Also on the list of finalists is the branding for the Let’s Play! exhibition which took place last year in Izmir. The gala awards ceremony and opening of the post-competition exhibition will take place on 22nd October 2015.
The competition has been organised every year by the Institute of Industrial Design (IWP) since 1993 – the Good Design award is the premier design award in Poland. The competition aims to recognise well-designed Polish products and services. The manufacturers, distributors, service providers and design studios invited to take part in the competition are those whose products have been recommended by IWP’s experts. This year, two projects by Culture.pl qualified for the final: their newest publication VeryGraphic. Polish Designers of the 20th Century, and their branding for the exhibition Let’s Play! Kids Design from Poland which took place last year in Izmir.
VeryGraphic. Polish Designers of the 20th Century is the first comprehensive book of its kind on 20th-century Polish graphic design. The publication itself is testimony to the topic it deals with. Specifically, VeryGraphic’s cover draws one’s attention with its various hand-painted colours, rendering every copy unique. In May, the book received an honorary award in the Most Beautiful Books of 2014 competition held by the Polish Society of Book Publishers (PTWK). 2+3D is a partner in its publication.
The author of the publication is Kuba Sowiński. A graphic designer specialising in utility, he is a graduate of the Academy of Fine Art in Kraków, as well as the co-producer and co-founder of the 2+3D national quarterly. Together with Wojciech Kubiena, he runs a small studio project called Biuro Szeryfy (“Sheriff’s Office”). Sowiński specialises in publishing and illustration projects, mainly working with cultural institutions and publishers.
The exhibition Let’s Play! Kids Design from Poland in Izmir showcased Polish design for children. It was the first extensive design presentation for small children organised by Culture.pl . Designed by Baobaby Studio, the central motif and visual identification for the exhibition and its gadgets was a Polish stork. During the exhibition, children navigated a maze by following the stork’s fluorescent orange trail, answering questions on and interacting with the objects around them.
BAOBABY is an artistic-design duo founded by two graduates from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw: Edyta Marszałek and Agnieszka Bałdyga. For the last three years, the pair has been working under the auspices of this interdisciplinary design project based around widely-used graphics: from logotypes and systems of visual identification, through to catalogues, brochures, posters and finished websites. Their greatest passion lies in illustration and design for children. In this particular field, they have worked with Wydawnictwo Dwie Siostry (“Two Sisters Publishing House”) and WYtwórnia Publishing House amongst others.
This year’s Good Design competition saw 166 entries spread across seven categories: home; work; the public sector; services; new technology; functional design and packaging; and new production materials. Each category will be awarded with a Good Design 2015 main prize.
The gala awards ceremony and post-competition opening exhibition will take place on 22nd October 2015. The exhibition will run from 23rd October to 29th November 2015 at the Institute of Industrial Design’s headquarters at 5/7 Świętojerska Street in Warsaw.
Both nominated projects were created by Culture.pl as part of the Polska Design programme.
Translated by AZ, August 2015