A Glance at Modern Trade-Marks in Czechoslovakia

Jan Rajlich for Idea 133, November 1975

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The enormous number of visual signs and symbols, graphic trade-marks and emblems of all kinds that are being used all over the world can hardly be estimated: are there thousands, ten thousands or hundred thousands of them? In any case their number is increasing every day.

Companies and firms are being abolished, integrate or are being renamed, new ones come into existence producing innumerable sorts of goods which, in their turn, get their own names and trade-marks. They of course should be distinguishable, non-repeatable, un-mistakable. Therefore, the designer of every new publicity sign faces a difficult task, for a trade-mark requires maximum simplification and pregnant graphical conciseness, and the store of simple forms seems to be limited and all available possibilities seem to have been already exhausted. The surveys that are being published from time to time show the sameness of expression of authors of trademarks, the graphic solution of which being not unfrequently nearly identical in essential points, may they come even from distant countries. At the same time, however, they prove also that new values can be discovered even there where everything seems to have been already said and registered if well-conceived publicity conception together with ingeniousness and talent are combined

The importance of trade-marks and symbols for commercial publicity is indisputable and also in Czechoslovakia no one makes any doubt of it. I know from my own experience that one is sometimes inclined to overestimate the expressive power of trade-marks as if they could substitute a whole scale of further publicity means. In spite of these extreme tendencies existing in Czechoslovakia no systematic attention has been so far paid to firm signs and trade-marks as a genre, neither to their contents or forms. If I am not mistaken, the present Show of Czechoslovak signs and trade-marks represents the first attemt to put on view synoptically examples of Czech and Slovak creative activities in this field. An attempt which discloses undoubtedly blank spots. Here are some remarks on this point:

The nationalization tendencies dating from 1946 brought forth fresh stimuli for creating firm signs and trade-marks and, therefore, many exemplary graphic solutions date from that time. The cold war spell in the fifties and the consequential limitations of trade relations brought about a stagnation also in the field of trade-marks, although it was just at that time when the majority of firm signs, which are still in use, came into being. The nationalized business establishments, which were being constituted, as well as the communal and co-operative firms, which were being established, substituted all forms of private enterprise. Unfortunately the great chances existing at that time were not always made use of in an adequate way.

At present the crop of new signs is not too rich and the demand seems to come rather from smaller enterprises. On the other hand, the importance of signs and symbols for all kinds of publicity purposes including also propagation / advertising / of cultural values, institutions and events has been well understood. The fact that the orderers are not only well-educated but also well-informed people results in a number of masterpieces which should not be missing in this brief survey because of their mature graphic form and, frequently, also because of their inspiring conception showing new possibilities to the designers of trade-marks.

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