In May 2019, I received an invitation from Jan Rajlich Jr., president of the Czech International Biennale of Graphic Design in Brno (Brno Biennial) to participate in the International Poster Exhibition to commemorate his late father, Jan Rajlich Sr, on his 100th birthday. Jan Rajlich Sr. was an internationally renowned graphic designer. He was a pioneer in corporate identity creation, information graphics, text typography, and poster art creation in the Czech Republic. The International Biennale of Graphic Design in Brno that he established remains one of the most important design biennial exhibitions in the world. The plan for the exhibition was to invite 100 graphic designers from around the world to contribute by creating posters with the theme “JR 100- Hommage: Jan Rajlich 100.” Their works were originally scheduled to be displayed together with the Brno Biennial the following June. The event, however, was postponed to September 24, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The exhibition is open at the Moravian Gallery in Brno until August 8, 2021.

As the co-organized event “Echo of Graphic Design Taiwan/Czech Republic” was to be held at the Old Town Hall of Brno in 2008, we visited the designers’ studio under the arrangement of Jan Rajlich Jr. in November 2007. On the following day, Jan Rajlich Sr. and his son, Jan Rajlich Jr., accompanied us on a stroll through the city of Brno and introduced the designers’ works around the city. Our dinner was at a restaurant situated in a repurposed wine cellar. This was my first time meeting with Jan Rajlich Sr. When I revisited Brno again for the exhibition in June 2008, Jan Rajlich Sr. came to visit and support the co-organized exhibition. He was already 88 years old at the time. My impression of him is that he was friendly, easy-going, and welcoming. He was a respectable elder. As it happened to be my 40th birthday, he also sent me a collection of his signed works as a gift.

Figure 1: The author, along with Jan Rajlich Sr. and his son in Rajlich Sr.’s studio. November 2007.

Figure 2: A collection of signed works from Jan Rajlich Sr. to the author.

In 2014, I served as the Chairman of the Taiwan Poster Design Association and planned its The Trio of Poster International Invitation Exhibition. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Brno Biennial, I planned a special area to introduce the works of Jan Rajlich Sr. and his son. It was the first time that internationally renowned works by Jan Rajlich Sr. and his son were displayed in Taiwan. The exhibition allowed the public to view the originals of many international renowned works up close. It was a rare exhibition of works by famous artists from all over the globe.

Figure 3: A special area was designated for the works of Jan Rajlich Sr. and his son in the 2014 Annual Exhibition of the Taiwan Poster Design Association as a celebration of the  Brno Biennial’s 50th anniversary.

When I received Jan Rajlich Jr.’s exhibition invitation, my memories all came flooding back to me. My teacher Lin Pang-Soong once said, “learn from books, learn from things, and learn from people.” I am fortunate to know Jan Rajlich Sr. through these three types of learning. After receiving the invitation, I began to recall my time with Jan Rajlich Sr. when I was in Brno, and searched for information about him and his works. To me, Jan Rajlich Sr. was one of the most important graphic designers of the 20th century. His diverse creations were unconventional. They enriched visual art and are both practical and artistic. I am especially fond his torn-paper collage works. They are bold and artistic in a way that captures the viewers’ attention. For both the poster design in remembrance of Jan Rajlich Sr. and to pay tribute to the master artist, I referred to the techniques of tear-off collage in several of his representative works, such as Ancient and Tradition (antika a jeji tradice) (1966); the 2nd Biennale of Applied Graphics in Brno, Vojcek (Opera Poster) (1976); JR-Jan Rajlich (1988); Happy New Millennium (1999); World Graphic’s Day (2004); Mothers’ Day; and Theatre Poster (2008), among others.

I have sorted out two design directions when it comes to design concepts. For the text of the Jan 100 Exhibition, my Plan A was to make a portrait of Jan Rajlich Sr. through tear-off collage techniques used for portraits. Plan B was to use the line visual expression that is commonly employed by individual artists, Jan Rajlich Sr.’s tear-off collage techniques, and the hallmark of the Brno Biennial that he established. For both these plans, I tested the tear-off collage techniques by utilizing real papers to find proper organizational relationships in various permutations and combinations. Conceptually, I hoped to combine Jan’s design methods with his personal visual vocabulary. I scanned collaged graphics into a computer and adjusted the layouts. In the end, I found that Plan B was more in line with my creative purposes and would more concisely align with the exhibition theme. After the plan was confirmed, I proceeded to grapple with the details, such as fonts, spacing, text arrangement, torn paper shapes, shadows, etc. After multiple adjustments, the work was completed.

Figure 4: Data collection, data analysis, and paper trial test in Plan A.

Figure 5: Data collection, data analysis, and creative thinking and analysis in Plan B. The plan also considers the integration of the individual’s visual vocabulary.

It can be seen from the whole process that the completion of a work requires several steps: receiving an exhibition invitation, understanding the theme direction, data collection, research and analysis, the exercise of creative thinking, trials and experimentation, confirmation of plans, details and layout adjustments, and the completion of the work.

The completion of a work of design not only satisfies the purpose of its design, but also provides an opportunity to consider how to continue its value and influence. At the same time, participation in international competitions is a more direct way of examining the level of the work. Participating in the competition is not the purpose of design, but it provides long-term added value to the work. I personally believe that the proper attitude is to work on each assigned task well. This work has been in several international competitions and received recognition. It won excellence awards in both annual design and annual typography design respectively in the 2021 Communication Arts competition in the US. It was also awarded a silver prize for the culture category in the professional awards grouping of the Poster Stellars Intercontinental Poster Competition, also held in the US.

Design is always people-oriented. It is meant to solve problems, inspire people, and allow people to reflect on their surroundings. Through the Jan 100 project, I share the process of my creation with my students. I have kept my passion for design and carry such passion moving forward.

Figure 6: The Jan 100 poster won the excellence awards for the annual design and annual typography design categories respectively in the 2021 Communication Arts competition in the US. It was also awarded a silver prize for the culture category in the professional awards grouping of the Poster Stellars Intercontinental Poster Competition, also held in the US.