“Years ago, a person was not prepared for such impacts. Of course it was not pleasant, but to a certain extent it is a dice roll and someone always likes or dislikes something,” says graphic designer Aleš Najbrt, whose studio has been responsible for 29 years logos of the International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary and prepared this year’s as well. According to him, Czech taste is getting better and better. “I’m an optimist,” he adds.
Spotlight Aktuálně.cz – Aleš Najbrt | Video: The Spotlight Team
“I’m a person who gets inspired by ugly things somewhere. I don’t mind looking at the smog. Sure, sometimes you can’t stand it when you see it being ‘repaid’ in a department store, but sometimes it’s also an inspiration.” says Aleš Najbrt about the effect the public environment has on our perception of aesthetics.
“It can definitely be learned, we already learn it in schools. And we also learn it by perceiving the things around us,” he adds about how the taste of each of us can be improved.
According to Najbrt, the “ugly” is diminishing in the Czech Republic, because more and more examples of how things could look like are appearing. When it comes to public space, however, the graphic designer is not a supporter of laymen commenting on it. “There is no need for everyone to talk about certain things,” he adds, for example, to the criticism of the sculptor David Černý and his planned installation of giant butterfly sculptures on the listed Prague department store Máj.
Najbrt himself is said to have experienced criticism countless times and heard many times that “I could do that too”. He remembers, for example, the “haters” who came up with the logo design for the 49th edition of the International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary, which resembled a piggy bank. “But it broke at the festival and became very popular,” he adds, adding that time can also change the way people look at things.
