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Bára Burianová has completed the first year of her master’s degree in the Didactic Illustration studio at the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art of the University of West Bohemia. But her work has long extended beyond school assignments. She created the visual identity for Collegium 1704’s 2024/25 concert season, worked on a large-scale mural for Ideal Automotive, and, together with Filip Horák from the Painting studio, designed a pedestrian wayfinding system for a primary school in Prague 12.

“Working with such a large space is completely different from a smaller-scale project. You have to think about the people who live nearby, the children who will pass through the area, as well as where to place the signs and how prominent they should be,” Bára Burianová said, describing the difference between a school assignment and a real commission. Having to adapt her own ideas to the people, the place, and practical constraints is precisely the kind of experience that a simulated assignment cannot fully replace. A design has to work not only in a presentation but, above all, in everyday use.

Bára got her first projects through the Sutnar Faculty. Since then, clients have started approaching her directly. The Lokál restaurant group, for example, discovered her through her Instagram portfolio. An opportunity arranged through the school can therefore become not only a portfolio piece, but also a first step towards an independent professional career. Each year, the Sutnar Faculty enters into more than fifty formal collaborations with companies, municipalities, cultural institutions, and non-profit organizations. According to preliminary estimates, around 200 students are involved in them to varying degrees.

Before a collaboration begins, its scope, deadline, remuneration, licensing terms, and the way the final work will be delivered must all be clearly defined. Where needed, the faculty provides legal and administrative support, assists in negotiations with the client, and helps with the organization and production of the project. Students are therefore not left to face a more experienced client on their own when taking on their first commissions. At the same time, they assume responsibility for their own work: they present their proposals, respond to feedback, manage their time, and learn about the contractual, financial, and technological conditions involved in completing a project.

“A commission does not begin until the terms, timeframe, and budget have been clearly agreed upon. The faculty guarantees to the partner that the collaboration will be carried through and provides students with administrative and legal support. At the same time, we introduce them to the entire process so that they understand what a professional commission involves,” said Jana Potiron, Vice-Dean for Creative Activities and Research. According to Potiron, learning to set prices is also part of gaining professional experience. The price reflects not only the time spent developing a design but also revisions, copyright, materials, production, and implementation.

Most collaborations with companies and institutions are paid. Sutnar Faculty undertakes unpaid work only for selected non-profit and charitable projects, which it sees as part of its social responsibility. Even in these cases, however, the scope of the work and responsibility for each part of the project must be clearly defined in advance.

According to Jana Potiron, the value of a commission lies not only in the fee or the completed project. Students learn to explain their decisions, negotiate terms, respond to feedback, and recognize when a proposal needs revision and when it should be defended. At the same time, they gain references and contacts that can lead to further work. Partners, in turn, gain access to emerging designers and artists. At the same time, the faculty helps them identify people suited to a particular brief, set the terms of the collaboration, and bring the project to a successful outcome.