Designblok 2025 through the eyes of the editorial team: Designers and installations we couldn’t take our eyes off
Last month, Designblok 2025 took place in Prague — a celebration of design, craftsmanship, and innovation that once again confirmed the strength of the Czech creative scene.
For the MAGPAPER editorial team, Kateřina Chalupová prepared her personal summary of the highlights:
Designblok revealed a scene that believes in itself – not because it is loud, but because it is consistent. Courage is becoming a habit. And beauty is becoming responsibility.
The 27th edition of Designblok transformed Výstaviště, the Queen Anne’s Summer Palace, the Museum of Decorative Arts, and the Rudolfinum Gallery into a map of courage – one that connects tradition with innovation, elegance with function, and vision with reality.
Which designers and installations captured our attention the most this year – and which names will we surely hear again in the future?
High Craft under the microscope
The Renaissance Queen Anne’s Summer Palace became a sanctuary of high craftsmanship. The curatorial selection by Jana Zielinski and Danica Kovářová, created in collaboration with VOGUE CS and under the patronage of the First Lady Eva Pavlová, brought out the best of the domestic scene – without the patina of nostalgia, but with an emphasis on precision, material, and courage.
Křehký in collaboration with designer Linda Procházková presented the Dolores collection – a renaissance of pink porcelain with new confidence. Fragility here speaks in a self-assured tone, and the form feels contemporary rather than sentimental. Studio Dechem in its presentation Super Ficium sculpted both light and space through a combination of stone, glass, and metal. Courage is not merely a theme – it is a gesture that transforms an object into a composition.
Klimchi Studio in collaboration with Aleš Boem opened a dialogue between water and glass. The installation slows the breath, connects form with function, and reminds us that meaning begins with the body and ends in detail.
Izaak Reich, together with Rony Plesl, introduced Linden – pure, handcrafted, and anchored in the needs of contemporary gastronomy. The inspiration drawn from the brand’s original packaging is reflected in a strict yet warm aesthetic. Their project was awarded the Designblok Award: Best New Product by a Manufacturer.
Tereza Talichová, working under her brand Tititi, presented the collection Pioneers, paying tribute to activists, artists, and athletes. The wooden figures are silent but resolute – a reminder that human rights are as relevant as design itself. She received the Designblok Award: Best Designer Installation.
Designer Jiří Krejčiřík appeared twice. For NOZOMI he designed Audio Altar – a private vinyl archive where listening becomes a ritual. Within the Openstudio, he introduced B1 paper lamps for SKOBA – fragile, modern, and light as origami, created for silence and the glow of evening light.
Openstudio: jewelry, glass, and intimate gestures
The Openstudio – a laboratory of contemporary design where product designers, fashion creators, jewelry designers, and illustrators explore and experiment – once again revealed new talent. Who caught our eye this time?
Artist Hana Vopravilová once again pushed the boundaries of technology: corrugated cardboard and paper honeycomb are no longer auxiliary materials but active forms. The objects carry the memory of process, and thus the touch of time. Another strong female figure of Czech glass, Dominika Petrtýlová, presented her “lady vase” – a minimalist object with a female head and red lips. The trio of designers was completed by Tomáš Kučera, whose collection AEOLIA contrasts strict geometry with raw natural structures inspired by aeolian abrasion.
Anežka Juhová brought the jewelry collection Komorebi – a melancholic memory of summer under a tree, of light piercing through the leaves. Organic shapes rest on the skin like short, private poems. Designer Eliška Lhotská presented the ring edition New Archeology, following her popular Initials line, accompanied by portraits of women who embody different forms of courage. A letter cast in metal becomes a quiet reminder of who we are.
More voices from Openstudio
Aleksandar Masnikosa debuted with Sei – a chair as a path toward inner peace. Just as the Torii gate separates the mundane from the sacred, Sei offers a moment of stillness. Its graceful curves reflect the relationship between human and nature.
Designer Anna Jožová with her collection Paradiso Novo reminds us that we once were part of nature – and today we curate it. The organically appearing objects are a conscious simulation – a synthetic metaphor of our selective memory of real landscapes.
The Prague-based studio Balance is Motion showcased the Afterforms series, which transforms waste glass through the innovative material Glassticine. The collection includes sculptural lights and aroma diffusers, proving that recycling can be sensual.
Diploma Selection: Names to remember
Within this year’s edition, Designblok also presented names with clear potential for the future. The 11th edition of the international Diploma Selection competition showcased the best of European graduate works.
In Fashion Design, the winner was Andrea Rehbein, with Šimon Žák taking second place and Kári Þór Barry third.
In Product Design, Jaron Vandevelde triumphed, followed by Žofie Horová and Kamila Dvořáková.
Remember these names – you’ll hear them again.
Designblok as a seismograph of our time
It was a year of dialogues – between tradition and innovation, artifact and utility, the intimacy of jewelry and the public gesture of installation. The discussions and exhibitions suggested that good design today shouts less and explains more: why it exists, whom it serves, and what remains after it. Courage here is measured by the ability to stay focused on detail while thinking in context.
