear vision of where they want to go. They are the ones shaping the new Prague.

This issue of Slanted Magazine goes along with additional video interviews which have been conducted by the Slanted team in August 2018 in Prague.

To watch videos scan QR code, or visit slanted.de/prague

slanted 33 typography & graphic design

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