Majid Abbasi, Iran
Emil Drličiak, Slovakia
Guy Schockaert, Belgium
Robert V. Novák, Czech Republik
Majid Abbasi graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Tehran in 1989 in visual communication. It was in this same year that Abbasi set up his prestigious studio, Did Graphics Inc., with partner Firouz Shafei. Also a lecturer at the University of Tehran, Faculty of Fine Arts, Abbasi has been a member of the board of the Iranian Graphic Designers Society (IGDS) and web assistant of graphiciran.com, the IGDS’s official website. A more recent venture has seen the launch of Neshan, the Iranian graphic design magazine, while he is also a founder of The 5th Color, a collective formed by what he describes as“ the new generation of Iranian graphic designers”. Abbasi’s work has been published in numerous international magazines and books. Since 1999, Abbasi has participated in many national and international exhibitions. His works are presented in museums, collections and galleries around the world and he also awarded many national and international awards such as Andy Warhol Award”, Grand Prix of the TPT 2006 and the Jury Award of the 2nd China International Poster Biennial 2005.
Emil Drličiak studied painting and graphic design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava (1991 – 1997). During his studies he had residencies in Saint Etienne (1994) and Ljubljana (1995). From 1999 to 2001 he taught at the Department of Graphic Design of Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava. He is the co-founder of the Phenomenontheatre (2001). Drličiak works as a graphic designer and is interested in experimental typography, stage design and his family. His works have been shown in many exhibitions, festivals and workshops locally as well as internationally. He is the autor of several well-known logotypes, e.g. Oskár Čepán Award, M. R. Štefánik Conservative Institute, Dominik Tatarka Award, The City of Trenčín, Reactive lab, Across, etc.
Guy Schockaert Rigour and emotion are the two words that epitomize Guy Schockaert’s philosophy. Guy Schockaert is a corporate and book designer. He is active since 1971 in both the industrial and cultural worlds. A much demanded lecturer, a passionate teacher, a tireless organizer, Guy has been deeply involved in professional associations in Belgium and around the world, taking design to new levels of understanding and application. From 1993 to 2001, he has been a member of the Icograda board, where he also served as President during the years 1997—1999. He was one of the founding member – and is involved ever since – of “Design for the World“, an association aiming at proposing «design» solutions for humanitarian problems. Since 2006, Guy Schockaert is a member of Belgian’s Free Academy. Typography and book design professor in IHECS, La Cambre and Saint-Luc.
Robert V. Novák To 1990 he worked as a litho, photographer and technical editor. From 1990 he devotes himself to book and graphic design in the fi eld of cultural projects (posters, books, exhibition catalogues, exhibition design, CD covers and CI), e.g. for The Langhans Gallery in Prague, The Moravian Gallery in Brno, The West-Bohemian Gallery in Plzen, The Arbor Vitae Publishers, Kant, Institute of Art History of Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Academia etc. Apart from the graphic design he devotes himself also to photography. From 1996 to 2007 he was a member of TypoDesignClub in Prague. From 1993 he regularly wins the award of Most Beautiful Czech Book. He was also awarded the Czech “Gramy 96“ for the CD cover (1996), TypoDesignClub Award (1998), The Golden Stamp Prize of International Building Trade Fair FOR ARCH (2002). In 2009 he won the title of “Graphical Designer of the Year 2008“ (Czech Grand Design). From the beginning of 1990’s he has been presenting his work in solo and collective exhibitions, e.g. in Paris (2002), Osaka (2004), Tokio and New York (2008).