The Prague international design festival DesignBlok will enter its twenty-eighth edition with a new graphic and visual system. This emerged from a closed competition organized by the festival in collaboration with independent experts. The creator of the new logo and graphic system for the upcoming editions is the Permanent Office studio.
“After a quarter-century of intensive development, DesignBlok deserved a new identity and a comprehensive system of visual representation. We approached six young and established studios and organized a competition with my colleague Štěpán Šuster. The basic premise was to find a functional solution for connecting the physical and digital presentation of the festival, our regular exhibition concepts and sub-brands, as well as unique international projects and year-round activities, which are constantly growing. We were open to a path of evolution or complete revolution,” explains Patrik Florián, DesignBlok’s Head of Communication and Marketing, adding: “The amount of inspiration the competition brought us was truly refreshing, which is why all the participating studios deserve a big thank you. The winning proposal from the Permanent Office studio introduces a functional architecture for the DesignBlok brand, which will encompass the entire ecosystem that has grown around the festival over the past three decades. Beyond this framework, it promises an original approach to the festival theme for each edition, which will be reflected in the visual and color palette. Motion design is also becoming a significant element in our communication, which will be projected in online communication and on digital screens within the festival locations and throughout Prague.”
“After a quarter-century of intensive development, DesignBlok deserved a new identity and a comprehensive system of visual representation. We approached six young and established studios and organized a two-round competition with the participation of experts.”
The winning proposal in the two-round competition was decided by members of the DesignBlok festival organizing team, as well as independent experts: Aleš Najbrt (founder of Studio Najbrt) and David Řezníček (co-founder of the DesignBlok festival and owner of Konsepti) as members of the DesignBlok Advisory Board, along with graphic design theorists Kristýna Fišerová and Lukáš Pilka.
“Given the size, history, and uniqueness of DesignBlok, this collaboration is certainly a positive challenge for us. In the new identity, we primarily wanted to reflect playfulness, creativity, and a relaxed attitude, which we perceive as the core DNA of the festival. Compared to the previous identity, we are mainly introducing a system where individual elements are part of a comprehensive whole and complement each other. The logo develops the basic visual element of an endless strip, which reflects the central festival claim ‘You can’t escape design’ and communicates the omnipresence of design in everyday life. At the same time, the logo serves as a carrier for various typographic messages, visual elements, or the DesignBlok sub-brands themselves. At other times, it functions as an independent graphic tool. A looser dynamic will also be transcribed into the photographic editorials of specific thematic editions,” states graphic designer Jiří Mocek on behalf of Permanent Office.
In addition to the core graphic elements of the block and strips, the identity uses the FK Grotesk Neue and FK Roman Standard fonts from the Czech type foundry Florian Karsten Type Foundry by typographer Květoslav Bartoš. The new logo is also reflected in the change in capitalization of the word DesignBlok, featuring a capital D and B.
The visual for the twenty-eighth edition, centered on the theme of Light, will be created by the young and talented photographer Viktorie Macánová. Alongside the visual identity, a new website is also being created in collaboration with the Trau studio. It will offer a modern and functional environment that will simplify navigation for visitors through the extensive festival program and provide an overview of the main exhibitions, displays, and exhibitors throughout Prague.
We look forward to this new collaboration and cannot wait for you to start encountering our new graphic design and visual identity in the streets of Prague. This year’s DesignBlok will take place from October 6 to 11, 2026, at the Trade Fair Palace of the National Gallery Prague, at Prague Castle, and in the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague. Presale tickets are available on our website.
