Opening of the EXHIBITION OF CROATIAN DESIGN 23/24 and the Awards Ceremony

Organized by the Croatian Designers Association, the Exhibition of Croatian Design is the central and most significant professional design event in Croatia, gathering the highest quality design works created over a two-year period across all design fields. This edition marks the 25th anniversary of the exhibition’s founding and will showcase 346 design works selected from a total of 706 submissions. Not only is this year’s response the largest to date, but it is also the most extensive selection. A total of 241 professional and 105 student works will compete for awards in the 9 professional and 9 student categories. The works were chosen by a Selection Committee consisting of Sarah Baron Brljević, Lana Cavar, Lana Grahek, Sven Jonke, Maša Milovac, Sean Poropat, and Gala Marija Vrbanić. They will be joined by two international members on the exhibition’s Jury in the coming days – Kosovar designer Nita Salihu Hoxha and multidisciplinary designer from the Netherlands, Peter Bilak.

 

In addition to the physical exhibition, which will once again be hosted in one of Croatia’s most vibrant exhibition spaces, Lauba – House for People and Art, starting January 10, 2025, all selected works will also be published on the online platform established during previous editions. The opening will include the promotion of the printed publication Overview of Croatian Design 23/24, spanning over 500 pages, and the ceremonial presentation of the Croatian Designers Association Awards. The visual identity of this year’s exhibition was designed by Zoran Đukić and his studio đkć, while the exhibition setup was created by Draga Komparak.

From the essay by Sven Sorić:

The diversity and heterogeneity of actors in the design scene—ranging from freelancers to multidisciplinary and agency teams, self-initiated projects to international collaborations, freelance gigs to multimillion-dollar contracts—are taken for granted. However, this healthy pool of diversity (in terms of business models, styles, and functionality) relies on a balance with the most vulnerable groups. A radical shift in any one direction would likely hinder the further development of design in Croatia. It is precisely this healthy exchange between the so-called independent and agency sectors (a division I mention only for illustrative purposes, as I generally agree with Zlatka Salopek’s critique of it in the previous exhibition’s catalog) that has facilitated the sharing of experiences and fresh perspectives on both sides – recent graduates or young designers, whose experiences were shaped through vigorous experimentation with typography, imagery, and new media, now hold significant positions in some of the leading creative and digital agencies. On the other hand, the experience of working within large systems has enabled those who venture into independent endeavors to form smaller, more flexible teams that achieve remarkable success in the market. Until recently, it was almost unimaginable to see radical design experiments or niche typographic fonts used in advertising, or, conversely, small independent teams confidently claiming their share of the international market—further reason to abandon discussions about boundaries and the concept of “two designs,” allowing professional excellence to become the sole criterion for evaluation.“

HDD Lifetime Achievement Award – Mladen Orešić

On the opening night, the Croatian Designers Association Lifetime Achievement Award will also be presented. This time, it will go to designer, educator, and advocate for design – Mladen Orešić. In his reflection titled The Design and Educational Energy of Mladen Orešić, Damir Gamulin writes:  “What makes Orešić’s work unique is not just his technical excellence or distinctive design style but his insistence that design be a tool for social change—a means to redefine everyday life and improve quality of life, rather than merely a superficial tool for embellishing reality. His leadership, innovations, and dedication continue to inspire designers and everyone who believes that design is much more than functionality or aesthetics—that it is an expression of our culture, values, and identity. The Lifetime Achievement Award presented to Mladen Orešić honors his contributions to Croatian design through his authored works, his role in positioning design within society, and the generations he inspired.”

Mladen Orešić (Rab, 1951) graduated and earned his master’s degree from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, in the Department of Industrial Design (under the mentorship of Prof. Hans Hollein). His professional work predominantly focuses on furniture and interior design. He has received dozens of awards for works exhibited at all major exhibitions and fairs in the region. Since 1989, he has been engaged in teaching as a professor-mentor at the Schooo of Design in Zagreb, in the Industrial Design department. He has mentored approximately 250 theses in industrial design. As a mentor, he has won many awards, including prestigious honors such as the Red Dot, D&AD, and IDEA Gold Awards from the Industrial Designers Society of America. He has led numerous projects and collaborations between the School of Design and the manufacturing industry, including initiatives such as Design to Brand, Six Views on a Room, Designer and Craftsman, HAI – Croatian Authentic Toys, The Bridges of Virovitica, and New Learning Spaces. He serves as the head of design development, designer, and coordinator of some of the most prominent studios and designers in Croatia, particularly in the CEKOM SPIN project, which produced the brand METODA. Orešić is actively involved in promoting the design profession and establishing its status. He is a member of a number of professional associations and, as president of the Croatian Designers Association, he initiated the Annual Exhibitions of Croatian Design and the publication of the Croatian Design Annual. He has participated in Croatian government committees for drafting the National Design Strategy and the Furniture Design Strategy. He has served on numerous juries, organizational committees, and editorial boards for professional events and publications and has participated in scientific and professional conferences. In recognition of his contributions, he was awarded the Order of Danica Hrvatska with the image of Marko Marulić in 1999.

The Croatian Designers Association Grand Prix

In addition to the awards and recognitions across all 9 professional and student categories, the Grand Prize of the Croatian Designers Association will once again be presented. This prize is awarded to a project that, according to the International Jury, has significantly stood out from the rest of the design production due to its quality, innovation, complexity, or clear and strong message. The Grand Prize will be announced at the opening of the Exhibition of Croatian Design at Lauba – House for People and Art in January 2025. The following works have been nominated:

Modern Times – Documentary Series

Author, Producer, Screenwriter: Dubravko Merlić
Author, Producer, Composer: Matej Merlić
Director: Tomislav Šoban
Co-screenwriter: Matea Milić
Director of Photography: Ante Cvitanović
Set Design: Maja Merlić
Graphic Design: Klasja, Zita & Andrea
Editors: Urša Vlahušić, Doris Dodig
Costume Design: Katarina Zaninović
Expert Contributor: Zvonko Maković
Project Partners: Museum of Arts and Crafts, Museum of Contemporary Art, Nikola Tesla Technical Museum, Zagreb Film
Production: Castor Multimedia
Commissioned by: Croatian Radiotelevision
Realization: December 2023

Description:

The popularity of Croatian design from the last century speaks of timeless value through which this design has subtly woven itself into our identity and collective memory. Thed ocumentary TV series Modern Times covers the history of Croatian design from 1950s to 2020s, across seven episodes, examining the economic, political, and social context, while highlighting key achievements, individuals, and groups that marked each decade. Modern Times aired in prime time on HRT1 from December 2023 to January 2024. With its creative approach, the series managed to capture the attention of professionals, as well as broader audiences, therefore popularising Croatian design.

Explanation by the Selection Committee:

This nomination recognizes extensive research and journalistic work that has resulted in a work of fundamental importance for understanding and appreciating Croatian design from the 1950s to the present. It is a comprehensive television series consisting of seven thematically cohesive segments that contextualize and analyze post-war Croatian design in an impressive and creative manner, skillfully intertwining its reflections and implications across space and time while paving the way for the future. Beyond its historiographical and educational aspects, the series also stands out for its ambitious production level, ranging from its innovative and dedicated artistic concept to episodically conceived scenography, graphic materials, and visual communications. This project is set to establish new standards within its sector and beyond.

74th and 75th Dubrovnik Summer Festival

Design: Zoran Đukić
Contributors: Neva Zidić (design, 2024), Nikola Zelmanović (photography, 2023), Luka Kedžo (photography, 2023)
Commissioned by: Dubrovnik Summer Festival
Realization: 2023–2024

Description:

The visual identity of the 74th Dubrovnik Summer Festival is a continuation of previous year, focusing on local plants and shifting the spotlight from the city walls to a frequently overlooked natural element characteristic of outdoor performances. The posters feature portraits of seemingly characteristic Dubrovnik plants: agave and prickly pear, Dubrovnik coral, and the Dubrovnik gospar. However, prickly pears were first noted on Lastovo in 1911 and are originally from Mexico, as are agaves. Dubrovnik coral came from Guatemala, and the gospar is of Brazilian origin. These visuals thus raise questions about the boundaries between what is ours/Dubrovnik’s and what is foreign, old and new. The visual identity of the 75th Dubrovnik Summer Festival continues with the theme of nature as a key element of the festival’s atmosphere. The almost empty poster depicts a sunset horizon, an intangible boundary between day/night, sky/sea, known/unknown—a threshold into the mystique of night and the performances at the Summer Festival. From the main poster, the sunset seems to spread across all other identity materials.

Explanation by the Selection Committee:

The visual identity for the 74th and 75th Dubrovnik Summer Festival has successfully continued to develop the identity concept established in 2022. This concept innovatively relies on nature as an unjustly overlooked element of the atmospheric quality of the Dubrovnik festival. In each edition, nature is interpreted in a scenic, graphically innovative manner that unmistakably serves this important cultural event through its design expression. The unexpectedly eclectic and bold typographic system eschews conventional classicism and conservatism, striking a harmonious balance across various applications. Amidst the extensive production of designs for cultural institutions and festivals, this work stands out with its fresh approach and the maturity with which it reflects one of the most important cultural events in our country.

Kasper Andreasen – High Capacity

Design: Toni Uroda
Contributor: Kasper Andreasen (editor)
Commissioned by: Kasper Andreasen, Berlin M HKA, Antwerp Roma Publications, Amsterdam
Completion Date: September 2023

Description:

This book is a facsimile of collages by Kasper Andreasen entailing found ephemera which he collected in London, Copenhagen, Prague, and Amsterdam from 1998 to 2003. It was launched as part of the exhibition High Capacity held at M HKA, Antwerp in 2023. High Capacity is not just an amassment of printed matter left over from the turn of the millennium, but a very dense, compressed image of that time. The book includes 203 photocopied collages, an introductory essay by the artist, and a numbered list of collage titles. It was designed and edited in collaboration with the artist. The book’s straightforward typography correlates with the raw graphic character of the collages.

Explanation by the Selection Committee:

The design of Kasper Andreasen’s artist’s book is almost radical in its simplicity. It is woven into the utilitarian parts of the book such as pagination, index, choice of typography, and treatment of images. Due to the large number of submitted works, for the first time the design of books and publications receives a separate category at the biennial Exhibition of Croatian Design, and the jury decided to focus on an author who approaches this medium with rarely seen dedication and care, from the smallest structural details to the prepress and printing itself. In its silence, subtlety and modesty, the design of this book is actually loud.

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Organized by
HDD – Croatian Designers Association

Partner
Lauba – kuća za ljude i umjetnost

Production and organization
Marko Golub, Mirjana Jakušić

Assistants
Ivan Beritić, Magdalena Ećimović

Concept and structure of the web and online exhibition:
Marko Golub

Editors of the Online Exhibition:
Marko Golub, Mirjana Jakušić

Visual identity design:
đkć

Exhibition design:
Draga Komparak

Web design
Marina Jukić, đkć

Web development
Emanuel Blagonić

International Jury:
Sarah Baron Brljević, Lana Cavar, Lana Grahek, Sven Jonke, Maša Milovac, Sean Poropat, Gala Marija Vrbanić, Peter Bilak, Nita Salihu Hoxha

The Exhibition is financially supported by
Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia
Zagreb City Office for Culture and Civil Society
Adris Foundation
Podravka
Zagreb Tourist Board

Sponsors
Igepa Plana
Go2digital
Croatia Airlines
Ars Kopija
Span
Macan
Zagreb plakat

Thank you
Tomislav Kličko, Ivana Karaturović, Branimir Kolar, Maja Kulaš, Daniel Tomičić (Zagreb Design Week)

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