Sutnarka students design new campaign to raise awareness of testicular cancer

Check your fruit or You can’t fix it by waiting are slogans in a new testicular cancer campaign designed by Sutnarka students. The Men Against Cancer Foundation will use selected posters in public spaces across the Czech Republic.

Around 500 new cases of testicular cancer are diagnosed in the Czech Republic every year. The Men Against Cancer Foundation, which runs the country’s largest annual Movember campaign for men’s health, teamed up with UWB students to find a fresh way to reach the age group most at risk. “Men aged 15 to 40 are the group most likely to develop testicular cancer. That is different from prostate cancer, which mainly affects older men,” said Jiří Hofreitr of the Men Against Cancer Foundation.

The students took very different approaches to the brief. The Touch series uses hands and the letter O to connect the Czech slang word koule (balls) with a reminder to check yourself regularly. Other designs use sports balls, fruit and eggs, playing on familiar objects and everyday situations to highlight how easily health checks can be put off.

“We wanted to capture the gentleness and sensitivity of touch. We also wanted to show that self-examination is nothing to be embarrassed about – it is a completely natural part of looking after your health,” said Nela Brilantová, Barbora Dušková and Sofie Čapková, students in the Graphic Design and Visual Communication studio.

“With health campaigns, it is easy to end up lecturing people or trying to scare them. The challenge was to find a visual language that would be clear and direct without relying on stereotypes. We were interested to see how students would approach an issue that affects their own generation,” said studio head Karel Míšek.

The selected designs will form the basis of the Men Against Cancer Foundation’s 2026 awareness campaign. Posters will appear on advertising spaces and in other media across the Czech Republic. All of the students’ designs can also be seen at an exhibition at the UWB campus in Bory until 20 October. “For us, the key is to reach young men with a message that actually gets their attention. Working with students gave us a chance to see the issue through their eyes,” said Jiří Hofreitr. Testicular cancer is highly treatable when detected early. Regular self-examination is a simple way to notice changes and seek medical advice.