National award for design also for the AFAD
On Monday, November 11, 2024, the awards for the best communication design in Slovakia were presented. We are pleased that among the awardees are also our teachers and students from the Department of Visual Communication, as well as several graduates of the AFAD. Congratulations to all awardees!
PRIZES FOR DESIGN PERSONALITIES
New discovery
Simona Császárová
Simona Császárová is a recent graduate of the Master's studies at the Department of Visual Communication of the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava and the Department of Promotional Art at the School of Applied Art in Košice. She completed study stays in Poland and at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Budapest. In her diploma thesis, she addressed the issue, history and use of initials in typography and graphic design, and thus created a complete publication entitled Initial Initiative Initialization of Initials. Already during her studies, she worked as a designer on several projects – for example, she created illustrations for the children's program Čo budeme robiť pre RTVS, designed the visuals for the SKUSY event, collaborated with the East Slovak Gallery in Košice and participated in the organization of the By design conference. Her most significant work, which she created already during her studies at the academy in cooperation with teachers, is the redesign of the Slovak EČV (vehicle registration number), for which she designed a new font design called QOD. Currently, she works as a graphic designer at the Slovak National Gallery and as a freelancer.
Established designer
Marcel Benčík
Photo: Jana Hojstričová
Marcel Benčík is a graphic designer, pedagogue and expert in communication design. He studied graphic design at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, where he subsequently completed his doctoral studies. At the AFAD, he works as an associate professor and vice-rector for international cooperation and heads the Space Studio of the Department of Visual Communication, which he founded. In his professional practice, which he has been carrying out since 2002, he focuses on communication design in architecture and public spaces, exhibition design, book design and visual identity. He cooperates with several leading cultural institutions, such as the Slovak National Gallery, the Slovak National Theater and the Považská Art Gallery, as well as with important Slovak visual artists. His long-term cooperation with architectural studio zerozero is also important. Among his most important projects are exhibition projects and expositions for the Slovak National Gallery and the Považská Art Gallery, visual communication and navigation systems for the cultural center Kasárne/Kulturpark in Košice or the Municipal Office in Leopoldov and others. He received prestigious awards for his projects, such as the National Award for Communication Design 2016, CE.ZA.AR and other awards in the field of design. In addition to design and teaching work, he also engages in research and publishing activities and is actively involved in cultural and academic diplomacy.
Category: Font
QOD font for plates with vehicle registration number
Simona Császárová, Michal Tornyai
The visual style of the QOD font is based on sans-serif geometrically constructed fonts. It has a visually uniform stroke thickness, and the characters occupy the same area. An important principle of the font for plates with registration numbers is that individual characters are well distinguishable from each other. That is why the letters have a more angular construction, and the numbers are round. In the case of several characters that could easily be confused in the tables with ordinary font, their difference is emphasized. For example, B, S and 8, or O, D and 0. The uniqueness and distinctiveness of the characters is also increased by the selective use of serifs (C, G, I, J, L, S, T, 1, 7). The QOD font has three cuts (A, B, C), each adapted in its drawing and proportions to the sizes of the tables on which it is used. The font was created at the Department of Visual Communication of the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava.
Special award of the Slovak Design Center as a partner of the New European Bauhaus initiative in Slovakia
Reconnected
Katarína Plačková
The diploma thesis Reconnected (supervised by pedagogue Marcel Benčík, AFAD, Department of Visual Communication) deals with the experimental development of regenerative materials. These biodegradable materials are created from bacteria, waste and plants, colored with natural pigments. The aim of the work is to raise awareness of sustainable design that supports social, political, cultural and environmental transformations. The project offers an insight into the research of biocomposite materials and their application, which symbolizes conscious material activism in graphic design disciplines. Design and production are carried out responsibly using sustainable local resources that do not burden the environment. The concept brings the regenerative material creation process as a medium for designers to communicate ecological and sustainable approaches.
Silvia Seneši Lutherová, deputy director of SCD, said about the project: "Reconnected is proof that sustainability can be attractive, and ecologically responsible design has the power to change the world. This project inspires us to change our approach and shows how design can help create a sustainable future.”
Category: Packaging and object
JURAN from Modra. Product line of wines and wine labels.
Marcel Benčík
The company JURAN is a great producer of wine from Modra, creating modern, fresh wines that are very popular not only in the Bratislava vineyards. The mutual understanding between Peter Juran and Marcel Benčík enabled the creation of a range of characteristic young wine labels. The labels react to the content in the bottle and to the individual varieties. The result is a constantly replenishing series with a color accent for every taste of wine in the bottle. In 2023, the specific product JUNGLE (pinot blanc) was also created, which differs from the standard range by a significant change in the approach and work with the font.
Category: Books and publications
MYKO
Pavol Bálik, Daniela Olejníková
They are resourceful, intelligent, communicate and connect with each other over vast distances, decompose and build, disappear and reappear, adapt and transform, survive on nothing, defend themselves against the enemy in peaceful ways, heal themselves and others, and are beautiful, diverse and mysterious. Mushrooms! A magazine compiled by the mushrooms themselves to report on their world - this is how Jiří Dvořák conceived his story about the mysterious kingdom of mushrooms in a fun but absolutely true way. His excursions into the underground, the prehistoric mushroom world and the hot present are complemented by funny, concise and neon-colored illustrations by Daniela Olejníková. Graphically, the book is designed as ten bound parts of 8-page MYKO magazines, and the text is designed as a classic newspaper typeface in three columns. The book was awarded the Best Children's Book in the World award at the Bologna Ragazzi Award 2024 in the Non Fiction category.
Category: Digital
Atlas SNG
Filip Ruisl, Lukáš Štepanovský, (spoluautori – Katarína Vass, Igor Rjabinin, František Michal Sebestyén, Rastislav Chynoranský, Marián Horkovič, Romana Halgošová, Branislav Matis, LAB SNG)
The Atlas SNG digital guide brings stories of works of art, their authors, an overview of exhibition themes and interesting places in the Slovak National Gallery. Objects in the gallery are assigned simple ring codes. After typing the code, a rich layer of information and links to other objects will appear in Atlas. The content in the Atlas does not copy exhibition catalogs and offers an original and accessible view of more than 250 exhibited objects. The audience can also discover objects by typing in random codes or through the Search, in which the works across the gallery are connected by a common theme. Creative activities and educational videos in the SNG Open Studio continue to follow the regularly changing theme of Search. The atlas does not need to be downloaded, it works directly in the browser and automatically remembers all explored objects.