Graphic Designer of the Year
Ondřej Báchor, Jan Novák a Matěj Činčera
It is seldom that the finals of a design competition all work with a similar theme, but the finalists of the Graphic Designer of the Year 2025 award developed a surprisingly homogeneous series of projects that reacts to the current social demands and reflects the local political situation. The main topic of the competition category was to cultivate the historically undervalued public image of Czech state institutions and their representative symbols.
The new rendition of the ceremonial version of the Constitution of the Czech Republic is the outcome of a long discussion involving both society and experts about the quality and presentation of its previous versions. The document’s newest version has been collaboratively developed by a team of typographers as well as packaging and graphic designers. The proposal connects the significance and symbolism of the document itself with the dignity of its professional rendition which had, unfortunately, not been an integral component of this stately document in the past. The new version shows a sensitive approach to materials and connects cutting-edge technologies with the cultural tradition of local bookmaking.
The authors have selected paper as their medium of choice, also due to its sustainability and its democratic essence, thus referencing the democratic role of the document itself. The folder carries the shape of the state insignia and includes the cut-out and simplified heraldic coats-of-arms of Czech statehood – the Czech lion and the Moravian and Silesian eagles. The shape references the proverbial shield protecting the Constitution text itself, which has been typeset in Democratia sans serif type created by the AllCaps type foundry of Jan Novák and Ondřej Báchor who collaborated on the visual design with Matěj Činčera.
The stately role of the ceremonial version of the Constitution of the Czech Republic is undeniable and the level of its rendition since the early years of the Czechoslovak Republic has always reflected the current social situation. Its most recent visual design is properly dignified and without a trace of pathos, building on the best practices of the first ceremonial constitutions of Czechoslovakia. The design carries its symbolic and historical position into the twenty-first century – it seems we will be needing it indeed.
Linda Kudrnovská