Eda Babák, a student of the Studio of Photography II at UMPRUM, has won the Discovery of the Year category at the Czech Grand Design awards. In addition to him, a number of the school’s graduates were recognized, and Eva Eisler, emeritus head of the Studio of K.O.V., was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
The Discovery of the Year category had a different format than in previous years. One project from each discipline category advanced to the finals, and the winner was determined by the final vote of the Academy of Design of the Czech Republic. Photographer Eda Babák won for his photographs for the Prague City Gallery and for his collaborations with the magazines Elle Decoration, Mile, and Vogue.
“Eda Babák’s work naturally moves between staged and documentary photography, and he is able to connect these two positions into a visually coherent and distinctive language. In both genres, he creates technically precise and uncompromisingly sharp images stripped of unnecessary noise. His photographs appear direct, without excessive stylization, while maintaining a recognizable identity and openness to improvisation, play, and experimentation,” explains Tereza Zelenková, a member of the expert jury of the Academy of Design of the Czech Republic.
A significant award outside the competition categories is presented each year to a personality for outstanding creative and pedagogical activity or for contributions to design theory. During the ceremonial evening, Eva Eisler was inducted into the Czech Design Hall of Fame. The designer, author of studio jewelry, architect, multidisciplinary artist, and long-time educator is among the prominent figures who fundamentally shaped Czech design after 1989. At UMPRUM, she led the K.O.V. studio, where over nearly twenty years she nurtured a generation of strong creative personalities.
Fashion Designer of the Year was awarded to Aleš Hnátek, a graduate of the Studio of Fashion and Footwear Design, for the Wardrobe 2 and Wardrobe 3 collections, which can be read as a continuous line — a wardrobe that does not grow seasonally but through repetition, variation, and refinement. In the Jewelry category, Bold Studio by Markéta Kratochvílová, a graduate of the Studio of K.O.V., stood out with the Chloris collection, which moves away from traditional shapes and presents hand-modeled rings inspired by mythical flora and fauna. In the Graphic Design category, a trio of UMPRUM graduates — Ondřej Báchor (Studio of Graphic Design and New Media), Jan Novák (Studio of Type Design and Typography), and Matěj Činčera (Studio of Graphic Design and Visual Communication) — succeeded with a new ceremonial edition of the Constitution of the Czech Republic. The new visual identity responds to the long-term need to improve the presentation of state institutions and symbols. Magdalena Rutová, a graduate of the Studio of Illustration and Graphics, won the Illustration of the Year category for the second time, for projects including a theatre curtain for the production Má vlast (Azyl 78), illustrations for the installation Momentum of a Decision at the Milan Design and Architecture Triennale, and the book Ženská práce (Pavel Klusák, Host, collaboration: Michaela Kukovičová).
