BIO 26| Common Knowledge Recipient of Brumen Grand Prix

The opening of the retrospective exhibition of the 9th Brumen Biennial and awards ceremony for Brumen Awards for excellence in design, the most prestigious professional design awards in Slovenia, took place at the National Gallery. The awards are conferred by the Brumen Foundation, organisation that has been promoting the quality of visual communications and raising public awareness of their importance for 16 years.

The jury conferred 31 awards in seven categories, but the Brumen Grand Prix went to the design and client team of the Biennial of Design project BIO 26|Common Knowledge. The jury awarded the project in two separate categories, identity and infographics, with the latter being “inextricably interconnected with the first, re-examining the boundary between information value and visual expression”. “The biennial’s identity is instantly captivating. Once it has the viewer’s attention it opens up different layers of information – from the programme and venue to infographic background and final conceptual surprise. The design, which works on different channels and applications, does not come with a single supporting image, but is flexible, ingenious and effective.”

“Don’t Just Believe It, Check Twice”
Ljudje, the design studio that shaped the identity of BIO 26, which is organised by the Museum of Architecture and Design, responded to BIO 26 motto common knowledge, which questions the role of information and design in modern society, with visualisations of sad, alarming and mundane data.

The fake news phenomena is another aspect covered by the Biennial and having tackled it before with his Fake Good News project Miha Artnak, CEO and creative of Ljudje, is no stranger to the subject. “Fake news is a fascinating phenomenon that has been with us since forever (granted, it was delivered as ordinary lies, ‘Chinese whispers’, propaganda, conspiracy theories and similar. But in the flood of information and advertising options that we are confronted with today, fake news is a much more serious threat to the question of truth. My media pranking project was successful and my lies won me a number of interviews. The said truth is that corporations and countries do this every day to confuse and silence us, to sell us their product or ideology,” said Artnak, adding that the “cheerful” infographics which included lots of alarming information about the world we live in served to communicate a simple message: “Don't just believe it, check twice”.

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