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The studios of the Department of Graphic Design and Illustration, in particular Didactic Illustration, Comics and Illustration for Children and Book Design and Paper Shaping, represented by teachers Renáta Fučíková, Marie Kohoutová, Eva Bartošová, Eva Majerová and students Eliška Koulová, Anežka Nováková and Markéta Pěničková, presented their work at the Bologna Children's Book Fair. In a stand furnished with subtle modular furniture designed by Jana Potiron, they presented a selection of Silent Books, which tell stories only in pictures, and qualifying works in the form of illustrated or spatial books. Another project on display was a set of porcelain cups inspired by the decorations of the normalisation period, created by the Graphic Design and Digital Media Studio led by Ditta Jiřičková. The works attracted the attention of experts and the general public from all over the world due to their high quality and the wide range of themes, techniques and approaches used by the young artists. The show included illustrations by five students of the faculty - finalists of the Silent Book Contest 2022, including the winner of the entire competition, Kateřina Illnerová. The Sutnar Faculty has been shortlisted again this year, thanks to Markéta Pěničková´s book Firefly, which is one of the 16 works nominated out of the 250 entries at the Bologna Children´s Book Fair. The winner will be announced at the Turin International Book Fair next month.

Renáta Fučíková, head of the Didactic Illustration Studio, discussed the topic Black, Grey, White - Illustration without Colour with the Dutch illustrator Mark Janssen, in front of a full Authors Café. During the discussion, which was organised by the Internationale Jugendbibliothek in Munich and chaired by theorist Jochen Weber, she drew attention to more exceptional achievements of students of the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art, who express themselves in this way in their own work. "Colour illustration, if it is to be of high quality, resembles a symphony. I must consider the harmony of colours, their chords, and composition. I cannot allow a disorderly cacophony," she said. "Black and white illustration is more like a solo concert. It is like playing an imaginary clarinet, leading a pure melodic line - a spontaneous expression of an idea. It works with strong contrasts, which is ideal for books aimed at very young readers who are just beginning to recognize shapes. Black and white illustration also hints at the action and atmosphere of the story. It serves to hint and invite in books for older children and young adults. In any case, black and white illustration offers a respite from the world saturated with color. We need it as much as we need the silence and snow of winter to enjoy the fullness of summer again.“