Hrvatsko dizajnersko društvo / Croatian Designers Association

“I think that designers still have to put an effort into bringing awareness to the public and their clients about understanding our profession and the benefits that design engagement brings. One of our problems is the fact that the market is small and that makes certain production challenges too complicated or unprofitable. Culture and self-initiative projects have always pushed Croatian design, and I think that will not change, but I also hope that better connectivity will remove the borders and that designers with quality solutions will be able to reach the wider public.” – INTERVIEWED BY: Ora Mušćet

“The challenges are numerous, and a freelance designer must be both a good worker and a good boss. You are actually in a managerial position because you have to adequately manage resources such as time, money, knowledge and equipment. One of the biggest, if not the main challenge, is to build and maintain a good customer base and quality relationship with the customers. Additionally, it is necessary to strive to create diverse revenue streams. This can be achieved, for example, by implementing projects that can bring long-term earnings or royalties, and one-off projects that can be done in shorter time intervals. As the third and most challenging opportunity, I see independent production and sale of one’s own products, and building of one’s own brands as a designer-entrepreneur.” – INTERVIEWED BY: Marko Golub

“Digital design in the world is undergoing major changes and designers are required to be much more involved in the current problems of society. I think this can already be seen in the employment process of top companies, and it will certainly be even more pronounced in the near future. Designers from smaller, more conservative backgrounds, such as Croatia, will be in a weaker position. We can counteract this to some extent through a wider education and self-education, with the aim of increasing empathy for as wide a circle of people as possible. The core of design as a discipline is empathy, and empathy is nourished by new ideas, knowledge and experiences.” – interviewed by: ORA MUŠĆET

“There are two of us in the Bachrach & Krištofić tandem. We wanted to express different states and ideas with photographs. Mario behind the lens and me in front of it – I could have been anyone. Back then, changing identities or roles was not just for the camera, it was a part of everyday life. I wore men’s suits and ties, wore intense dark makeup, wore tulle and nylon clothes. In our own way, we wanted to say that all these roles, the people who are a part of us, are equal. Self-referentiality points to one’s own situation, the subject.” – interviewed by: Ora Mušćet

“The head is full, and the hardest part is stopping ideas and redirecting them. You have to give up some, separate the important from the irrelevant. Then the first guiding thread comes up, an aha moment happens. So the blink starts with a slogan or a movie in your head. I am inspired by organic forms and the world around me. Designing a space is a way to create a unique sensory environment that acts seamlessly and cohesively. It is a unique micro-universe that creates an impact on its users and can bring happiness, peace and inclusion. I often imagine the interior as a continuation of the urban fabric that connects the environment with its interior, creating a visual connection between the external and internal space, respecting the elements of the natural environment. ” – Interviewed by: Ora Mušćet

“Writers and editors (and magazine art directors) should not be the story. We bring our experience and knowledge to a subject, but a magazine is for its readers – whom we presume to want the best words and the most appropriate pictures for each feature or review. Magazine-making is not a form of self-expression. Having said that, there will always be parts of one’s personality that leak through, and that occurs in designing, too. ” – INTERVIEWED BY: MARKO GOLUB

“We who endeavoured to develop media practices and work with an awareness of the social and urban context in which we lived in graphic design we saw a chance to expand our field of action. The poster is something that belongs to the urban space and communicates directly with passers-by, which was certainly interesting for me because in the seventies I developed a very clear critical attitude to artistic institutions, museums, galleries, academies and so on.” – INTERVIEWED BY: MARKO GOLUB

U utorak 4.6.2019. u 11 sati, u A dvorani Grafičkog fakulteta Sveučilišta u Zagrebu prof. dr. Gjoko Muratovski s University of Cincinnati (SAD) održat će predavanje na temu “Experiential Learning and Real-World Simulations: The Future of Design Education”.

A designer who is usually recognised as good at what he or she does quite often exudes that glamorous aura of an inspired individual. However, good design oftentimes remains hidden behind the anonymous and the collective (in big agencies, for instance) or behind the omnipresent and almost undetectable, behind miniature, yet strategically important modifications and transformations of long-lasting brands, etc. One of the advantages of this sort of exhibition format for presenting design is that it provides a general idea about what is perceived as a good standard, an “example of good practice”, a benchmark of excellence. Since design has never been only “one thing” (and certainly it is not today), but rather many different things, it would be naive to talk about some universal standard. – WRITTEN BY: MARKO GOLUB

Cover photo: Brigitte Lacombe Susan Sellers is a founding partner and creative director of 2×4 and Senior Design Critic at Yale School of Art. At 2×4, she leads a wide range of strategy and design projects in the cultural, commercial and urban sectors, from large-scale brand identity and…

Matko Meštrović is critical of eminent designers of the western world, including Victor Papanek and Buckminster Fuller, resenting them for not being resolute in their questioning of the dominant capitalist system. His eternal curiosity and desire to explore and promote new interpretations of the relations of social domination that are structurally connected to capitalist modes of production is a reflection of his attempt to subvert this domination through the collective self-determination of people and through the system of social production

“It is always important to design the right product for each customer. To know what their DNA is like, to understand what makes them special, or to create a new DNA together. As designers, we do things to improve something, make it easier or make it easier to understand. I never just wanted to create things that are just beautiful and accessible to a small layer of people. I want to create products that people use. I see great value in not just designing for the elite who can afford it. For me, the analytical part of the design process is very important. If you work for many different customers, you can gather knowledge from all these industries and then combine them in new ways.” – INTERVIEWED BY: ORA MUŠĆET