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With more than twenty years of professional experience, including running her own graphic design studio and studying in Tokyo, Denisa Myšková brings a strong practical background to her PhD research at the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen. Her time in Japan helped shape the questions she now explores. In an interview for INFO.zcu, she explains why visual identity cannot be reduced to a logo and how research can transform everyday design practice.

Denisa, what is your professional background? Which field did you originally come from?
I was originally accepted to the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design in Prague, where I joined Professor Jiří Šalamoun’s Illustration and Graphic Design studio. Later, I decided to spend a semester in Professor Jan Solpera’s Type Design and Typography Studio. We immediately connected both personally and professionally, and typography captivated me so much that I eventually chose to complete my studies in his studio. I later returned to Professor Šalamoun’s studio as an assistant professor and spent the final two years of his teaching career working alongside him, an experience I value immensely to this day. After that, I moved to Japan for two years, where I received a postgraduate scholarship at Musashino Art University in Tokyo. At the same time, I worked for Bluemark studio, co-founded by graphic designer Atsuki Kikuchi. After returning to Prague, I founded Symbiont studio, which I still lead today as Art Director.

Could you briefly describe your PhD project? Why did you choose this particular area of research?
My choice of topic stems from a long-standing fascination with Japanese visual culture and from my professional experience as a graphic designer. From the outset, I was interested in how Japanese visual thinking differs from its European counterpart and why it affects us so differently. It was not simply a question of aesthetics but, above all, an attempt to understand the principles that shape this difference. My research focuses on comparing Japanese family crests, or kamon, with European heraldry in the context of contemporary graphic design and visual identity. I am interested in how historical systems of symbols influence contemporary visual communication and why the reduced form of kamon proves particularly adaptable to present-day graphic design. The PhD project, therefore, connects my many years of design practice with theoretical research and allows me to explore the subject in a broader context.

Did you have the opportunity to study Japanese family crests directly in Japan?
Kamon were not the main focus of my studies. In Tokyo, I studied graphic design and visual communication. Even then, however, I was interested in the question of where the distinctive aesthetic quality of Japanese visual culture comes from. My professor, Minoru Niijima, introduced me to the Rinpa school, which developed from the 17th century in the cultural environment of Kyoto. I was particularly fascinated by the work of the calligrapher Hon’ami Kōetsu and the painter Tawaraya Sōtatsu. This was where I began to look for the roots of contemporary Japanese aesthetic thinking. At the same time, kamon were impossible to overlook in Japan. Although they originally belonged to the privileges of the aristocracy, over the centuries they gradually became part of the everyday life of Japanese families, and many are still used today as logos by traditional businesses and major companies, including Mitsubishi. It was this continuity that caught my attention. Kamon are not museum artifacts, but a living visual language that continues to function naturally in contemporary graphic design. Only years later did I realize that this was where the questions I now explore in my PhD research began.

What exactly is visual identity, and why should we care about it?
Visual identity is a system through which an institution, city, or brand communicates its values and character. Many people associate it solely with a logo, but that is only one of its elements. Typography, colors, photography, illustration, and the rules that bring all these components together into a coherent whole are equally important. Visual identity emerges from the relationships between these elements, their consistent use, and their ability to respond to different communication contexts. We encounter it every day. Its quality depends not only on the design itself but also on whether institutions and organizations can follow and develop the system over time. When visual identity works well, it contributes not only to clearer communication but also to the quality of the environment we share.

How do you apply the theoretical insights from your PhD project in your design practice? How has studying theory changed you as a graphic designer?
It has changed the way I think about design. Today, I pay much more attention to analyzing the brief, understanding the context, and articulating the reasoning behind the final solution. Theoretical research helps me better understand the principles of visual communication and reflect critically on my own work. After more than twenty years in practice, I have also come to realize that the experience I have gained throughout my career is worth sharing with the next generation of designers.


This interview is part of a series introducing PhD students at the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen and their research topics. The Faculty offers a three-year full-time PhD program in Interdisciplinary Research through Visual Art Practice, which combines artistic practice with research. It is intended for those who want to use their own creative practice to explore questions of the contemporary world and seek new ways of generating knowledge.