YYULIA / Work

reSITE Visual Identity 2015.

Graphic design and illustration.

Key inspiration for reSITE Visual Identity 2015 was a Czech born graphic designer Ladislav Sutnar (born 1897, Plzen), who is a pioneer in the areas of information, architecture and design. Sutnar’s modernist and disciplined layouts, minimal use of color and his aim to present complex (as well as sometimes outright boring) data while staying playful is very close to our, reSITE heart. The subject of data, its presentation to the public, accessibility and how it changes our cities is one of the main topics of the reSITE conference in 2015. Like Sutnar, we strive to present complex issues (and no issue is simple where you need to work with communities, or need to hear and respond to the many voices of a city) in a way that is both accessible and beautiful

Ladislav Sutnar’s professional life included studying both architecture and painting. He taught at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (UMPRUM). In 1939 Sutnar settled in NYC; city crucial to reSITE history and inspiration as well. This is the city where reSITE founder, Martin Barry, was born and lived before coming to Prague to form a team that has since created a cross-cultural network of cities and people connecting and collaborating to solve complex issues and propose innovative solutions for our cities.

Amongst many publications, catalogues, identities and other projects conceived by Sutnar one that attracts our attention is “Build The Town” – a building block toy set created in 1942. However, the set was never mass produced although sketches and a prototype still exist. The simple geometrical shapes of the blocks allow the user to assemble them in many different setups. A set of shapes that could be not just a house, a factory, a car... But a face, a voice, a solution. A shared city where we are all part of one.