The Department of Design and Architecture Fundamentals hosted a presentation of the illustrated encyclopedia «Design in Names». The event brought together students, academic staff, designers and guests interested in exploring and advancing Ukrainian design as an integral part of our cultural heritage.
The event opened with a performance by the women’s violin ensemble «Sempre Primo», led by Oksana Matvienko, with Liudmyla Odarchenko serving as concertmaster. Then the participants honored the memory of the fallen defenders of Ukraine with a minute of silence.
The Rector of the University, Nataliia Shakhovska, delivered a welcome speech:
– Dear colleagues, dear guests, dear artists! It is a great honour for me to be part of such an important event. The book «Design in Names» once again testifies to our strength as a nation – our ability to create history, produce art, and shape the environment in which we live.
Despite the difficult circumstances our nation and state are facing today, I sincerely thank the team of authors for finding the strength to undertake this tremendous work – to systematize extensive material and publish an encyclopedia dedicated to the distinguished scholars and artists in the field of design, thereby preserving and honoring their names for future generations.
The origin of Ukrainian design
Professor Stanislav Myhal spoke about the idea of the book and its historical context:
– According to historical chronology, we trace the beginnings of design education back to 1872 when the Tsicar Royal Technical Academy obtained the status of a higher educational institution. Today, it is known as APP.
A special role in this process was played by Professor Julian Zachariewicz, who established the leading Departments of Construction and Architecture and initiated the creation of a new Department of Drawing and Modeling. It was at that time that the training of specialists began, with the awarding of engineering diplomas in various fields – in line with the traditions of European technical schools.
Remarkably, APP began training designers nearly 150 years earlier than many well-known European institutions. However, the formation and development of the Lviv school of design remain insufficiently researched, particularly regarding the period from the 19th to the first half of the 20th century.
Speaking about the role of outstanding creative personalities, it is worth noting the Lviv designer, Professor Ihor Serediuk, who in 1960 initiated the training of specialists in Furniture and Interior Architecture at APP. He was among the first to recognize the significance of design in influencing the spaces where people live and he actively contributed to both practical and theoretical development of this field.
In 1962, the formation of a second powerful school – the Kharkiv School of Design – began at the Kharkiv Art Institute. An important role was also played by the Rector of the Ukrainian Forestry Institute, Arsenii Yatsiuk, who in 1968 opened the training of furniture designers, which became a significant event for Central and Eastern Europe.
After the declaration of independence of Ukraine in 1991, for almost ten years, about a hundred higher educational institutions did not have a license to train designers. Design officially received professional recognition only in 2010. Since then, we have been actively collaborating with designers across different regions of Ukraine, fostering the development of this field.
The encyclopedia
The work on the book lasted more than one year. It required thorough research, archival work and constant communication with specialists from different regions of Ukraine. The motivation for creating the encyclopedia «Design in Names» was the need to systematize the history of Ukrainian design and preserve the names of people who shaped this industry, but often remained out of wide attention.
The illustrated encyclopedia «Design in Names» covers more than half a century of the development of Ukrainian design and contains materials about more than 300 designers – representatives of different generations, trends and regions of Ukraine, as well as those who currently work abroad.
A large team of authors and compilers contributed to the book, including members of the Union of Designers of Ukraine, particularly its Lviv and Kharkiv branches. Prominent representatives of the Ukrainian design community, including Professors Viktor Shtets, Volodymyr Lesniak, Stanislav Myhal, Volodymyr Pohorelchuk and others, also joined this collaborative effort.
