The design academy has presented the nominations for the 2010 awards

Prague - The Designer of the Year 2010 may be the studio Olgoj Chorchoj for their design of sledges, lamps, a collection of drinking glasses, a teapot, and cassette flooring. Other nominees include Lucie Koldová and Dan Yeffet for a collection of lamps, and René Šulc for a chair for TON, the lamp Káča, and a toy collection. The nominations for the Czech Grand Design Awards for 2010 in all seven categories were presented today by representatives of the Academy of Design of the Czech Republic. The awards will be presented on Saturday, February 12, at the Estates Theatre.
    The Academy, consisting of 53 curators, theorists, and journalists, nominated 209 designers and companies. After the second of three rounds, three names are known in each category.
    The Designer of the Year will receive 70,000 crowns from the Ministry of Culture, while the Manufacturer of the Year will have their participation in the next Designblok, worth 100,000 crowns, covered by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The Discovery of the Year prize has been financially supported by Česká spořitelna, which will award the winner 50,000 crowns.
    In addition to the Designer of the Year category, awards will also be given for Photographer of the Year and Graphic Designer of the Year, among others. The jury will choose the photographer from Ester Havlová for her map of the Prague metro and her authored contribution to the monograph of Josef Gočár, Václav Jirásek for his exhibition with the mysterious title Upsych 316a, and Salim Issa for his visual design for Designblok 2010 and photographs from the Expo in Shanghai 2010.
    For graphic design of the last year, nominees include the studio Imagery for the visual of Designblok 2010 and the catalog for the exhibition Archive of Wonders. The second nominee is Robert V. Novák for the graphic layout of the publication Sial, authored by Miloslav Masák, Jakub Potůček, and Rostislav Šváchy, for the visual style of the West Bohemian Gallery in Pilsen, and for the graphic design of the exhibition Bílková vila. The third nomination went to the studio Najbrt for the design of the book and exhibition of Libuše Niklová, graphic design for the Toxique group, and the graphic layout of the book Plan Architects.
    Additional awards will be presented in the categories of Fashion Designer, Manufacturer of the Year, Shop of the Year, and Discovery of the Year. The Academy will also announce a personality who will enter the Hall of Fame during the festive evening. From all the awardees, a Grand Designer of the Year will be selected. This will be the one who receives the most points across categories. Viewers and readers can also choose their winner. Voting is available until this Friday on sites like www.designguide.cz or www.zena.cz.
    The author of this year's award design is Petr Babák, who became the Grand Designer of the Year last year. He designed porcelain vases of various shapes, one for each winner.
    The ceremonial announcement will be hosted by actor Marek Eben. The recording will be shown by Czech Television a week later on its second channel at eight o'clock in the evening.

Overview of the nominees:

Designer of the Year
Olgoj Chorchoj
Lucie Koldová and Dan Yeffet
René Šulc

Photographer of the Year
Ester Havlová
Václav Jirásek
Salim Issa

Graphic Designer of the Year
Imagery
Robert V. Novák
Studio Najbrt

Fashion Designer of the Year
Jakub Polanka
Liběna Rochová
Hana Zárubová

Manufacturer of the Year
Bohemia Machine Glass
Lasvit
TON

Shop of the Year
66 Gallery - Botas concept store
Křehký
Vitra

Discovery of the Year
Matěj Chabera
Jan Plecháč
Jindřich Vodička