p r a g u e . b l a g u e

Czech Marionettes

The AMI Marionettes Shop sells hand-crafted marionettes. Prague marionette souvenirs appear to be very popular. I found several sites selling antique and modern puppets as well though, including this one named Waterman, made in the 1970s. And what good would marionettes be without theatrical productions? Check out this elaborate set from Krásny nadhasic aneb Pozár Národního divadla*, a production from the Naivnî divadlo Liberec.

*no I don't know what that means

General

Prague: A Cultural and Literary History (Cities of the Imagination)
Richard D. E. Burton

Optional Supplies

Digital video camera
Laptop Computer and power source
Power adapter (type C or E)
Travel tripod

Studio and Typography Overview

GD 400 Studio
The objective of studio projects is first and foremost to communicate through objects, images and text with the premise that pleasure and artifice resonate with users or readers. Additionally, the projects ask students to engage a full range of visual expressions found in Prague as they read about its cultural history and interpret the city. To prepare, students will read Prague: A Cultural History (Burton) and other essays before arriving. Additional readings will be assigned as they pertain to studio projects. Relevant field trips will be dispersed throughout the semester.

GD 492 Typography
The objectives of the typography course are similar to the studio. In addition, the projects ask students to communicate an aspect of Prague by developing a typographic alphabet, and determine apt application for the typeface.

GD400 Projects

Project length and content is speculative.

Collect / Observe

VISUAL ARCHIVE: Draw, photograph, write, shoot video to study and document the details of Prague in architecture, products, books, television, advertising, signage, clothing, and all things visual devised by humans. The collection will be gathered into a final archive, the form of which is to be determined by each student: a book/journal, a web log, movies, a folio or some combination. 12 weeks. Studio will focus on this project in the first week and use class time to share/analyze what students are finding. Progress will be reviewed and shared with the class throughout the semester.

Say Hello!

POSTER†: Say “hello” to Czech students as a visiting American student in a poster that would ostensibly be placed in and around Prague universities. To say “hello” is to make a simple but direct statement, but how might the message from an American visitor “reach out” to Czech students in their city? Is the message about what you understand of Prague? About a similarity to or difference from your culture? Is it a celebration of exchange? A politically charged greeting? Or just an attempt to make friends? 1 week.
Reading: Selection from Up Against the Wall: International Poster Design.

Excavate

OBJECTS FOR A HOME: Visit thrift shops and used bookstores to find artifacts of interest and “repurpose” them to create a new artifact(s) that communicates the value and use of emotionally and culturally charged things. Use the found artifacts as a point of departure, or build upon the actual piece, combine pieces or parts, or apply aspects of found artifacts (i.e. surface treatment and decoration, shapes, color combinations, text) to household objects such as dinnerware, teapot and cups, vases, appliances, etc. Object may be constructed or visualized through renderings or illustrations. 3 weeks.
Reading: Selections from Objects of Desire; Emotional Design; Hella Jongerius; Ornament: A Modern Perspective.

Celebrate

POSTER†: A celebration of Prague’s ornamental curiosities from the perspective of a visitor. 1 week.
Reading: Further selections from Ornament: A Modern Perspective.

Remember

SOUVENIRS: Design a series of souvenirs that communicate the experience of Prague, artifacts that move beyond the clichés of customary “souvenirs,” or that comment upon the clichés. The souvenirs will anticipate what might be meaningful (which includes fun) to other visitors. The series can take the form of portable objects, a postcard series, booklets, t-shirts, etc. The aim is not to simply apply graphics to standard souvenirs but to integrate the object, message, and form into collectable artifacts. Objects may be constructed, prototyped, or visualized through renderings or illustrations. 3.5 weeks.
Reading: Selections from Curious Boym; The Culture of Design; On Longing.

Express

POSTER†: Subject matter to be determined by each student based on his/her archives with approval of the poster artist. 1 week.

Leaving Prague

FINAL PRESENTATIONS: Prepare for and conclude with a show of work accomplished. Final archive due on the last day of class. 1.5 weeks.

†Lead by a visiting Czech poster artist. Project subject to change.

View a printable PDF file of all projects.

GD492 Projects

Project One

Photograph typography found in the city. Choose several to identify and research origins. From the type studies and from the visual details of Prague collected in Studio, investigate three directions for a display face using a limited alphabet to test the viability of the ideas. Typefaces can be hand drawn and scanned, created from digital photographs or drawn in vector-based software, but ultimately need to function in Illustrator and InDesign.

Project Two

Select one of the investigations for further development and refine a full alphabet: 26 upper or lower case with supplemental letters, and 20 related dingbats, decorative sorts and borders. Typeface anatomy, typographic structure and systems will be addressed with visits and lectures from Czech type designers.

Project Three

Apply the typeface to an appropriate text (in dialogue with the city and the Czech culture) and design a broadsheet to show the typeface and communicate its origins.

Reading/Reference:

Selections from Type Design: Radical Innovations and Experimentation; Type and Typography; A Manual of Decorated Typefaces; Anatomy of a Typeface; Typology: Type Design from the Victorian Era to the Digital Age; A Typographic Workbook: A Primer to History, Techniques, and Artistry; Metro Letters.

Think, Express, Design in ...

Prague enjoys a tradition of celebrating pleasure and delight in all things: music, art, literature, automata, drama, design, architecture. While this cultural tendency was used against many during the German and Soviet occupations, the 1989 Velvet Revolution, which ushered Czech writer Vaclav Havel into leadership, marked a return to unfettered creative expression.

Two studio-based courses will design artifacts inspired by the architecture, objects and ephemera that manifest Prague’s rich traditions and history. The courses are designed with the premise that pleasure and artifice resonate with users or readers and the projects ask students to interpret the visual expressions they find in Prague. The 6 credit Studio will investigate the ways everyday artifacts and their perceived “usefulness” communicate through delight and the decorative. Capturing the details of the city through sketches, photography, and video will be primary to the study. Modules with Czech poster artists who can speak to persuasion and pleasure complement the semester. The 3 credit studio focuses on typography with visits from a Czech type designer who will instruct and critique type design systems.

Trips to the Prague Museum of Decorative Arts, the Technical Museum and a variety of regional architectural wonders are planned. The semester will include a three-day trip outside the Czech Republic and a two-day excursion outside Prague.

In addition to the 6 and 3 credit studio-based courses, the Prague Institute offers several 3 credit G.E.R. courses including Czech literature and film. The cost of the semester includes tuition, insurance, housing, breakfast, subway and tram fare for three months, transportation to cities for field trips, and entrance fees/tickets to cultural museums and events.

Image: Logo design for Prague by Studio Najbrt. Typo Magazine's coverage describes the process and includes an interview with Aleš Najbrt.

TypoDesignClub

This site was sent to me by Peter Bilak: TypoDesignClub. There's a list of designers/members with links to studios you will want to look through. As I find those those of particular interest to our study, I'll post them in the comments below. Please add your comments as you discover work you appreciate, or are curious about.

Rick Poyner on Czech Beer Labels

Beer: the real thing

"For labels that seem to offer convincing graphic assurances of the product’s authenticity, no one does it better than the Czechs. The nation that consumes the most beer per head has few rivals when it comes to producing fine beers and the labels of its leading brands are masterly examples of concentrated, historic Czech-ness."

Czech Design Sites

Czech Design announces and archives all types of design projects and events.

Here's a list of designers/members with links to studios to review from TypoDesignClub.

More to come, but if you find some yourself, please DO post them in the comments.