Jana Semerádová, managing Director of the Profil Media agency, and Jiří Macek, Creative Director of Profilmedia. As part of the agency’s work, focusing on curatorial and production work for design and new media, they organise the Designblok festival in Prague, and Datatransfer, a festival of visual styles. In 2001 they began publishing Blok magazine, covering design, fashion and lifestyle.
NO LIMITS
AN INTERVIEW WITH JANA SEMERÁDOVÁ AND JIŘÍ MACEK, CONSULTANTS FOR THIS CHAPTER
WHAT DO YOU FIND MOST
INTERESTING ABOUT
CONTEMPORARY CZECH DESIGN?
Jana: Originality, and a sense of humour.
Jiří: Its rapid progress, and the number
of talented young designers with a wide
range of different approaches.
WHAT DID THAT PERIOD
CONTRIBUTE TO CZECH DESIGN?
Jana: Companies are now beginning
to realise that if they want to be
competitive, they have to have good
quality products, in terms of technology
and aesthetics, and so they’re increasingly
turning to designers. Companies
are beginning to take more care over
the quality of their products, and their
presentation – websites, marketing, and
so on.
Jiří: Czech designers no longer operate
solely within the Czech Republic, and
that’s very important. International
experience from exhibitions and specific
commissions can help them become
aware of their own approach to design,
and how to make use of that.
WHAT EVENTS IN RECENT YEARS DO
YOU THINK HAVE HAD THE GREATEST
INFLUENCE ON CZECH DESIGN?
Jana: Czech design has been fundamentally
influenced by the Academy of Arts,
Architecture and Design. There are new
technologies and materials – perspex,
corian – that have influenced the look
of products. Designers are also free to
travel, and are therefore influenced by
design trends in other countries.
Jiří: The Academy of Arts, Architecture
and Design – not only does it teach
students, but it also initiates many
exhibitions, such as Prague: Session and
Design Air, to mention just two exhibitions
that won international acclaim.
WHAT WERE YOUR CRITERIA FOR
SELECTING INDIVIDUAL EXHIBITS?
Jana: That was primarily based on the
designer’s personality. Contemporary
design can’t be judged in terms of its
timelessness, or its tried and tested
functionality. That’s why we chose
designs by outstanding contemporary
designers, their most characteristic and
innovative work.
IS THERE ANYTHING FROM THOSE
YEARS THAT YOU WOULD CALL
TYPICALLY CZECH?
Jana: Pavel Nedvěd…
Jiří: There are certain materials that
designers in this country use most
often, because they have a long tradition
here. Just about everyone in the Czech
Republic designs something in glass or
porcelain at some point. That includes
most households. Everyone in the Czech
Republic is to some extent a designer, or
rather a DIY enthusiast. Luckily, the days
when that was the only way to get what
you wanted are over now.
IF YOU WERE ON A DESERT ISLAND AND COULD TAKE THREE OBJECTS FROM THAT PERIOD WITH YOU, WHICH ONES WOULD THEY BE? Jana: Pavel Nedvěd – I want to learn how to play football properly. The Škoda Roomster – that’s a multipurpose car. And the third thing would be Martin Hašek’s Tajone chair (and not only on account of its name). Jiří: Criss Cross by Olgoj Chorchoj. Getting a light to shine on a desert island would be an interesting challenge. And its shape would be very appealing for helicopters. As Man Friday I’d take Pavel Ivančic’s Mermaid. We could blink together.