Peter Biľaks lecture*

Peter Biľak was born in former Czechoslovakia in 1973, and studied in Slovakia, England and USA, before getting his MA from Atelier national de création typographique in Paris, and postgraduate laureate from Jan van Eyck Akademie in Maastricht.
Before starting the studio & type foundry Typotheque in The Hague with his wife Johanna Bilak, he has worked at Studio Dumbar. Presently, he is working in the field of editorial, graphic and type design, on a scope of cultural and commercial projects. Recent projects include: design of the standard stamps for the Dutch Royal mail (TPG Post); series of dance performances (in collaboration with choreographer Lukas Timulak from NDT); design of Arabic and Indic fonts; designing books for Stroom, The Hague art center; design of exhibition at the Dutch architectural institute; curating and organizing of the exhibitions at the Biennale of graphic design, Brno. He has designed several fonts including FF Eureka (published by Fontshop) and Fedra (published by Typotheque).
He is the founding editor of Dot Dot Dot, an art and design magazine (with Stuart Bailey). Lectures internationally, most recently at Rhode Island School of Design (USA), Istituto Europeo di Design (Italy), LPP London (UK), ECAL Lausanne (CH), or l'UQAM Montreal (Canada). He is a frequent contributor to various art and design magazines, including Print (USA), Emigre (USA), Items (NL), Metropolis M (NL), Idea (JP), etc.
He has served in a number of juries of selections, most notably ADC New York, Laus Barcelona, Magdalena (Slovenia), Biennale Brno (Czech Republic), Les plus beaux livres français 2007, or ADC Amsterdam. He is a member of AGI (Alliance Graphique Internationale).

*Filmed on 26th October 2009 in Ljubljana, Slovenia (EU)
Peter Biľak was a member of a jury at 4th Biennal of Slovene Visual Communications

Link: Link to lecture

4th Biennial of Slovene Visual Communications

By organising the Biennial, we attempt to do for our profession what it does best for others but never for itself - communicate our mission and differentiate. While the first three Biennials mainly featured professionals, perhaps making them seem somewhat exclusive, the time has now come for us to stop closing ranks and convincing the convinced, and rather fulfil the original goal of addressing the broader public.

Creators of visual messages do much more than their name suggests; as their profession is often misunderstood, they have no choice but to educate clients about their work and the tools that enable them to accomplish their goals. This is where we come in. Our profession cannot hope to thrive until it has freed itself from the distorted perception which so many individuals inside and outside the field have.
While I doubt that it will ever lose its role of giving asylum for maladjusted artists, I am hopeful that one day the word art will be used exclusively to describe exceptional works of our profession and will not be limited to appearing in the name of our home institution. I hope that the AJPES* label of “design, arrangement and décor”, which has been so arbitrarily applied to our profession, will soon be seen as nothing more than a bureaucratic faux pas rather than a prism through which the majority of general public perceives our mission. Perhaps a slogan in red caps about cleaning up our own house would be in order here. Existing clients will perceive the authors of visual messages as creators only if the latter adhere to verifiable methods of work, take informed decisions, and present their result analytically. The rest of the public can rely on organisations, such as our own, to learn about processes and results. This year, the Brumen Foundation is presenting 192 results by Slovenian designers in the National Gallery, while their working procedures will be highlighted in Narodni Dom by four internationally renowned jury members.

Compared to the last Biennial, this one boasts more entries, which is not just encouraging, but an outright laugh in the face of recession. If ever, now is the time for creators of visual messages to earn the title of problem-solvers. The categories Signs and Corporate Identity have been on the rise since the first Biennial, which suggests a growing awareness on the part of companies, while an increasing number of entries in the Digital Graphics category reflects its competition with conventional media. If the President of the 3rd Biennial has demonstrated the superior quality of boutique projectiles over projects for large corporations, 2009 establishes a more reassuring balance.

Tomato Košir, President of the 4th Biennial of Slovene Visual Communications

*Agency of the Republic of Slovenia for Public Legal Records and Related Services, the office for registering business activities.

Designed by Ilovarstritar, Red dot Design Award Winner 2009:

http://www.ilovarstritar.com/

Link: The Brumen Foundation

Marko Drpić | stone letter carver & calligrapher


Born in 1968 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. In years 1991/1992 studied calligraphy and lettercarving with Kristoffel Boudens in Antwerp, Belgium. After return to Slovenia worked for a year as stone mason in Boris Udovč's workshop at Naklo pri Kranju. In years 2000-2006 worked as a librarian in Slovene Ethnographic museum, Ljubljana. Since 2006 freelance calligrapher and graphic designer at Zadruga.

Link: For more works click here

Lettercutter Gary Breeze

“Gary Breeze is first and foremost a lettercutter of stone and wood. Drawing letterforms for carving is a hard won skill which requires a particular attention to detail: useful to Design in general. Established in 1993 in London after eight years as design student, apprentice and assistant, Gary gained a reputation, not just for technically accomplished lettering and robust design, but for the innovative content of his work, which subsequently won him a number of major public commissions.”

Link: link to Gary's portfolio

Mate to measure / Puppet animation

Another excellent animation by an awarded Slovenian author špela Čadež.

Germany / Slovenia | 2004 | puppet animation | 35 mm | 6:50 min | color | 1:1,66 | 25 FR | Dolby SRSynopsis

The daily routine in the tailor’s shop is so turbulent that in order to cope with it, it is sometimes necessary to trick a little. Fantasy and spontaneity are not always enough. When the tailor thinks he is alone he likes to let his thoughts do the work. But what happens when love comes into play, and his thoughts can no longer be controlled?

Crew
Idea, design, animation and director: Spela Cadez | Music and Sound Design: Mateja Staric | Tutors: Prof. Michael Graham-Smith, Lutz Garmsen | Production: Academy of Media Arts Cologne

Link: Watch animation