Polish designers were also at large at important festivals across the world, including the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York, London Design Festival, Paris Design Week and Business of Design Week in Hong Kong, as well as smaller presentations in Hamburg, Saint-Etienne, Basel, Moscow, Göteborg, Copenhagen, Istanbul and Tokyo. See more on Polish design in Istanbul: Glass&Cup: Polish Design Stories
When they weren't traveling the world, Polish designers were often hosting their colleagues from abroad at home. Students of the Royal College of Art joined forces with the School of Form in Poznań for Art Food workshops led by legendary designer and pedagogue Marek Cecuła at his Ćmielów Design Studio. The projects - tableware inspired by the true joy of eating - were presented in the Royal College of Art in London and at the British Ceramic Biennial in Stoke-on-Trent.
In New York, the Pratt Institute presented a collaborative project set up with the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Students worked with Karen Stone and Michał Stefanowski to envision a "redesign" of their own academic buildings as part of the"One Sun One Moon" workshop series.
On Pins & Needles
At Paris Design Week, designer Paweł Grobelny caught the attention of France's Rado Star jury. His later Sur le fil series of minimalist tables won the award's online audience prize. Both distinctions signal big things to come for this innovative and original young artist. ,
The whimisical designer of fluffy poufs and other furnishings Monomoka took home two prizes at the International Furniture Fair Singapore, winning the Grand Award of the Furniture Design Award for its Hive pouf and the Merit Award for its Artichoke. Next year at the event the design team will have the opportunity to feature a one-man show of its creative talents.
Young designers Hanna Ferenc, Joanna Pruchnicka and Michalina Musielak won a competition held by the Swedish city of Umea (the European Capital of Culture in 2014) for their project to spur tourism in the area with a personalised set of souvenirs to keep or to share.
Design Oscars
Oskar Zięta's whirlwind career started up in 2008, with the win of the Red Dot Award for his PLOPP stools, which used the innovative FIDU technology that has since become the designer's trademark. In 2013 he was invited to lend his unique technique to creating a statuette for Icon Magazine's Icon Awards, which honour's the year's most creative talents in architecture and design. It's not the only trophy Zięta is responsible for - he also hand-crafted statuettes for the annual Design Alive Awards, which recognise synergetic efforts between the technology, ecology and business sectors. Awards are given to people active in promoting design, including Małgorzata Żmijska and Michał Piernikowski, organisers of the Łódź Design Festival, and designers Anna Łoskiewicz-Zakrzewska and Zofia Strumiłło-Sukiennik of Beza Projekt. Adam Mickiewicz Institute director Paweł Potoroczyn was among the nominees this year.
Mapping Design for the Future
A review of the best in new Polish design wouldn't be complete without a nod to the most creatively vibrant category of the genre - graphic design - and children's book design in particular. The year belonged hands down to the husband-wife team behind Maps - a beautifully illustrated voyage through all the unique regions of the world. The Mizielińskis book has since been translated into over 20 languages and figured as a finalist in the Waterstones Book of the Year 2013 and winner of the prestigious French award Prix Sorcieres 2013. The New York Times included the book among its pick of six of the most beautiful children's books of 2013.
Graphic illustration for older audiences was quite successful as well, with the most interesting projects of the year compiled and published as Print Control by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. For more on Print Control and to explore its online archives, see: www.printcontrol.pl. The site also promotes the latest activities from some of Poland's most creative independent and art book publishers, such as Raster Editions, 40 000 Malarzy, HA!ART, Bęc Zmiana and over three dozen more. The success of graphic design in framing and promoting other artistic disciplines was proven by the awarding of the Gold ED-Award of the European Design Awards to the Huncwot studio for their singular vision for the new website for Krzysztof Warlikowski's Nowy Teatr.
The great strides made in great graphic design and illustration was honoured with Poland figuring as a special guest of the Illustrative 2013 festival in Berlin, as well as the TypoTalks conference that showcased functional graphic design of Poland and Russia.
Author: Agnieszka Sural, 19.12.2013. Translated (with edits) by Agnes Monod-Gayraud, 23.12.2013