- How did you get into product/industrial design? What inspires you?
I have been dedicated to design since high school, where I studied toy design. Then, I continued my studies in product design at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design (UMPRUM). I also considered sculpture, but in the end, design won over figurative sculpture. My interest in technology likely prevailed.
Everything inspires me. Anything. Music, shapes, a curled dry leaf, opening doors on a tram, a scaffold coupling, a factory tour, a problem that needs solving—simply everything. It is enough to look around carefully. Analysis, where I try to understand the essence of the problem, technical possibilities, and human needs. Synthesis, where I connect all these fragments—art, technology, emotion, and function—into one meaningful product. And so it goes on and on.
- You are an educator at the Faculty of Architecture at CTU in Prague and lead a product design studio. How do future designers perceive design now in the era of AI? Do you personally feel a difference compared to when you started in this field?
I would say that students still believe that studying design makes sense if they have chosen it as their field of study. I perceive AI (artificial intelligence) as a work tool. Actually, it is quite a big parallel to when I was studying. Back then, it was the beginning of the computer boom, first 2D programs, then immediately 3D. It was also said that computers would destroy design, that computers would do everything. Computers did not do everything; the creator remained, only the tools of expression changed. Before us, there was a pencil, clay, a plaster model. For us, computers arrived. We swapped clay for a 3D model and later plaster for a 3D printer. Nevertheless, it must be admitted that the ability to draw, to be able to model a shape, and to make a model out of plaster was a highly selective skill and a mark of quality. Computers devalued these skills a bit and allowed a much larger number of people to become designers because a new way of formulating a thought, shape, and design arrived. Now, artificial intelligence has arrived, which expands this boundary even further. I try to teach students that artificial intelligence should be a tool for expressing their ideas, it should not be the creator of the idea. For example, at the end of the semester, students were making photorealistic renders of interiors with their own furniture designs incorporated. Once they learned to write the right prompts, it was very effective and fast. Rendering in classic 3D programs would have taken much longer and would not have been as perfect. That is the way to use AI correctly. As a tool to express one’s own, human idea. Not to whisper “invent this for me.” But the risk of devaluation of the designer’s work will probably come…
- You have been one of the main designers for Lucis for many years, where you have to combine design with light. Is it a bigger challenge for you than designing a product that does not light up?
It is always a challenge. It does not matter if the result is supposed to be a light fixture or another product. If it were not a challenge, it would be quite boring. Comparing, for example, designing a chair with designing a light fixture is essentially impossible. Each product requires a specific approach, different materials, and a different way of thinking. However, the common denominator remains the effort to push boundaries and bring something new to the market, which makes sense and adds value, and at the same time has sales potential for the manufacturer. We do not make things for a showroom exhibition; it is supposed to support us, the manufacturer, and me. But what inspires me about light fixtures is that the brief has a lot of technical parameters that need to be combined or respected. The designer here becomes an engineer: they think not only about the concept and design but also about how intensely the source glows, the light output, light color, and light direction. There is thermal management; LEDs emit heat that needs to be dissipated somewhere, sometimes radiated. And finally, of course, the construction of the internal electrical installation. As a designer, I do not have to solve everything, but I must understand how it works and influences the design.
And then, what also contributes to the result is that a light fixture looks different as an object that is switched off and different when it is lit. It must be aesthetically self-sufficient even when it is “doing nothing,” not lighting up. A click of a switch then changes everything. The original shape, mass, and color or material structure can recede into the background, and the light and shadow themselves become dominant. That creates the atmosphere in the room.
- Which series of light fixtures from Lucis do you consider the most important?
I often get the question of which of my designs or products I am most proud of. The answer is surprisingly simple: probably always the latest one. It is not that I would forget about older collections of light fixtures and their quality. But development is like a living organism, always some kind of evolution. We are testing new materials, pushing the boundaries of manufacturing technology, optics possibilities, and internal electronics are getting smaller. I believe that we are moving forward and new light fixtures are better than the previous ones.
- The JUNO series of light fixtures is now being launched on the market, where a surface-mounted variant of the light fixture is added to the successful pendant variant. What is the uniqueness of the entire series in terms of product design?
The Juno light fixture relies on a timeless, clean, and minimalist shape. It does not look aggressive in a space, but rather serves as an elegant accessory. However, it can still accent a space with color, as it is available in multiple color variants and sizes. The exceptional nature of the entire series likely lies in these colors. The light fixture can be manufactured with different colors on the inside and outside. Technologically, the edging of the metal molding is interesting. The series has been newly supplemented with a ceiling, surface-mounted variant. It is ideal for rooms with lower ceilings where a pendant variant cannot be used.
- Your range of work is very broad—from furniture design to toy design and collections of light fixtures. What are you most drawn to?
I would say that a certain broader scope is beneficial. This way, one does not get stuck in the same themes and gains perspective. I am most drawn to instances where I must simultaneously solve an innovation, a product advancement, and a tricky technical problem, or deal with a specific technology, while still maintaining the shape. I am very fond of mass production. The essence of design work is related to this: to devise a good design that is easy to manufacture and that functions well and meaningfully for the user.
- What are you currently focusing on?
I am working a lot on Merkur now, or more precisely, on the development of new metal Merkur construction sets. The construction set has been produced for 100 years. It fascinates me what can still be done with it, even if using original parts, by choosing different stylizations or when I come up with a new way of construction. The effort is to revive the collection in some way and bring it closer to the present. I would not say that children play less, but they play for a shorter period of their childhood. Nevertheless, play is still just as important; it develops imagination and fantasy, and construction sets develop technical and structural understanding as well as fine motor skills. It is a good preparation for little future designers.
I have a lot of other things running through my head, but sometimes I have the feeling that either the earth is spinning faster or the days are shorter. I don’t know. I cannot manage to pour it all from my head onto paper…
