Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Ekrem Dupanović
1960’s was a great decade. The Beatles started making their music in Liverpool, Burt Lancaster and Elizabeth Taylor were winning Oscars, many African countries gained their independence, bathyscaphe Trieste descended to a depth of 10,916 meters, Cassius Clay won the gold medal at the Olympics in Rome, legends were born like Bono Vox, Ayrton Senna , Diego Maradona… and Žare Kerin.
Žare attended design school in Ljubljana, and moved to Switzerland in 1984, where he got his professional training in the agency IMS Studio 6 Lausanne. After returning to Slovenia, he worked as a graphic designer at Globtour until 1990, and from 1990 to 2001 he led Kompas Design as the Creative Director. Over the last 15 years, as an independent designer and Creative Director, he has been creating at the agency Futura DDB. He is also a member of the Board of the Brumen Foundation and a member of D&AD London. His work has been exhibited in several exhibitions and has been published in many international professional publications and books: Art Direction Book Company, Creative Review, European Strategies, Pia Book Japan, Print Design, Print Magazine, Creativity, Epica Book, New York Festivals, D&AD, The Big Book of Logos 5… He has won more than 200 international and national awards and recognitions: Cresta, Red Dot, Cannes Festival, D&AD, New York Festivals, Creativity Annual, Epica, Golden Drum, European Design Annual, Graphic Biennale Brno, Brumen’s Award, SOF, Golden MM etc.
Žare’s first solo exhibition took place in Ljubljana in 1998. Then he only exhibited calendars. There were no logos, packaging or books, only calendars with which he had his first successes. Seven years later he had another solo exhibition in Ljubljana. Third, and according to him, the most complete and most comprehensive solo exhibition will soon be held in Bihać, as part of the Creative Republic conference. The exhibition will be officially opened in the Bihać City Gallery on September 13, 2018.
Media Marketing: Could we say that the exhibition in Bihać will be your first real solo exhibition, where you will unveil your entire design oeuvre?
Žare Kerin: Yes. It will have everything, from logos to books.
Media Marketing: Two years ago we talked about your big exhibition as part of the Golden Drum, but that idea was never implemented. Now you want to do the exhibit as part of the Creative Republic. Why Bihać though?
Žare Kerin: You (Ekrem) have told me so much about the Creative Republic – how interesting it is, how much good vibes and energy it has… So I thought it was a good opportunity to show my work to the region. Everyone knows me in Slovenia, but I don’t know what the situation is in the region. Bihać seems to me a challenge, something different … I generally like the idea of the Creative Republic, so I would like to support it this way.
Media Marketing: What will dominate the exhibition? Will it be logos, packaging design, books…?
Žare Kerin: There will be everything in just the right measure to give a feel of my style, my way of thinking about design, my approach to design solutions.
Media Marketing: I’ve been following your work since Lausanne and I know you’re equally good at designing logos, packaging, books and ads. But what is that which suits you the best?
Žare Kerin: I love when I work for a client who is ambitious. The client’s ambition is the greatest motivator for me. Still, the book is my first and greatest love, the book is something that remains after me. Packaging design will change in three, five, ten or fifteen years. Most of the logos will also change. The only thing that will not change is a book – it never changes. In my library I have books whose authors are long gone, but they are still here and are very dear to me.
Media Marketing: We are collaborating on the book Creative Portfolio, which will be published annually as a testament to the creativity of each year. Before this we did together the book The Best of Adriatic Creative Directors which achieved great success in the region. What does Creative Portfolio mean to you?
Žare Kerin: The Creative Portfolio is a super idea and a great project. The idea is very ambitious as it represents and binds the entire advertising industry in the region, shows who is worth what, and what people are doing, what are the creative achievements in some countries. I really think it’s a great thing that one such book exists. It is a great honor to participate in such a project.
Media Marketing: What’s new in Futura?
Žare Kerin: I’m working right now on the design of the new bottle and label for the natural water Dana. I just returned from the pitch for the client, and everything went well.
Generally there’s always something new at Futura. We have considerably strengthened the digital department, so it’s really dynamic and there are a lot of quite ambitious projects. As everyone else, we would love to have even more of them.
