# Transcript: Design as a tool for social change

## Description

Design has a fundamental impact on the quality of our lives, whether it’s communication design, service and process design, or application design. It can be good, bad, or even harmful. As an example, Dodo will present projects that resonated in society during the pandemic or the current war conflict between Ukraine and Russia. He will also introduce his new project, which aims to support people affected by the influence of the information war we are exposed to.



Who is Dodo Dobrík



Dodo Dobrík is a long-time designer with a broad range of experience from motion design, through advertising communication and branding, to application development. He is the only Slovak designer to hold a prestigious award from the global design-advertising competition AD&D. He has created more than 600 book covers, mainly for fiction and literary works.



He co-founded and led a full-service advertising agency for several years. He developed chatbots in his own startup bot.media. During the pandemic, the bot.media team created a tool to provide neutral information about Covid19. The chat was the only private partner of the National Health Information Center for distributing Covid19 information to the general public in the first weeks, thanks to its versatility and accessibility. He is a co-author of the tool for automated communication Scena.ai.



As an external collaborator, he worked for the Slovak Government Office in the Security Council Office department, which was responsible for strategic communication. Currently, he is involved in the weapon collection for Ukraine Dárek pro Putina and is launching a project to support people negatively affected by disinformation.

## Transcript

**[00:00:00]** Good day, good day, good day, good day,

**[00:00:05]** good day, good day, good day,

**[00:00:10]** good day, good day, good day,

**[00:00:15]** good day, good day, good day,

**[00:00:20]** good day, good day, good day,

**[00:00:26]** Good day, good morning to everyone,

**[00:00:31]** who made the trip here to the Magenta Experience Center.

**[00:00:36]** Good day to everyone watching us live,

**[00:00:40]** whether at companies, libraries, coworking spaces,

**[00:00:45]** or anywhere else I can think of. There are many of you and the number is growing,

**[00:00:50]** so I’m very happy about that. I have a big announcement to start with today,

**[00:00:55]** so a lot of excitement.

**[00:01:00]** After careful consideration,

**[00:01:05]** we decided to create two more streams under Brain & Breakfast.

**[00:01:10]** These will be additional streams of this broadcast.

**[00:01:16]** They will be streams aimed at companies, and here you see the visual.

**[00:01:21]** That means Brain & Breakfast, as you know it today,

**[00:01:26]** will continue, but it will be joined by two more,

**[00:01:31]** new Brain & Breakfast streams, which we call Brain & Breakfast Business.

**[00:01:36]** This means they will primarily focus on the corporate environment.

**[00:01:42]** The little bird you see there is a lark.

**[00:01:47]** It reminds us not to fall behind and to keep hopping forward.

**[00:01:54]** We have two programs, or rather under Brain & Breakfast Business,

**[00:01:59]** there will be two main themes.

**[00:02:04]** They are people and technology. You see these beautiful visuals here,

**[00:02:09]** which I hope you will become familiar with.

**[00:02:14]** The whole concept is that once a month,

**[00:02:19]** we will provide updates and insights on carefully selected corporate topics,

**[00:02:24]** so you don’t have to search everywhere. You can see the topics below.

**[00:02:29]** Topics like ease of management, digital mindset, customer needs,

**[00:02:34]** future trends and technologies, conflict resolution, habit building,

**[00:02:39]** feedback. These are all topics companies face,

**[00:02:44]** and we want to be part of making life in companies simply better.

**[00:02:49]** Here are the faces and people, many of whom you know from past breakfasts.

**[00:02:54]** Whether it’s Michal Šrajer, Dita Formánková, Pavel Pumperla, Pepa Holý,

**[00:02:59]** these are all people who will bring you these topics

**[00:03:04]** and provide these updates. So follow Brain & Breakfast.

**[00:03:09]** After eleven years, this is a big step for me. I am ready

**[00:03:23]** to moderate two more streams, including this one here, so I'm looking forward to it.

**[00:03:28]** It's going to be an amazing ride. And because I don't want to just talk into the wind,

**[00:03:33]** we're starting already on July 9th, when Luboš Malý will tell us

**[00:03:38]** lots of interesting information about change management,

**[00:03:43]** what's coming our way and the world around it,

**[00:03:48]** how to actually navigate the turbulent environment we face.

**[00:03:53]** And in December, we'll split it into those two streams, as I mentioned.

**[00:03:58]** Conflict resolution and nonviolent communication will be Sandra Fridrichová's domain,

**[00:04:03]** and digital mindset will be Dita Formanková's domain.

**[00:04:08]** So stay with us and look forward to it. Exhale, inhale.

**[00:04:13]** Thank you. And now we move on to the usual, which you might know.

**[00:04:22]** Brain&Breakfast. Please, take your mobile phones.

**[00:04:27]** Whether it's Brain&Breakfast Business or this beautiful one here,

**[00:04:32]** the breakfasts will be interactive. That means if you want to ask a question,

**[00:04:37]** go to www.slajdu.com, hashtag Brain. I already see some of you have voted,

**[00:04:44]** so we'll let it run a bit longer so you can really get your phones started,

**[00:04:51]** because I expect there will be a lot of questions again. And after today's lecture,

**[00:04:56]** which usually lasts about an hour, there will be a half-hour discussion,

**[00:05:01]** and I will ask today's guest on your behalf. It's also appropriate to thank Magenta Experience Center,

**[00:05:10]** because Magenta will be the partner of all breakfasts and everything else, and we'll continue doing it here.

**[00:05:17]** At the same time, it's a product of the Red Button network, and if you want to stay in touch

**[00:05:23]** with everything happening in the network, this QR code will occasionally pop up,

**[00:05:28]** which leads you to the newsletter called Shortcut,

**[00:05:33]** where we share all sorts of important things.

**[00:05:38]** End of the commercial break. The real Brain and Breakfast begins.

**[00:05:44]** I'm very happy that Dodo Dobrý accepted the invitation.

**[00:05:48]** Dodo, come here among us, please. Hi, welcome.

**[00:05:55]** Dodo is someone who, I think, when you say renaissance man,

**[00:06:01]** he's the first person who comes to mind, and his story is incredibly interesting.

**[00:06:05]** The projects he works on and everything he does has a huge impact.

**[00:06:10]** So I thought it would be great to share that somehow with my audience as well.

**[00:06:15]** So, Dodo, here is the baton, and I'm looking forward to your lecture. Thank you very much.

**[00:06:21]** Thanks, Dodo, thank you for letting me give you an idea,

**[00:06:28]** because it can't be handled just like that.

**[00:06:51]** So maybe I'll introduce various things from the projects.

**[00:06:55]** Honza said these are projects with a big impact.

**[00:06:59]** I don't know, we'll see.

**[00:07:02]** These are things that appear in society.

**[00:07:06]** I am a designer.

**[00:07:09]** I started sometime around the year, no, in 2000 I started doing design.

**[00:07:14]** As a motion designer. I worked at Markiza.

**[00:07:17]** Right away as a first-year student at university.

**[00:07:20]** So maybe that's the impact, there's also, I also have

**[00:07:24]** kind of an unfortunate career experience,

**[00:07:27]** because my first works were on the most watched TV channel.

**[00:07:30]** So you don't really have the usual progress from small projects.

**[00:07:34]** At the same time, I started making covers.

**[00:07:37]** Covers were for many years my kind of hobby.

**[00:07:40]** I actually made them first for all other projects.

**[00:07:43]** It was also a kind of laboratory for me.

**[00:07:46]** If you want, you can find it on Instagram by that hashtag.

**[00:07:49]** I selected 100 of my covers that I liked for some reason

**[00:07:52]** and wrote why.

**[00:07:54]** I made several hundred of them.

**[00:07:56]** I stopped making them some time ago because

**[00:07:58]** I felt like I had really designed almost everything

**[00:08:01]** that I could design in terms of covers.

**[00:08:03]** So this is the selection I chose.

**[00:08:06]** And in this presentation, we will talk a lot about emotions.

**[00:08:12]** Which actually accompanied the projects I worked on.

**[00:08:15]** Because emotions will be a kind of light motif.

**[00:08:18]** And we are talking about entering some, this presentation

**[00:08:23]** is related to some social change and so on.

**[00:08:26]** For me, like, being part of some society or community

**[00:08:30]** means an emotional message and similar things.

**[00:08:32]** We consider it a powerful tool.

**[00:08:36]** So these are covers, I made all genres

**[00:08:41]** you can think of.

**[00:08:45]** Except for professional literature, I regret that,

**[00:08:47]** because that's really easy.

**[00:08:49]** I mean, some computer manuals.

**[00:08:51]** I wanted to do it, but they didn't let me.

**[00:08:53]** I made fiction, various emotions.

**[00:08:55]** Some were a bit scary, mysterious.

**[00:08:57]** Some were thoughtful, some were cheerful.

**[00:09:02]** Some things were downright terrifying.

**[00:09:06]** I was already working then.

**[00:09:10]** It was something that interested me,

**[00:09:12]** that from my point of view I didn't have just one style.

**[00:09:18]** I was almost searching for a way to deliver the message,

**[00:09:22]** that these covers carry.

**[00:09:26]** As I worked, I realized that the work always,

**[00:09:28]** for example, that the covers enter the company.

**[00:09:32]** I don't know if you recognize him.

**[00:09:33]** This is a Slovak politician I call him.

**[00:09:37]** During COVID, he recommended bromhexidine vodka,

**[00:09:39]** some kind of super medicine.

**[00:09:42]** And he used my cover to show,

**[00:09:44]** how bad the times are.

**[00:09:45]** Like we are all manipulated by some big brother.

**[00:09:49]** These are the moments when you realize,

**[00:09:52]** that our design is not part of society.

**[00:09:55]** You don't always enjoy how it resonates,

**[00:09:56]** but it happens.

**[00:10:00]** The covers were a big lesson for me when I basically realized by chance,

**[00:10:08]** how strong people's connection is to the design I create, to the covers they have.

**[00:10:13]** They become part of their home, their lives, they relate to those stories.

**[00:10:20]** So much that they want to take photos with those things.

**[00:10:25]** Make compositions, spend time.

**[00:10:31]** The covers really resonate with their lives.

**[00:10:37]** This is a small selection of covers related to Jane Austen.

**[00:10:42]** So they are part of engagements, part of leisure time,

**[00:10:48]** with friends, alone, and so on.

**[00:10:52]** I found out that people really photographed hundreds of covers,

**[00:10:58]** they are simply part of Instagram.

**[00:11:02]** And then I realized, I really started to feel it years ago,

**[00:11:07]** that when you work with some design,

**[00:11:11]** it comes into society and brings a message.

**[00:11:16]** This is really a cover that was said about years ago,

**[00:11:22]** later, as a marketing manager, that if he hadn't been sick,

**[00:11:24]** such a cover would never go out,

**[00:11:26]** because it was chosen by women from production, not by the marketing manager.

**[00:11:32]** But that cover has been on the market for 20 years, unchanged.

**[00:11:37]** So obviously some emotion resonated,

**[00:11:41]** and this book series, because these are actually all their books,

**[00:11:48]** continues without change.

**[00:11:51]** This was a symbolic conclusion of my work with covers.

**[00:11:57]** And this is my personal emotion, when my daughter,

**[00:12:00]** who helped with this illustration on the cover,

**[00:12:03]** They won such a prestigious award.

**[00:12:05]** And actually, it was at a time when I was spontaneously ending my career around envelopes.

**[00:12:11]** So this is also, in a way, an emotion directed towards me,

**[00:12:13]** which I experienced intensely.

**[00:12:16]** Envelopes open up the theme of emotions,

**[00:12:21]** and one of the projects I will present, I won't present everything,

**[00:12:25]** I'll just show a few things I worked on,

**[00:12:27]** that represent a certain type of emotion.

**[00:12:31]** When I was working on book projects,

**[00:12:34]** I also had a company making chatbots,

**[00:12:37]** a startup where we wanted to bring

**[00:12:41]** classic stories processed in the form of dialogue.

**[00:12:47]** So you could talk with the book's hero, it was 2016.

**[00:12:51]** Basically, it was all scripted.

**[00:12:55]** We processed one book this way,

**[00:12:59]** we made The Little Prince.

**[00:13:02]** I'll stay a bit longer, after we wrote several scripts,

**[00:13:06]** for several days The Little Prince returned

**[00:13:09]** and came to the readers.

**[00:13:12]** And basically, it was like living the book through dialogue,

**[00:13:16]** which was there.

**[00:13:17]** So from the first entry,

**[00:13:23]** he would regularly talk with them,

**[00:13:26]** and every day he said goodbye to them.

**[00:13:29]** It lasted six days and every day he said,

**[00:13:31]** OK, I'll come back tomorrow, etc.

**[00:13:33]** Back then, GDPR didn't exist yet,

**[00:13:34]** Facebook still allowed everything,

**[00:13:36]** so we could send messages to people, etc.

**[00:13:38]** But gradually it stopped working, and the project no longer exists.

**[00:13:41]** A few thousand people in Slovakia and the Czech Republic got involved,

**[00:13:44]** without any advertising, the project was hardly visible outside,

**[00:13:47]** it was really shared among classmates at schools.

**[00:13:50]** And basically, the story

**[00:13:58]** was then limited by the audience that came,

**[00:14:01]** so the project didn't continue.

**[00:14:03]** But it actually brought something, like for us.

**[00:14:05]** We did it because we tested the skills,

**[00:14:07]** that we have technically.

**[00:14:09]** It was a kind of pilot, we mainly wanted to test this part,

**[00:14:12]** but for example, we saw how much it resonated.

**[00:14:14]** The first input was when we asked people to draw a sheep,

**[00:14:17]** like the Little Prince wandering in line, to draw a sheep.

**[00:14:20]** We expected those people,

**[00:14:22]** so thousands of sheep drawings came to us, drawn by people.

**[00:14:26]** Among those sheep, there were thousands of other pictures,

**[00:14:30]** which I wouldn't show, maybe hundreds.

**[00:14:33]** But mostly, sheep predominated.

**[00:14:37]** And that's a record of the people who created these mini artworks.

**[00:14:44]** The Little Prince communicated with those people,

**[00:14:48]** and mostly girls communicated with him.

**[00:14:51]** About 80% were girls.

**[00:14:53]** These were the messages that came in, some we had to edit.

**[00:14:58]** We had to create new scenarios.

**[00:15:00]** There were some offers of relationships, offers of sex.

**[00:15:03]** And with the Little Prince, we did this: we simply negated some things.

**[00:15:06]** We didn't want those things to develop further.

**[00:15:11]** So we kept it aligned with the story's line.

**[00:15:15]** But we really saw a strong emotional impact.

**[00:15:18]** People wrote to us, writing to the Little Prince,

**[00:15:21]** saying he was actually great and so on.

**[00:15:23]** They communicated with him early in the morning, saying they felt lonely and so on.

**[00:15:27]** It was a very unexpected experience for us,

**[00:15:32]** that emotions could be so strong in that chat.

**[00:15:35]** In that automated, scripted chat.

**[00:15:39]** The Little Prince chatted for six days and this happened.

**[00:15:43]** We had to create a breakup scenario.

**[00:15:46]** Because many girls wrote that he disappointed them and so on.

**[00:15:50]** So we had to make a scenario that it’s not you, but me, and we have to move on.

**[00:15:56]** So it was really intense.

**[00:16:01]** And we tried to resolve it this way.

**[00:16:06]** We wanted the Little Prince to continue,

**[00:16:08]** but then we didn't find the resources, so we didn't continue.

**[00:16:12]** And basically, it showed me that books are letters, but stories.

**[00:16:18]** But then I adjusted it further, that it's not even that,

**[00:16:21]** but we concluded that stories are emotions.

**[00:16:23]** That was the experience we gained years ago,

**[00:16:26]** that emotions are present there very intensely.

**[00:16:29]** That's the positive part.

**[00:16:30]** The negative part, why we started dealing with things,

**[00:16:33]** Regarding some kind of online safety, we received a very large image,

**[00:16:37]** which the girls sent about the big reason for the Little Prince.

**[00:16:40]** We didn't do anything with those images, but there were nude photos,

**[00:16:43]** including nude photos of boys.

**[00:16:46]** Part of the content was just this kind of content,

**[00:16:50]** so I thought here, oh, people really trust this,

**[00:16:54]** they open up a lot and really don't think about their safety.

**[00:16:58]** So that project no longer exists,

**[00:17:00]** but it existed for several years with the fact,

**[00:17:05]** that it was basically invisible.

**[00:17:08]** The Facebook profile had only a few followers.

**[00:17:11]** The bare minimum.

**[00:17:12]** The whole thing was basically completely under the radar,

**[00:17:15]** because it ran only in messaging apps.

**[00:17:17]** So for me, it's quite an idea,

**[00:17:20]** that these things can be very invisible.

**[00:17:24]** And despite there being very positive things,

**[00:17:28]** the dark side was also present.

**[00:17:32]** That's another project I worked on,

**[00:17:33]** or that we worked on with colleagues.

**[00:17:35]** I always collaborate; I rarely do things alone.

**[00:17:38]** And it was KoviChat.

**[00:17:41]** We also created automated information.

**[00:17:44]** Again, something we work with regarding emotions.

**[00:17:46]** I have been focusing on this long-term, and fear is one reason

**[00:17:50]** why people are able to believe many things

**[00:17:56]** or accept a lot of information.

**[00:18:00]** So we wanted to create a neutral chat,

**[00:18:02]** where people would receive truly neutral,

**[00:18:05]** daily updated information.

**[00:18:07]** We then offered it to the state via Facebook,

**[00:18:10]** and the results are here.

**[00:18:12]** I'll just quickly go through it.

**[00:18:13]** We had some paths with websites that got involved.

**[00:18:17]** These are the results after the first thirty days.

**[00:18:20]** So the visits were in the millions,

**[00:18:22]** when people visited it.

**[00:18:24]** I wanted to take a screenshot,

**[00:18:26]** to show you what it looked like.

**[00:18:27]** At the bottom there was also a wheel that people clicked on

**[00:18:29]** and I showed them the chat.

**[00:18:31]** And I thought, since it was at the Ministry of Health,

**[00:18:33]** I'll just take a screenshot and paste it,

**[00:18:35]** so you can see it.

**[00:18:36]** And I found out a few days ago that it's still there.

**[00:18:39]** Just as a side note.

**[00:18:40]** This is the current website with our current chat,

**[00:18:43]** which is badly written, not updated.

**[00:18:47]** So it shows that some things remain.

**[00:18:51]** But the topic was how to help people at least somewhat ease their fear.

**[00:18:55]** To find information that is updated daily.

**[00:18:57]** We had 10 volunteers,

**[00:18:59]** who updated information at the regional level.

**[00:19:03]** Another emotion I encountered at work

**[00:19:05]** was a certain level of frustration.

**[00:19:08]** These are the Poloniny.

**[00:19:10]** And this was a project I actually did

**[00:19:12]** on the Slovak-Ukrainian border.

**[00:19:15]** And this is the town where politicians have been coming to you since 1993.

**[00:19:20]** And until 2023, they brought you not much,

**[00:19:22]** just a lot of development projects, etc.

**[00:19:25]** So the people in the town don't trust development projects.

**[00:19:30]** And this project tried

**[00:19:33]** to add something for tourists in that environment

**[00:19:35]** as a counterbalance to logging the trees,

**[00:19:37]** so the townspeople would see that the value of trees isn't just in the wood.

**[00:19:43]** That the tree sells for 2000 euros,

**[00:19:45]** but for similar money, tourists can actually come there.

**[00:19:49]** There was an offer to help with that.

**[00:19:52]** With the fact that the town was built on the idea

**[00:19:55]** that there are no good services, no shops,

**[00:19:58]** no ski slopes, no...

**[00:20:00]** and basically nothing much works there.

**[00:20:04]** And on the other hand, the Poloniny

**[00:20:08]** are absolutely unique natural areas.

**[00:20:11]** All the big predators are really there,

**[00:20:15]** it's the only intact forest in the EU,

**[00:20:18]** it's the darkest town in the EU, etc.

**[00:20:21]** And because no big investments were made there,

**[00:20:24]** that would have built some flashy hotels.

**[00:20:27]** All of this was some kind of quality.

**[00:20:30]** And again, this was communication with the people there.

**[00:20:33]** A specific mix of people.

**[00:20:36]** There is a priest, people from the urbarium,

**[00:20:39]** there are some city people, etc.

**[00:20:42]** There is a large mix of people who actually talked

**[00:20:45]** about their relationship to the poloniny, about what it should and shouldn't be.

**[00:20:48]** And about those weak towns.

**[00:20:51]** And the concept of wilderness tourism was created.

**[00:20:54]** Where there is nothing, so they can experience something.

**[00:20:57]** And I created the concept of incredibly real,

**[00:21:00]** which actually spoke about the fact

**[00:21:03]** that on one side, in that real reality,

**[00:21:08]** some incredibly strong experiences come.

**[00:21:11]** With some headlines we later worked with.

**[00:21:14]** The project is ongoing, with very engaged great people,

**[00:21:17]** who work on it.

**[00:21:20]** And it makes me happy that they adopted the idea

**[00:21:25]** that yes, it’s okay,

**[00:21:28]** that we offer authenticity and that is our quality.

**[00:21:32]** That we really don’t have to build a ski slope,

**[00:21:35]** for people to have fun in winter here.

**[00:21:38]** Or to be able to visit us.

**[00:21:41]** These are some working visuals that were created then.

**[00:21:44]** They were not realized in this form.

**[00:21:47]** It depends on how we thought about it.

**[00:21:50]** So it was also about the frustration of getting to the point

**[00:21:53]** where we have some measure,

**[00:21:56]** some chance of hope,

**[00:21:59]** that something can be done.

**[00:22:02]** So another project was related to the fact

**[00:22:05]** that sometimes we want to be accepting.

**[00:22:08]** Or we need to accept some things

**[00:22:13]** that are difficult for us.

**[00:22:16]** Here are the girls from Bílong,

**[00:22:19]** with whom we co-founded a women's coworking space.

**[00:22:23]** They still call me

**[00:22:26]** a co-founder of the women's coworking.

**[00:22:29]** There are no topics that are simple.

**[00:22:32]** As a designer, you have to learn big things.

**[00:22:35]** We even met with Red Button back then,

**[00:22:38]** years ago.

**[00:22:41]** And we wanted to know how to build a community.

**[00:22:44]** So we created a message that was there,

**[00:22:47]** about how to handle

**[00:22:50]** the period of transformation,

**[00:22:53]** which comes to each of us at a certain stage of life.

**[00:22:57]** From that came some conclusions about

**[00:23:02]** what we offer you as a community.

**[00:23:05]** And what you can actually bring.

**[00:23:08]** Here is a video, which I don't know if it will play.

**[00:23:12]** And if it doesn't, I'll tell you about it sometime.

**[00:23:15]** We made a video explaining the principle

**[00:23:18]** that we actually came up with that year,

**[00:23:21]** that the designer's job was not just to create the visual side,

**[00:23:24]** but to jointly create a concept that involves

**[00:23:27]** the users of that coworking space.

**[00:23:30]** It is a kind of pop-up coworking, so it has no fixed location.

**[00:23:33]** And we were inspired by bees,

**[00:23:36]** and realized what we were actually working with,

**[00:23:39]** which were meadows. So a person comes there

**[00:23:42]** with some needs, with some offers,

**[00:23:45]** and the idea was that through the connections

**[00:23:48]** that arise there, it can actually bloom.

**[00:23:51]** So the final,

**[00:23:54]** the final idea is

**[00:23:57]** that from some honeycomb

**[00:24:00]** a blooming meadow actually emerges.

**[00:24:03]** Many motifs also emerged,

**[00:24:07]** which are still used today.

**[00:24:10]** So the effort was to bring diversity

**[00:24:13]** in which we can actually operate.

**[00:24:16]** And I'm glad that actually again

**[00:24:23]** the women, and I think some men too,

**[00:24:29]** as this design concept.

**[00:24:33]** So, here are some things

**[00:24:36]** I found on their social networks,

**[00:24:39]** where you can actually see how the design is used.

**[00:24:42]** Recently, the Expert Hub was created,

**[00:24:45]** So basically a product of bílong for companies.

**[00:24:48]** And actually,

**[00:24:51]** hey, just about acceptance,

**[00:24:54]** these are like photos from one of those meetings.

**[00:24:57]** Some degree of inspiration and acceptance,

**[00:25:00]** these are things for me,

**[00:25:03]** that in the end show me,

**[00:25:06]** that these things work.

**[00:25:09]** This is a project related to the climate crisis

**[00:25:12]** and my ambition,

**[00:25:15]** to somehow help people overcome

**[00:25:18]** what undoubtedly awaits us

**[00:25:21]** and that nature will change.

**[00:25:24]** Well, it already is changing, it has changed in many cities.

**[00:25:27]** I would choose a city as the origin,

**[00:25:30]** where we want to show people.

**[00:25:33]** It's my personal project, so it's smaller.

**[00:25:36]** Other things have space but we dedicate time to it when we can.

**[00:25:39]** This is a discussion I captured,

**[00:25:42]** about whether to mow or not mow lawns.

**[00:25:45]** Maybe you don't see it, but they alternate.

**[00:25:48]** Mow, don't mow, mow, don't mow, mow, don't mow.

**[00:25:51]** It's just a discussion that arises.

**[00:25:54]** This is the count of the city's herbarium,

**[00:25:57]** that what seems ordinary to us was simply painted in the Renaissance.

**[00:26:00]** Like two of them painted it.

**[00:26:03]** There are, I think, about 15 plants

**[00:26:06]** in this painting, which are very well and authentically drawn.

**[00:26:11]** So this is what the city's herbarium looks like, some of its outputs.

**[00:26:14]** So these are things growing by sidewalks

**[00:26:17]** and I tell their stories.

**[00:26:21]** This plant growing near some electrical box,

**[00:26:24]** among trash, actually belongs to plants

**[00:26:28]** used in America as a supplement.

**[00:26:31]** We don't know that.

**[00:26:32]** So the city's herbarium brings hope,

**[00:26:34]** that we can recognize things we don't know

**[00:26:36]** and find potential we actually don't know.

**[00:26:39]** So again, for me as a pre-designer,

**[00:26:41]** design doesn't lie entirely in visual elements,

**[00:26:44]** that a person will eventually use,

**[00:26:46]** and talk about what it will bring.

**[00:26:48]** So this is a project we occasionally focus on.

**[00:26:50]** I have thousands of photos I've seen,

**[00:26:52]** well, just me in principle,

**[00:26:54]** but the last time I took photos was yesterday

**[00:26:56]** at a junkyard.

**[00:26:59]** So this is a project that tries

**[00:27:03]** to somehow engage people.

**[00:27:05]** Sometimes I do walks with people in the city,

**[00:27:07]** where we show them things growing by the sidewalks

**[00:27:09]** and in the city, we point them out,

**[00:27:11]** we taste some when possible.

**[00:27:14]** Because many of those things are edible.

**[00:27:17]** Sometimes there are a lot of emotions,

**[00:27:19]** sometimes it sweeps you away.

**[00:27:22]** And this is a project we've been working on for two years.

**[00:27:27]** I am actually one of the five people

**[00:27:30]** who organized a collection for the Ukrainian army,

**[00:27:32]** that was Darek Proputina.

**[00:27:34]** We also recently did a munitions initiative in Slovakia.

**[00:27:38]** So this was a T-shirt I made

**[00:27:40]** after I saw a dramatic photo

**[00:27:43]** and felt that the hand wanted to be raised.

**[00:27:46]** To show that despite

**[00:27:49]** someone dying, they are not defeated.

**[00:27:52]** Again, something that entered society

**[00:27:56]** and somehow resonates.

**[00:28:00]** It resonates so much that the design was stolen

**[00:28:03]** and can be bought in about thirty shops worldwide.

**[00:28:07]** So you can buy it,

**[00:28:09]** but you can also buy it from us.

**[00:28:11]** We are quite expensive.

**[00:28:14]** This is an example of the other side bringing their opinion.

**[00:28:17]** They use your design and want to show

**[00:28:20]** that they are actually communicating with you.

**[00:28:23]** I think that the message was conveyed.

**[00:28:27]** Good, this is a presentation.

**[00:28:30]** You don't have to tell me how you feel,

**[00:28:33]** just after all these examples, emotions, etc.

**[00:28:36]** I wanted to pause for a moment,

**[00:28:39]** because sometimes we forget that we actually feel some emotions,

**[00:28:42]** maybe you're bored, maybe you're distracted,

**[00:28:45]** maybe you're a bit pissed off that you came here

**[00:28:48]** and there's nothing interesting.

**[00:28:51]** Then we would probably have to address that somehow.

**[00:28:54]** And we'll explain later why.

**[00:28:57]** But I want to continue focusing on emotions and a project,

**[00:29:00]** which is in progress, that I'm working on.

**[00:29:03]** Like when we did b-long and thought about how to do it,

**[00:29:06]** once it was created, we then focused on

**[00:29:09]** a similar project that I will introduce

**[00:29:12]** in the next few minutes.

**[00:29:15]** And it relates to how we perceive things,

**[00:29:18]** how we feel.

**[00:29:21]** This is a photo I actually took

**[00:29:24]** at my office, at my studio.

**[00:29:27]** A few days ago.

**[00:29:30]** I wasn't trying to capture anything specific.

**[00:29:33]** Just wanted to capture the city where I am.

**[00:29:36]** I just lifted my phone and took the picture.

**[00:29:39]** I took about two or three photos because I couldn't see the screen well.

**[00:29:42]** So this is the kind of photo it is.

**[00:29:45]** We'll come back to it, but just look at how you feel

**[00:29:48]** when you look at it. What comes to mind.

**[00:29:51]** Good, bad, something annoying, etc.

**[00:29:54]** So for now, let's set the photo aside,

**[00:29:57]** but when I think about people looking at it,

**[00:30:00]** they are looking at it.

**[00:30:03]** When I think about people looking at it, they are looking at it.

**[00:30:06]** When I think about people looking at it, they are looking at it.

**[00:30:09]** When I think about people looking at it, they are looking at it.

**[00:30:12]** When I think about people looking at it, they are looking at it.

**[00:30:15]** When I think about people looking at it, they are looking at it.

**[00:30:18]** When I think about people looking at it, they are looking at it.

**[00:30:00]** So I thought we'd look at a typical street in the city of Bratislava.

**[00:30:08]** And what we're focusing on is resilience.

**[00:30:11]** Our resilience within the information space we find ourselves in,

**[00:30:16]** which is quite saturated with various influences, various ambitions.

**[00:30:23]** And maybe to some extent, we get stuck in this effort

**[00:30:29]** to have resilience, or to maintain and increase it.

**[00:30:38]** And what the project concerns is the impact of disinformation.

**[00:30:42]** Disinformation is a term we encounter very often nowadays.

**[00:30:53]** There are definitions that talk about disinformation, and what it is?

**[00:30:59]** Yes, for example.

**[00:31:02]** We could probably talk now about

**[00:31:06]** what disinformation is and what it isn't, and when it is this, and when it is...

**[00:31:10]** and so on.

**[00:31:12]** The information has various adjectives.

**[00:31:15]** But for me, the definition itself isn't even interesting.

**[00:31:20]** And I want to show you why.

**[00:31:22]** For me, what is much more important and what I am currently working on,

**[00:31:26]** is to focus on the mechanism of why these things work,

**[00:31:30]** and how they work, rather than

**[00:31:34]** correctly defining them in terms of vocabulary,

**[00:31:38]** whether it is intentional, semi-intentional, or misleading,

**[00:31:42]** and whether it is a matter of deception or a lie, and less about deception.

**[00:31:46]** And often in a comfortable space, this appears as a discussion,

**[00:31:50]** which is part of the whole game.

**[00:31:54]** That we actually don't know how to define what it is, but maybe we can define

**[00:31:57]** what it does to all of us.

**[00:32:01]** This is a sample of the front page

**[00:32:05]** of a special issue of Deník N.

**[00:32:09]** And actually,

**[00:32:13]** when we talk about information, we say these are bad information,

**[00:32:17]** and we must provide the right information, those that are not dis.

**[00:32:21]** And the first tool that often appears,

**[00:32:25]** is that we must help people think critically.

**[00:32:29]** I consider critical thinking a great tool,

**[00:32:33]** which is an essential part

**[00:32:37]** of some of our abilities,

**[00:32:41]** our literacy, to navigate the public space,

**[00:32:45]** but I see a limit there.

**[00:32:49]** I perceive a limit with this tool and similar tools.

**[00:32:53]** This is the subtitle written at the bottom of that magazine.

**[00:32:57]** So critical thinking helps, according to the authors of that material,

**[00:33:01]** to distinguish truth from lies, to not be fooled,

**[00:33:05]** to not fall for conspiracy theories,

**[00:33:09]** but I don't know if this isn't primarily an ambitious subtitle,

**[00:33:13]** given how the social situation looks.

**[00:33:17]** I can imagine that in certain situations all of this applies,

**[00:33:21]** but there is a big situation where it does not apply.

**[00:33:25]** When critical thinking tools can no longer help us.

**[00:33:29]** Often, when I am not an expert in critical thinking,

**[00:33:33]** I approach it as someone interested in the topic.

**[00:33:38]** So maybe I don't know all the tools that exist.

**[00:33:42]** But when I recall some mechanism I once found,

**[00:33:46]** what I find missing there,

**[00:33:50]** is the minimal component of working with emotions.

**[00:33:54]** It's a completely different tool. Critical thinking appears at some point

**[00:33:58]** in emotions in some way. Within those points, there is a perfect

**[00:34:02]** analytical approach that leads us to make decisions.

**[00:34:07]** But this component related to emotions I mentioned throughout my presentation,

**[00:34:11]** I consider so important,

**[00:34:15]** that I see it as a way

**[00:34:19]** to help oneself in that situation.

**[00:34:23]** What we are showing you is a process, like thinking it through.

**[00:34:27]** That this is actually part of how I approach these things.

**[00:34:31]** So you are also part of some

**[00:34:35]** thinking process where I consider emotions.

**[00:34:39]** Because many times, in many projects you have seen,

**[00:34:43]** I feel the emotional side was always very important.

**[00:34:47]** When we were in Poloniny, we needed to show people,

**[00:34:51]** so there was a part of practical things, but we told them

**[00:34:55]** that the city can have councils. That all this is here,

**[00:34:59]** that those milestones have their meaning,

**[00:35:03]** and those milestones can be rebuilt.

**[00:35:07]** So now I am searching, investigating, and preparing a project

**[00:35:11]** that would address another component within

**[00:35:18]** some of our defense capabilities.

**[00:35:22]** This is my favorite example, I don't know if it's readable,

**[00:35:26]** but it concerns how you can use ash to remove M3S.

**[00:35:30]** It's a procedure where you pour ash on balcony RIMS,

**[00:35:35]** or on it, and here is a fairly scientific procedure described,

**[00:35:39]** where at different times it is shown that the sky clears.

**[00:35:44]** It is often a post that then spreads everywhere

**[00:35:48]** with various laughing emojis,

**[00:35:53]** where there is doubt whether it is a completely scientific approach,

**[00:35:58]** or if this is really critical thinking,

**[00:36:05]** or it has its limits.

**[00:36:07]** What is appreciated is that there is some degree of scientific approach in it.

**[00:36:10]** Yes, there is a time element of scientificness.

**[00:36:13]** And actually, these posts are very inspiring to me,

**[00:36:18]** when we observe how people perceive the world.

**[00:36:21]** And there is a lady in the discussion who tried it, and it really works.

**[00:36:26]** So we see that it is verified by the community.

**[00:36:30]** And the text is very interesting because in the text we also see

**[00:36:34]** the development, actually there are lots of emotions.

**[00:36:37]** We see that basically, I just don’t get them.

**[00:36:41]** All this conspiracy is around us,

**[00:36:44]** the conspiracy is clear and strong, but we have matured to it,

**[00:36:48]** because we have the good vinegar, not the one from Poland, but the one from Czechia.

**[00:36:52]** So when we have the right vinegar, we know how to defend ourselves.

**[00:36:56]** And in the photo, you can see that the fight is really pure.

**[00:37:00]** And my question is, I want to explain to these people,

**[00:37:04]** that maybe it has other contexts, that maybe if we look at it critically,

**[00:37:08]** the reason could actually be different, and so on.

**[00:37:12]** I feel that there are limits here.

**[00:37:17]** Because what is strong there is on one hand

**[00:37:21]** the anger at the conspirators with disgust at

**[00:37:25]** what they are doing with our space,

**[00:37:29]** and on the other hand, there are many positive emotions.

**[00:37:33]** It ends with a heart emoji. And what I sense in these posts,

**[00:37:37]** what is a strong message for me, a strong feeling of victory.

**[00:37:43]** There is the feeling of power, that I did it,

**[00:37:45]** that I am just an ordinary person from a panel building

**[00:37:48]** or from some ordinary village, but I did it.

**[00:37:51]** And I appreciate this. This is a good signal to say,

**[00:37:55]** that this is an important emotion.

**[00:37:57]** If we start mocking it, we kind of lose contact.

**[00:38:03]** Because what we can see there is,

**[00:38:06]** that at the beginning there is some frustration, some anger,

**[00:38:10]** you use the right approach and suddenly it is.

**[00:38:14]** You won, you are a hero, you are completely crazy excited,

**[00:38:17]** you have crazy joy, like you made it.

**[00:38:20]** And the community says it was great.

**[00:38:22]** All these things have many triggers.

**[00:38:25]** I carry that too.

**[00:38:27]** These are thousands of people who react positively.

**[00:38:30]** So you get that feedback.

**[00:38:33]** So this is all, that against this,

**[00:38:35]** where critical thinking stands, I have a feeling,

**[00:38:37]** that is there.

**[00:38:39]** Because I actually try to justify

**[00:38:43]** rationally some emotions,

**[00:38:46]** which are things that don't meet.

**[00:38:49]** And usually we rationalize things afterwards,

**[00:38:52]** because when are we truly rational.

**[00:38:55]** This is an image I found from surroundings on NATO's pages,

**[00:38:59]** which concerns the influence of disinformation.

**[00:39:02]** And I like that this quite captures the purpose,

**[00:39:05]** like really to attack us, to attack our fragile cities.

**[00:39:09]** So there is something, like it's hinted as the head,

**[00:39:12]** but what is happening there?

**[00:39:14]** It's not information, it's a kind of fog.

**[00:39:16]** There are some emotions and so on.

**[00:39:18]** And usually what disinformation attacks,

**[00:39:21]** are exactly those fragile and weak cities within us,

**[00:39:25]** which usually concern our experience,

**[00:39:29]** our thinking.

**[00:39:31]** So this whole thing wouldn't exist without this.

**[00:39:35]** I was doing some research now

**[00:39:37]** and I found an article from 2016,

**[00:39:39]** where it was written that chemtrails are supposedly solved.

**[00:39:44]** That we actually debunked it

**[00:39:47]** and no one bothers anyone anymore.

**[00:39:49]** This is an article from last year,

**[00:39:51]** which actually says that

**[00:39:53]** this is not a small matter

**[00:39:55]** and we must pay attention to it.

**[00:39:57]** This is the Earth view.

**[00:40:00]** What we see there are not information, what we see there are emotions.

**[00:40:04]** So on one hand, it's really like no one pays attention to it,

**[00:40:08]** on the other hand, if you read the description, these are really nasty chemicals falling on us.

**[00:40:15]** And what I work with as a designer is really that we assume

**[00:40:19]** often when we have to solve it, how people think

**[00:40:22]** and to some extent that's true, but on the other hand,

**[00:40:26]** we almost have to focus on how people experience things.

**[00:40:29]** Because what we usually have a conflict about is not that he thinks something different.

**[00:40:32]** What frustrates us is that he feels something different than we do.

**[00:40:36]** Why is he angry at someone I like?

**[00:40:39]** Why don't we have salt and are emotional beings, meaning what we first feel,

**[00:40:43]** we rationalize by thinking he's actually a fool and doesn't understand it.

**[00:40:46]** But what frustrates us a lot is that they actually experience something different than we do.

**[00:40:51]** These are the basic emotions from which

**[00:40:56]** our psyche unfolds or is somehow defined.

**[00:41:03]** how our psyche is composed.

**[00:41:07]** When I talk about disinformation, it primarily targets anger and disgust,

**[00:41:13]** which actually activates what we need and ultimately hurts us the most.

**[00:41:20]** It counts on the fact that joy is a way

**[00:41:24]** to access our resources.

**[00:41:26]** You usually don't see disinformation focusing on joy.

**[00:41:32]** Or if there is some joy, it is linked to something else.

**[00:41:34]** This succeeded because we managed this tightening.

**[00:41:38]** But what primarily stops our psyche and the psyche of our loved ones,

**[00:41:44]** are the negative emotions that appear.

**[00:41:47]** And when we talk about why we focus so much on emotions,

**[00:41:49]** if we could talk about other possible things,

**[00:41:53]** I like this English phrase that emotions really drive us primarily.

**[00:41:58]** That is their role. Feelings, emotions.

**[00:42:00]** If we don't feel good, we want to fix it; if we feel good, we stay in it, and so on.

**[00:42:05]** So our actions are often defined by how we feel.

**[00:42:12]** Then comes something like thinking and so on.

**[00:42:16]** So here we get to what

**[00:42:19]** my current project I'm preparing is about.

**[00:42:23]** It's about the fact that I said to myself,

**[00:42:29]** what I would like to bring into the information space

**[00:42:33]** are positive things in various forms.

**[00:42:36]** We'll get to that in a moment.

**[00:42:39]** We can simply say that we will talk about things like happiness and so on.

**[00:42:43]** But there is a layer of emotions that are positive, negative, and there are many of them.

**[00:42:48]** What we can talk about are positive things, a positive perspective,

**[00:42:52]** and how we can package all those things.

**[00:42:54]** We actually have many types of emotions that can be positive.

**[00:42:59]** From a smile, through teasing, to craziness,

**[00:43:04]** through the feeling of victory,

**[00:43:06]** through bursting with joy,

**[00:43:09]** any way you can.

**[00:43:10]** We have a huge number of words in the language that describe emotional states.

**[00:43:14]** And these are all possibilities that, from my point of view, we can use later,

**[00:43:19]** as a counterbalance to emotions that often occur.

**[00:43:23]** And some of these emotions are really very strong and devastating.

**[00:43:28]** So just to add, from my perspective, what we discussed,

**[00:43:33]** for me it's design and composition, mainly emotions, which we somehow grasp

**[00:43:37]** through visual or content elements.

**[00:43:41]** And I actually pointed this out in previous projects,

**[00:43:45]** that usually, we might think we are truly rational beings,

**[00:43:48]** but we usually choose that toothpaste

**[00:43:51]** not because we analyzed all the ingredients.

**[00:43:54]** Often, when we go to the store, we already know what we want to take

**[00:43:58]** without considering all the toothpaste options,

**[00:44:03]** because we saw some positive emotions.

**[00:44:06]** Positive emotions work very well,

**[00:44:10]** when they are well presented,

**[00:44:12]** but negative ones, in the form they come in,

**[00:44:17]** can be much more intense and devastating.

**[00:44:20]** So this is about positive emotions, because I believe

**[00:44:22]** that positive emotions could work.

**[00:44:25]** And this is my concept,

**[00:44:28]** which I am currently developing,

**[00:44:31]** where I invite creatives and so on,

**[00:44:35]** that we can work with some supportive information hub

**[00:44:39]** and that the information could bring some healing.

**[00:44:45]** Maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, huh?

**[00:44:47]** So basically, when we imagine an information space,

**[00:44:50]** we can imagine it as an emotional space

**[00:44:51]** in which we all move.

**[00:44:55]** Simply, we turn on social networks in the morning

**[00:44:56]** and pretend we don't, that we can resist, but we can't,

**[00:44:59]** or only a small fraction of people can resist, huh?

**[00:45:02]** And for the rest, it's important to know what space they are entering.

**[00:45:07]** For me, it's really important to look at the information space differently,

**[00:45:10]** not through the information itself, but through what people might experience there.

**[00:45:14]** Let's call this a negative information space,

**[00:45:18]** a very naive illustration, which might be more accurate this way.

**[00:45:20]** But in that space, we usually separate from each other.

**[00:45:25]** That is still part of the game, that we try

**[00:45:28]** to be alone in our anger,

**[00:45:34]** so that we avoid loneliness in the sense of physical life.

**[00:45:38]** Hey? That often people who are caught up in all this,

**[00:45:42]** experience more isolation and less communication.

**[00:45:46]** And my ambition is, no matter how naive it may be,

**[00:45:50]** to create almost a community where we are closer to each other.

**[00:45:54]** The informational space will be different. There is room for anger, there is room for frustration.

**[00:45:57]** Emotions should be diverse.

**[00:46:00]** What I'm saying is that

**[00:46:05]** I would like us to have informational spaces

**[00:46:07]** where we can really say, OK, we have this range

**[00:46:12]** of emotions we can encounter, and it's not just fear, disgust, and so on.

**[00:46:19]** I approach it with the idea that very challenging and complex times await us,

**[00:46:23]** to put it simply, as climate change continues,

**[00:46:29]** we will have to be prepared for many, many things that will affect us,

**[00:46:34]** things will change, and we will have to change our relationships to things.

**[00:46:38]** And I feel it's better to inspire and encourage each other,

**[00:46:44]** and just to try at all.

**[00:46:46]** If you read meteorological forecasts, which of them are positive?

**[00:46:53]** Every other one is about breaking records and how someone among us might burn right on the street.

**[00:46:58]** So the informational input here is already affected by that.

**[00:47:04]** And so, when we get to the street,

**[00:47:07]** it basically doesn't matter whether

**[00:47:10]** it stays on social media, that's fine,

**[00:47:12]** but the moment I find myself in my life and suddenly ask,

**[00:47:16]** how do I feel in this transition?

**[00:47:18]** That I am afraid there,

**[00:47:19]** I am angry that there is that idiot, or that cyclist really annoys me,

**[00:47:23]** or has headphones in his ears,

**[00:47:24]** and that guy, those are the sworn enemies here,

**[00:47:27]** and I immediately fear that car and then someone comes in a luxury car,

**[00:47:31]** and it makes me sick, then there's some idiot,

**[00:47:34]** and those are some immigrants.

**[00:47:36]** And actually,

**[00:47:37]** the information I gathered while browsing, I don't notice.

**[00:47:41]** And actually, I can bring up at any time,

**[00:47:44]** any situation,

**[00:47:45]** where I don't connect it to the article that was about, about, about,

**[00:47:49]** something content-related,

**[00:47:50]** but I connect it with that emotion.

**[00:47:52]** Or they say that people probably don't remember,

**[00:47:54]** what they read, but how they felt while reading it.

**[00:47:57]** And that's exactly what the information device, which is networked

**[00:48:01]** with the situation, brings.

**[00:48:03]** We can say it's disinformation,

**[00:48:06]** we can say it's damaging information, misleading information, it’s almost the same,

**[00:48:08]** but usually it's emotions

**[00:48:10]** that affect our sensitive places.

**[00:48:13]** And maybe, maybe it could be

**[00:48:14]** different,

**[00:48:16]** with the fact that yes,

**[00:48:18]** there is a crosswalk and I’m afraid to step onto it.

**[00:48:23]** The fear remains. Maybe I’m annoyed that the cyclist came in there.

**[00:48:25]** But I tell myself, that car is kind of funny.

**[00:48:28]** Suddenly I see, and those are actually quite nice trees,

**[00:48:30]** and I’m in the shade, etc.

**[00:48:32]** So,

**[00:48:34]** it’s that,

**[00:48:36]** our spending of minutes and hours on social networks,

**[00:48:39]** can bring that we can really see a different world,

**[00:48:41]** which we then subsequently touch.

**[00:48:45]** And we consider that

**[00:48:48]** the fundamental danger, that we see something different.

**[00:48:52]** Without us, however, feeling something different, without us actually knowing

**[00:48:55]** to say why.

**[00:48:58]** Or about the red car we can say, oh my, that’s a terrible design, that’s ridiculous.

**[00:49:03]** But we can also say, oh my, that’s a combustion car that pollutes everything here and we will all die.

**[00:49:06]** So we can really read very negatively

**[00:49:07]** the same scene,

**[00:49:09]** which was not taken with any intention,

**[00:49:13]** just a usual camera.

**[00:49:17]** I made such an origin story for the hub,

**[00:49:20]** that I work on, that I talk about to people.

**[00:49:25]** And one thing is that some measure of empathy enters into what we do, in a place of mutual understanding.

**[00:49:27]** And when there is understanding,

**[00:49:29]** then maybe at least tolerance.

**[00:49:30]** I don’t have to understand everyone.

**[00:49:33]** I don’t have to understand, but I can tolerate it, I know what motivates them,

**[00:49:36]** I don’t know, it doesn’t matter, but I can tolerate them.

**[00:49:38]** So that’s like the first thing I thought about,

**[00:49:39]** how to communicate these things.

**[00:49:42]** into that communication so it’s not manipulative,

**[00:49:44]** so we’re not saying that everyone has to be happy now.

**[00:49:47]** They don’t have to be, I’m just trying in some way, I, as a person entering this,

**[00:49:51]** to perceive others, but also myself,

**[00:49:53]** because it’s not insignificant to know how I feel.

**[00:49:57]** I worked with some nonviolent communication,

**[00:49:59]** it suggests that there would be...

**[00:50:00]** a call for some interesting and respectful dialogue,

**[00:50:04]** because arguing about whether the earth is flat or round,

**[00:50:06]** is not usually a discussion.

**[00:50:08]** Usually it’s a quarrel that looks like a discussion,

**[00:50:10]** or it’s some kind of power struggle,

**[00:50:15]** that appears as a dialogue.

**[00:50:17]** And maybe it’s time to tell people that this is not really dialogue.

**[00:50:22]** So I’m pushing someone to accept my opinion.

**[00:50:25]** And it doesn’t have to lead to success.

**[00:50:28]** And in the end, we want to find some interesting coexistence.

**[00:50:37]** What I would like to bring to this project is,

**[00:50:42]** to inspire people.

**[00:50:44]** So we’re talking about this inspiring,

**[00:50:46]** what I can do and so on.

**[00:50:50]** Instead of telling people what is and isn’t true.

**[00:50:53]** Instead of saying, okay, try this method,

**[00:50:56]** try this thing, experience this, experience something positive.

**[00:50:59]** So it’s like a thing that appears there.

**[00:51:03]** And the whole idea is to strengthen each other.

**[00:51:08]** To a large extent, strengthening our weak points.

**[00:51:13]** We will always be vulnerable.

**[00:51:15]** If I have experienced some events in the past,

**[00:51:19]** that still resonate with me as negative experiences,

**[00:51:23]** then that is my weak spot that someone always catches me on.

**[00:51:26]** I might feel that I didn’t take good care of my children,

**[00:51:29]** so if someone reminded me of that, it would be there.

**[00:51:31]** I might feel that I failed in some relationship

**[00:51:34]** with parents, partner, it doesn’t matter.

**[00:51:38]** And simply, when it comes up, it hits me

**[00:51:41]** regardless of the exact content

**[00:51:45]** of that particular message.

**[00:51:47]** So I’m thinking about communication

**[00:51:51]** that will inspire people to strengthen and protect themselves.

**[00:51:55]** These are the quotes we received,

**[00:52:01]** when we talk about the things my project has, so to speak.

**[00:52:05]** These are some positive emotions,

**[00:52:11]** from my perspective. There is some pride,

**[00:52:14]** the person felt relief that they could do something.

**[00:52:20]** And these are some of the few messages,

**[00:52:25]** we get for our weapon collections.

**[00:52:29]** So usually we don't get aggressive messages.

**[00:52:34]** Often we get similar messages,

**[00:52:38]** about being glad we can help.

**[00:52:41]** Usually it's about being glad we can help,

**[00:52:45]** whether it's any kind of help, at least symbolic.

**[00:52:48]** So some critics tell us,

**[00:52:51]** that we are basically making a platform for the convinced.

**[00:52:54]** But I think even the convinced need their platforms.

**[00:52:57]** So this is one of the things we focus on.

**[00:53:01]** And this is what we want to launch in the fall.

**[00:53:05]** This is a project that actually wants to help people

**[00:53:11]** on how to talk with people you don't understand.

**[00:53:15]** How to do it so you might understand each other.

**[00:53:18]** Or at least know how to tolerate each other.

**[00:53:21]** So this project will have very little about thinking

**[00:53:26]** and very little about emotions.

**[00:53:28]** Like how to approach people who are really a tough nut for you,

**[00:53:31]** talk with them, and so on.

**[00:53:35]** I believe it will be positive, maybe not that much.

**[00:53:39]** More like becoming friendly.

**[00:53:42]** So maybe we won't be laughing out loud,

**[00:53:45]** but maybe we'll just learn to accept each other.

**[00:53:50]** That's all.

**[00:53:52]** Thank you.

**[00:54:04]** So.

**[00:54:06]** Thanks for the talk.

**[00:54:09]** I'm always surprised,

**[00:54:12]** how quickly you run through these projects.

**[00:54:15]** I'm making a gift for Putin here, doing this here,

**[00:54:18]** doing that here, doing this here, doing that here.

**[00:54:21]** Try to say a bit more about these things.

**[00:54:26]** We were looking at how much was actually raised

**[00:54:29]** for the gift for Putin.

**[00:54:31]** Does anyone roughly know what it is?

**[00:54:33]** Can you imagine the amount?

**[00:54:35]** How much was raised for this initiative?

**[00:54:38]** Just try to guess.

**[00:54:40]** Does anyone know?

**[00:54:45]** See, people don't know.

**[00:54:47]** Good.

**[00:54:49]** Go ahead, try.

**[00:54:51]** Over 800 million Czech crowns were raised.

**[00:54:54]** To help the army.

**[00:54:56]** The collection is primarily for buying weapons

**[00:54:59]** and equipment for medics,

**[00:55:01]** that's a humanitarian collection.

**[00:55:03]** So we consider it a success.

**[00:55:05]** Undoubtedly.

**[00:55:06]** In Slovakia, we actually raised 4 million euros

**[00:55:09]** for a similar initiative,

**[00:55:11]** which is a record among civic collections.

**[00:55:14]** That collection would rank

**[00:55:16]** among the top 50 most successful civic collections worldwide.

**[00:55:20]** Considering the time it was raised,

**[00:55:22]** and that it was for one specific product,

**[00:55:25]** for us, it's like,

**[00:55:27]** we had big concerns about launching it,

**[00:55:29]** whether it would resonate,

**[00:55:32]** but in the end, we were surprised by the positive response.

**[00:55:36]** And hey, we are among the biggest collections in Europe,

**[00:55:41]** at least in Europe for sure.

**[00:55:44]** I don't know, I haven't checked.

**[00:55:47]** But we are among the big collections,

**[00:55:50]** really ones talked about worldwide.

**[00:55:53]** And I'm glad we're authentic,

**[00:55:56]** we don't pretend to be humanitarian when we're not.

**[00:56:00]** And I'm happy we can help those people directly on the front lines.

**[00:56:05]** Well, you were also in Japan...

**[00:56:08]** Yes, Japanese TV was here with us.

**[00:56:11]** We made a Japanese version of our merch.

**[00:56:14]** So that's my favorite,

**[00:56:16]** to do design in Japanese.

**[00:56:18]** We found someone,

**[00:56:20]** who know Japanese so well,

**[00:56:22]** that they could translate it for us.

**[00:56:25]** This fundraiser brings a lot of experiences at once.

**[00:56:29]** I feel like actually...

**[00:56:32]** And I don't know if it was a direct connection or something,

**[00:56:35]** but in my opinion, you just showed

**[00:56:37]** and kind of sparked

**[00:56:39]** what later happened with the Czech government and the fundraiser.

**[00:56:42]** And this, as I perceive it, we actually...

**[00:56:45]** You are kind of the initiators of these things,

**[00:56:48]** because it really is something incredible.

**[00:56:51]** I can't judge if we inspired the Minister of Defense to do that,

**[00:56:55]** but it's undeniable that the state,

**[00:56:57]** like the Czech Republic, often uses

**[00:57:01]** component strategic communications.

**[00:57:04]** Is our fundraiser some kind of anchor for the Czech Republic

**[00:57:07]** within some Western...

**[00:57:09]** Various things have been achieved.

**[00:57:11]** At the start of the fundraiser...

**[00:57:14]** That was sometime in summer 2022.

**[00:57:16]** We raised money for a tank,

**[00:57:18]** which was probably the biggest fundraiser at the time.

**[00:57:21]** That was about 30 million Czech crowns.

**[00:57:25]** Then people from the Pentagon reached out,

**[00:57:28]** saying they saw the fundraiser in the media,

**[00:57:32]** that Ukrainians want tanks of this Russian type,

**[00:57:35]** but they don't have them.

**[00:57:37]** And thanks to that, they provided another 90 tanks

**[00:57:40]** from the US, explicitly initiated by the fundraiser.

**[00:57:43]** So things like this happen.

**[00:57:45]** And we found out, of course,

**[00:57:47]** that when you buy a tank, you buy it VAT-free,

**[00:57:49]** so we had 5 million left over.

**[00:57:51]** But many of the projects

**[00:57:53]** I sometimes do with the team,

**[00:57:55]** I don't know exactly,

**[00:57:57]** we don't go completely safe in those projects,

**[00:58:00]** so sometimes it surprises you,

**[00:58:02]** and you learn a lot.

**[00:58:04]** And the project with Dezinfom is actually now.

**[00:58:07]** He employed quite a lot and learned a lot.

**[00:58:12]** I also learn a lot from you,

**[00:58:14]** that actually, when we have discussions with people

**[00:58:19]** about how things should be,

**[00:58:21]** and critical thinking and all that,

**[00:58:23]** it often turns out

**[00:58:26]** that the state has failed here and so on.

**[00:58:31]** And they say, go look there and we should have this,

**[00:58:33]** and we should have that.

**[00:58:34]** And I always like how you sit,

**[00:58:36]** kind of quietly.

**[00:58:38]** And you either store it all somehow

**[00:58:40]** or write it down somewhere, and then you come

**[00:58:42]** with a gem and say,

**[00:58:44]** but what if we did it like this.

**[00:58:45]** And everyone looks at me like...

**[00:58:48]** Don't listen to him.

**[00:58:51]** That's a bit too much, isn't it?

**[00:58:53]** I also feel...

**[00:58:55]** Awkward.

**[00:58:58]** We were like complaining.

**[00:59:00]** We were complaining that

**[00:59:02]** the government does nothing,

**[00:59:04]** the government does nothing.

**[00:59:06]** And then we said, okay,

**[00:59:07]** so we'll get our hands dirty.

**[00:59:09]** So actually, I'm getting my hands dirty,

**[00:59:11]** the last hands.

**[00:59:13]** Maybe we'll take an offer

**[00:59:14]** that's being rejected.

**[00:59:17]** And maybe become a state employee.

**[00:59:19]** But we'll leave that for a moment,

**[00:59:21]** but yeah.

**[00:59:23]** But hey, we said,

**[00:59:25]** we'll be the ones who get their hands dirty

**[00:59:26]** and try it, even if it doesn't work out.

**[00:59:29]** And for me, the path worked out

**[00:59:31]** that actually many great projects

**[00:59:33]** in Czechia and Slovakia

**[00:59:36]** I feel sorry that they often have limited reach

**[00:59:38]** for various reasons.

**[00:59:40]** And we were looking for a project,

**[00:59:42]** that would actually bring

**[00:59:44]** some additional aspect

**[00:59:46]** to that portfolio,

**[00:59:48]** of things that are,

**[00:59:50]** so that others could continue their work.

**[00:59:52]** And we brought something,

**[00:59:54]** that will complement it.

**[00:59:56]** So that's why now

**[00:59:58]** actually Míkeša

**[01:00:00]** is coming to it.

**[01:00:00]** we are working with him and he will also be a VR communication trainer.

**[01:00:03]** Something like that, it will be a pilot project. We'll mostly see,

**[01:00:06]** how it will develop further. We won't present the pilot to you,

**[01:00:10]** it will be ready, but I always have ambitions and ambitions beyond that.

**[01:00:15]** So we want people to be aware that you can actually defend yourself by that,

**[01:00:19]** that you will perceive it as you feel.

**[01:00:23]** So I'll move on to your questions now.

**[01:00:25]** Definitely, if you want to ask something, write it through the slide.

**[01:00:30]** Have you read all the books for which you designed covers?

**[01:00:34]** Is it necessary to read the book before making the cover?

**[01:00:38]** That's the question Michal is asking.

**[01:00:40]** Hey, Michal.

**[01:00:42]** It's actually part of the designer's job,

**[01:00:45]** that even with other projects, I'm not an expert in environmentalism,

**[01:00:52]** but I found out how the rainforest works. That was necessary.

**[01:00:56]** I'm not an expert in change management

**[01:00:59]** and I haven't read all the works related to change management

**[01:01:04]** and midlife crisis.

**[01:01:07]** And regarding those books, I haven't read any.

**[01:01:11]** I've really done 600 books,

**[01:01:14]** and I've read only a handful of those books because I don't need to read them.

**[01:01:19]** Because I read them at the beginning and thought it was a mistake,

**[01:01:23]** because I had little opinion about the book and it wasn't necessary.

**[01:01:29]** I collaborate with people in publishing and I need to hear their opinion about the book,

**[01:01:33]** because I work on the brief they give me.

**[01:01:35]** And if I had to publish the book myself, it would be up to me.

**[01:01:37]** Over time, I learned with books that we actually look for the story, the essence, and so on,

**[01:01:44]** but I don't have to be the one who consumes the story as well.

**[01:01:49]** I'll skip right ahead, Martina is asking.

**[01:01:53]** How often do you choose your own topics based on your emotions,

**[01:01:57]** and how much are you influenced by the client when working on projects?

**[01:02:01]** How do you assign such types of projects?

**[01:02:05]** Well, emotions are one thing, but there are other factors like mistakes,

**[01:02:10]** and I don't know, there are a lot of input factors.

**[01:02:13]** When you get the brief, then you do the design and it basically goes,

**[01:02:16]** for example, if you made a mistake, it shows in the design,

**[01:02:18]** or if they liked it, so I think it's very varied.

**[01:02:25]** I really like design and working with people, so I've had many different projects.

**[01:02:29]** I like variety, sometimes I dive into things I haven't done before.

**[01:02:35]** It's very much about you when you do design, because no one knows how it will look.

**[01:02:39]** Usually I don't talk to clients who tell me, 'Here are three images,'

**[01:02:44]** and I need to arrange them on the cover; I almost never say that.

**[01:02:47]** So usually it's my idea, my experience, and so on.

**[01:02:55]** So sometimes I give myself my own brief, usually.

**[01:02:57]** When I made covers, I made my own brief, like I said,

**[01:02:59]** this cover will be blue and red.

**[01:03:02]** I made the brief for myself because the client doesn't know the options I know.

**[01:03:06]** So it's very much about the author.

**[01:03:09]** Silva asks, what's your background, what did you study, and who inspires you?

**[01:03:15]** I studied graphic design at Vršev,

**[01:03:20]** so I do what I studied, which is kind of funny.

**[01:03:25]** In high school, I studied printing technology,

**[01:03:31]** and that's when I decided to study graphic design.

**[01:03:35]** But I actually started working in my first year at school.

**[01:03:38]** I started doing pre-marketing and such, or in the second year.

**[01:03:41]** So from the second year, I was already working full-time,

**[01:03:45]** and at the same time, I was attending school.

**[01:03:48]** Lukáš Hána asks, and he will be part of our Digestiv,

**[01:03:52]** which is good because Lukáš is an expert in critical thinking.

**[01:03:55]** Okay, I'm looking forward to it.

**[01:03:56]** And the question is, where can you find more projects involving communication with people

**[01:04:01]** who have different opinions?

**[01:04:04]** There are various strategies and techniques, we can send some,

**[01:04:07]** but we can also talk about it.

**[01:04:09]** So far, I am basically the source in the current situation.

**[01:04:17]** And I have it kind of worked out, we can discuss it.

**[01:04:20]** I think there...

**[01:04:23]** About Míkaš.

**[01:04:27]** No, I'm the source, sorry.

**[01:04:30]** Hey, still me? Okay, I got it, so how did you say it?

**[01:04:35]** We have something on the website,

**[01:04:37]** but if I wanted to know more, honestly, so far I only have a teaser.

**[01:04:40]** So it's not really visible yet,

**[01:04:43]** because we're modeling it continuously.

**[01:04:48]** And we're looking for people who will get involved and maybe support it financially.

**[01:04:55]** Definitely, financially right away.

**[01:05:00]** Jana is asking, and it's a question I kind of expected

**[01:05:04]** in connection with today's breakfast.

**[01:05:07]** How can I convince someone who sees disinformation as truth

**[01:05:10]** that it's fake, when logical arguments don't work?

**[01:05:12]** You talked about this, and there's also a breakfast with Martin on it.

**[01:05:19]** We kind of started addressing this problem, but we often got the question we discussed there.

**[01:05:20]** What is probably the first thing

**[01:05:28]** when trying to talk to someone is,

**[01:05:30]** that

**[01:05:33]** you have to try to establish communication with them.

**[01:05:35]** Or not even communication, like...

**[01:05:38]** I don't want it to be too long, so I'll look for a short version.

**[01:05:44]** You can take your time, no problem.

**[01:05:46]** Well, the point is that you need to somehow connect with that person,

**[01:05:49]** so you can start talking together, so you start perceiving each other.

**[01:05:54]** So usually a good way is not to start educating that person.

**[01:05:56]** At all.

**[01:05:58]** You're not trying to convince them, because they actually don't carry that much importance.

**[01:06:00]** Usually, people who believe in flat earth,

**[01:06:01]** or believe in chemtrails,

**[01:06:04]** their motivation, just like ours,

**[01:06:08]** lies in having some value system, some emotions.

**[01:06:12]** And behind that can really be something that makes a lot of sense to them,

**[01:06:14]** because behind it all stands fear.

**[01:06:17]** That they are being controlled now, that some conspiracy controls us all.

**[01:06:22]** And the first step is to kind of give that person access,

**[01:06:26]** so they can tell you, so someone listens to them, hears them out.

**[01:06:29]** It can be unpleasant, the person might swear,

**[01:06:34]** it can take a long time, these aren't five-minute conversations.

**[01:06:48]** And it's probably important not to have the ambition to win the argument.

**[01:06:54]** For example, that person might realize,

**[01:06:58]** that the Earth could potentially be round,

**[01:07:01]** but that doesn't have to end the conversation.

**[01:07:03]** It can happen later, when you continue communicating,

**[01:07:07]** because you still have the option to communicate.

**[01:07:10]** So the person can come to that conclusion,

**[01:07:12]** because for me it's important to realize,

**[01:07:14]** that even I believe in all sorts of nonsense.

**[01:07:19]** People believe that if they have garlic in the morning,

**[01:07:22]** it's a great prevention against, I don't know, everything.

**[01:07:26]** Or that if they eat a cake, they won't gain weight from it.

**[01:07:29]** There are things we can believe in.

**[01:07:31]** There are plenty of things I believe in

**[01:07:37]** and they belong to my world.

**[01:07:39]** And now, whether we argue with someone about Apple or Android,

**[01:07:43]** I have Android, I had Apple, I was disappointed, I don't want it anymore.

**[01:07:47]** We can argue with people about which is better, Apple or Android.

**[01:07:52]** We have many worlds where we can meet.

**[01:07:55]** And it doesn't have to be just where we come from, but the point is,

**[01:07:58]** that communication allows us to even change our minds, so to speak.

**[01:08:01]** When we meet a lot,

**[01:08:03]** the worst thing is to lose contact.

**[01:08:07]** That is the purpose, so that we don't lose contact.

**[01:08:11]** Maybe I'll digress a bit now.

**[01:08:14]** I just think that

**[01:08:16]** when I talked with industrial designers, like Martin Farušek and others who really have awards,

**[01:08:22]** then

**[01:08:24]** the most important quality is probably to study it yourself.

**[01:08:28]** That means listening to people and paying attention to what

**[01:08:32]** the designed product or this thing is supposed to do.

**[01:08:35]** I feel that

**[01:08:36]** you have this very strongly within you in some way.

**[01:08:39]** How would I say, it's unusually present, because most

**[01:08:42]** people aren't used to listening to themselves as much as you, I think.

**[01:08:48]** And then to transform it into something that works.

**[01:08:52]** There will be some kind of occupational disease, I agree.

**[01:08:57]** And I think sometimes it's not easy to learn certain things. I have it naturally to some extent.

**[01:09:04]** That I somehow know how to doubt my own opinions.

**[01:09:10]** Now I turned on a video of an unnamed guru.

**[01:09:17]** So I turned it on, it was a two-hour discussion with him.

**[01:09:21]** I turned on the first hour and every five minutes I said

**[01:09:26]** I kept playing it further and again.

**[01:09:29]** And he was dropping bombs about how the world works and

**[01:09:32]** what happened to the dinosaurs, I won't name him,

**[01:09:35]** but he's a very popular Czech actor.

**[01:09:38]** And it lasted an hour and I told myself, okay, he's just a preacher.

**[01:09:45]** So it took me an hour to tune into him and say,

**[01:09:48]** okay, none of this makes sense to me, it doesn't work, but now I understand him, okay.

**[01:09:55]** And then I could turn it off, which I rewarded myself for.

**[01:09:58]** So that's it, I think...

**[01:10:00]** I think the situation in the information space is so tense and complicated.

**[01:10:06]** That's why I took so long to answer this.

**[01:10:08]** I think it makes sense to learn these things.

**[01:10:10]** It only enriches us when we learn to listen to people.

**[01:10:13]** If this is a tool, then great.

**[01:10:15]** Not the only one.

**[01:10:17]** You surprised me with a few things last time too.

**[01:10:22]** And that's when we were actually talking.

**[01:10:24]** So imagine you have one line

**[01:10:27]** and now you stitch together how to do it from society.

**[01:10:30]** And this, this and gifts for awakening.

**[01:10:32]** And it's actually one thing.

**[01:10:34]** And then suddenly Dodo comes along.

**[01:10:36]** Well, now I'm doing a project on growing tomatoes.

**[01:10:39]** So how do you mentally get from this project

**[01:10:45]** to some book you make about growing tomatoes?

**[01:10:48]** Hey, I did a kind of lab.

**[01:10:51]** These are certain herbariums.

**[01:10:53]** I wanted to make the first material.

**[01:10:55]** And I asked a friend,

**[01:10:57]** because I wanted to test it.

**[01:10:59]** And I said I want to make some plant book.

**[01:11:02]** And I asked what it could be.

**[01:11:05]** And they said they like tomatoes.

**[01:11:07]** So I said, OK, tomatoes then.

**[01:11:09]** And I started reading about tomatoes.

**[01:11:11]** And yeah, I actually have a finished book,

**[01:11:14]** an interactive one for kids about tomatoes.

**[01:11:16]** But I have this need

**[01:11:18]** Doing different things at the same time inspires me.

**[01:11:21]** I just do this, then I do other things.

**[01:11:23]** And actually, as I do it, the things converge

**[01:11:27]** into one idea.

**[01:11:29]** That the book about tomatoes will teach me something,

**[01:11:32]** which we might never use anywhere else.

**[01:11:35]** Well.

**[01:11:36]** And you said it opens different doors for you.

**[01:11:39]** I think we also checked out.

**[01:11:42]** And then you posted that photo with the Ukrainian president.

**[01:11:46]** Then we were at Equilibrium together,

**[01:11:48]** and you showed me the SMS you received.

**[01:11:51]** You said, look what just came to me.

**[01:11:54]** And a few days later you were in Frak, you know,

**[01:11:57]** with Čaputová and Petr Pavel.

**[01:11:59]** That really seems interesting to me.

**[01:12:02]** No, there are also times.

**[01:12:06]** Those were great insights.

**[01:12:08]** President Čaputová has a big influence,

**[01:12:10]** because without her interaction,

**[01:12:12]** I wouldn't be in Ukraine.

**[01:12:14]** And without all the donors

**[01:12:16]** who contributed to the fundraiser.

**[01:12:18]** I was managing two fundraisers at once,

**[01:12:20]** the Czech and the Slovak one,

**[01:12:22]** so that's why I had the chance to be there.

**[01:12:24]** If it weren't for the donors, I wouldn't go.

**[01:12:26]** It wouldn't be interesting.

**[01:12:29]** I asked myself why they actually took me there,

**[01:12:32]** since we were already in Ukraine.

**[01:12:34]** And they told me they carry their conscience.

**[01:12:37]** So I was just a carrier.

**[01:12:40]** There are also times like that.

**[01:12:44]** I have already handed over medvinds,

**[01:12:46]** but I haven't told you about that yet.

**[01:12:48]** Things like that.

**[01:12:50]** Back to your questions.

**[01:12:52]** Sorry for jumping around sometimes,

**[01:12:54]** but I find it interesting.

**[01:12:56]** Did the campaign for Poloniny help?

**[01:12:58]** development of tourist facilities in the region?

**[01:13:00]** Has anything changed?

**[01:13:02]** An anonymous person asks, but...

**[01:13:10]** At least one thing has changed,

**[01:13:12]** the team there is growing.

**[01:13:14]** The team actually has tools,

**[01:13:17]** like they can work with the community.

**[01:13:19]** I think it's now the fourth year,

**[01:13:21]** or fifth, I don't remember exactly.

**[01:13:23]** There have been various projects.

**[01:13:25]** Now they even have bike rentals,

**[01:13:28]** and souvenir exchanges,

**[01:13:30]** to which local community members contribute.

**[01:13:33]** The principle of the local tourist is

**[01:13:35]** that you fit in with the locals.

**[01:13:37]** Last year there was also

**[01:13:39]** education for people.

**[01:13:42]** It was a nice community thing.

**[01:13:44]** I didn't participate,

**[01:13:46]** I just helped with the ideation.

**[01:13:48]** I'm not sure if it actually happened,

**[01:13:50]** but there was education

**[01:13:52]** for the city people, explaining to them

**[01:13:54]** that the old place is fine

**[01:13:56]** and they don't have to buy new tourist furniture from Poland.

**[01:13:58]** And they want to invite people into their homes.

**[01:14:00]** So there's a big cultural input,

**[01:14:02]** they have to teach these people.

**[01:14:04]** For them, Bratislava is as far as Paris.

**[01:14:06]** And Košice is, well,

**[01:14:09]** a bit closer.

**[01:14:11]** Yeah, because they simply don't need to go there.

**[01:14:13]** And they've never been to Italy,

**[01:14:15]** they don't know what Italy looks like,

**[01:14:17]** that they have old furniture there

**[01:14:19]** and everyone goes there because of the old furniture.

**[01:14:21]** They have this idea

**[01:14:23]** that if something comes up, they need something new,

**[01:14:25]** they probably need to insulate the house.

**[01:14:29]** and maybe put some tiles there.

**[01:14:31]** So it's like an entry into that space

**[01:14:33]** where you, as you are, have value,

**[01:14:35]** people come to you because you have value,

**[01:14:37]** you simply have a space you live in,

**[01:14:39]** which is interesting.

**[01:14:41]** So the project is ongoing,

**[01:14:43]** developing,

**[01:14:45]** with the possibilities it has

**[01:14:47]** and people get involved in different ways.

**[01:14:49]** There were people who made some products,

**[01:14:51]** then stopped, etc.

**[01:14:53]** It's not a linear growth.

**[01:14:55]** They're just searching.

**[01:14:57]** But they are searching.

**[01:14:59]** Petr asks

**[01:15:01]** people, including you,

**[01:15:03]** do you often use

**[01:15:05]** emoji, icons?

**[01:15:07]** Are we still able

**[01:15:09]** to use them precisely, or rather be sure

**[01:15:11]** that we will be correctly understood?

**[01:15:13]** I use them very delicately.

**[01:15:17]** I often use emoji.

**[01:15:19]** Hey, really, my texts are flooded

**[01:15:21]** with various ones, like now I'm thinking

**[01:15:23]** and now I'm actually a bit disappointed too.

**[01:15:25]** And so, yeah, I can't help it

**[01:15:27]** even in professional communication,

**[01:15:29]** so I have to put a smiley.

**[01:15:31]** But I don't know, like I say, sure, I joke inside,

**[01:15:33]** that I use them super well.

**[01:15:35]** But I think

**[01:15:37]** I quite like them.

**[01:15:39]** So you recommend

**[01:15:41]** using them?

**[01:15:43]** I can't say, I don't think everyone is thrilled

**[01:15:45]** when I send some emoji.

**[01:15:47]** But here, Nikol asks,

**[01:15:49]** and I really like that question, thank you, Nikol.

**[01:15:51]** What would you

**[01:15:53]** recommend to young designers in the era

**[01:15:55]** of accessible AI design tools

**[01:15:57]** for non-designers?

**[01:16:01]** And generally, talks about young designers

**[01:16:03]** and how they would, and what they would, and so on?

**[01:16:07]** I taught at a school for a while,

**[01:16:09]** and I think

**[01:16:11]** I probably advised those young designers,

**[01:16:13]** well.

**[01:16:15]** I also see a trend that

**[01:16:17]** I enjoy, which is

**[01:16:19]** that I use,

**[01:16:21]** to a large extent, fewer Adobe products,

**[01:16:23]** actually they bought Figma.

**[01:16:25]** So I used Figma,

**[01:16:27]** and we work a lot in a way

**[01:16:29]** where I actually share my work during the process.

**[01:16:31]** I think it's

**[01:16:33]** a much more interesting process.

**[01:16:35]** So it's not like I save something up,

**[01:16:37]** etc. That's my discovery

**[01:16:39]** in recent years, when I

**[01:16:41]** realized that sharing my work during

**[01:16:43]** the process leads to

**[01:16:45]** better results. You can't make excuses

**[01:16:47]** like I worked on it for three days, because people know you didn't work on it.

**[01:16:49]** They see it.

**[01:16:51]** And AI, like I use

**[01:16:53]** Midjourney a lot. It's

**[01:16:55]** very practical for me

**[01:16:57]** in that

**[01:16:59]** when I need

**[01:17:01]** to design something,

**[01:17:03]** sometimes I sketch the idea

**[01:17:05]** somehow through Midjourney.

**[01:17:07]** That could be there. I observe if it makes sense to me,

**[01:17:09]** what I came up with. I have it

**[01:17:15]** like feedback in five minutes,

**[01:17:17]** or in three. And then sometimes, when I need

**[01:17:19]** to do something quick for him, it's faster,

**[01:17:21]** like being on stock photo sites, for me.

**[01:17:23]** Having a good prompt means we write the prompt

**[01:17:25]** and then I focus on the details.

**[01:17:27]** Now I need some image from a stock photo site, it takes

**[01:17:29]** just much longer,

**[01:17:31]** like to prompt something.

**[01:17:33]** And then,

**[01:17:35]** I also often use

**[01:17:37]** perplexity with other products. Perplexity for

**[01:17:39]** solving things and so on.

**[01:17:41]** I use perplexity often

**[01:17:43]** and I feel it works well.

**[01:17:45]** Now I'll try

**[01:17:47]** to think it over a bit and go

**[01:17:49]** somewhere else, because you do a lot

**[01:17:51]** of projects here with us.

**[01:17:53]** Try, actually, and we've talked about it

**[01:17:55]** a few times, about how it actually

**[01:17:57]** works here, also in terms of some donors

**[01:17:59]** and that support.

**[01:18:01]** How would you compare the Czech

**[01:18:03]** and Slovak situation, and maybe how it is there

**[01:18:05]** now?

**[01:18:07]** Tell us something about it.

**[01:18:09]** Hey, I've also been split

**[01:18:11]** in recent years,

**[01:18:13]** probably the last five years,

**[01:18:15]** which involved Slovakia, I live in Slovakia,

**[01:18:17]** but actually simultaneously

**[01:18:19]** I do projects in both countries

**[01:18:21]** and

**[01:18:23]** it's different, the society is different.

**[01:18:25]** Czechs laugh at different things,

**[01:18:27]** they have different interests.

**[01:18:29]** In the Czech Republic, I see much greater

**[01:18:31]** engagement of people,

**[01:18:33]** than in Slovakia,

**[01:18:35]** with the fact that

**[01:18:37]** different actors are engaged.

**[01:18:39]** So actors who

**[01:18:41]** disrupt society are more active

**[01:18:43]** like in Slovakia.

**[01:18:45]** Overall, in the Czech Republic there is more activity,

**[01:18:47]** the civic society is, I feel,

**[01:18:49]** a bit more mature,

**[01:18:51]** that many things are like one

**[01:18:53]** to three, one to four, Czechia

**[01:18:55]** and Slovakia, that when there is a project here,

**[01:18:57]** when there is a project in Slovakia,

**[01:18:59]** there are usually

**[01:19:01]** many more people involved in Czechia,

**[01:19:03]** but it's not just double,

**[01:19:05]** sometimes it's even four times as many people

**[01:19:07]** devoting themselves to a certain problem.

**[01:19:09]** So the support for some

**[01:19:11]** new things is greater here.

**[01:19:13]** And I also see it in the

**[01:19:15]** donor area, that there is a higher

**[01:19:17]** number of people who

**[01:19:19]** support

**[01:19:21]** and

**[01:19:25]** various activities,

**[01:19:27]** related to culture, it doesn't have to be

**[01:19:29]** just some

**[01:19:31]** other social matters. So

**[01:19:33]** there is a difference. In Czechia I see

**[01:19:35]** a kind of more mature

**[01:19:37]** civic society.

**[01:19:39]** I feel it is proper to say that

**[01:19:41]** Daryk Proputěn was initiated by Dalibor Dědek

**[01:19:43]** from Jablotron.

**[01:19:45]** Dalibor Dědek actually gave

**[01:19:47]** the initial impulse,

**[01:19:49]** why we actually started doing it.

**[01:19:51]** He gave a fairly large

**[01:19:53]** financial donation in the first days of the war

**[01:19:55]** and organized,

**[01:19:57]** At that time, about a billion crowns were collected

**[01:19:59]** from the big

**[01:20:01]** financial donations.

**[01:20:00]** from major donors,

**[01:20:02]** but actually after about a month

**[01:20:04]** he saw that actually

**[01:20:06]** the conclusion was declining. That was sometime

**[01:20:08]** in May, but it was April.

**[01:20:10]** It was April, and actually

**[01:20:12]** so

**[01:20:14]** he was asking who could possibly do it.

**[01:20:16]** That's basically how I got involved.

**[01:20:18]** And we actually

**[01:20:20]** started talking marketing in May and then in 1922

**[01:20:22]** on behalf of the Ukrainian embassy,

**[01:20:24]** which he initially contributed to.

**[01:20:26]** So we basically,

**[01:20:28]** Dalibor was talking

**[01:20:30]** about how he was still waiting,

**[01:20:32]** for this to start

**[01:20:34]** and then, when no one did, he said,

**[01:20:36]** he had to start, even though he wasn't exactly the type,

**[01:20:38]** so basically, yes, he was the first

**[01:20:40]** who also financed some

**[01:20:42]** technical things in the first year.

**[01:20:44]** Now we are financially

**[01:20:46]** independent. We rely

**[01:20:48]** on ourselves here. Are you looking

**[01:20:50]** for a designer for the team?

**[01:20:52]** Still.

**[01:20:54]** Too bad it was anonymous.

**[01:20:56]** Then we could have connected it here already.

**[01:20:58]** Zemi, Gulata and Emojis.

**[01:21:00]** Thank you.

**[01:21:02]** What is the VAT on a tank? 12 or 21%?

**[01:21:04]** Well, for Ukraine none,

**[01:21:06]** for example. But I think it's around 20,

**[01:21:08]** 5 million on the bridge, about 20, yes.

**[01:21:10]** We bought the ammunition later, but

**[01:21:14]** Admitting it to Darek was kind of like that awkward moment.

**[01:21:16]** Hey, when will you write on Twitter,

**[01:21:18]** that we have the thing.

**[01:21:20]** Hey, but that's

**[01:21:22]** also that good awkward moment.

**[01:21:24]** I'll still try

**[01:21:26]** to actually open up one area with you. We still have a bit of time

**[01:21:28]** and then we'll slowly start

**[01:21:30]** to wrap it up.

**[01:21:32]** We actually talked

**[01:21:34]** with Dan Prokop from Pug Research

**[01:21:36]** and other people who do

**[01:21:38]** incredible work here about the fact

**[01:21:40]** that often they are funded

**[01:21:42]** by the same group of entrepreneurs,

**[01:21:44]** that it's basically, like, always

**[01:21:46]** the same group doing it well

**[01:21:48]** and that

**[01:21:50]** it's actually hard to

**[01:21:52]** translate that into what you managed

**[01:21:54]** to do for Putin.

**[01:21:56]** So how

**[01:21:58]** can activities

**[01:22:00]** that really serve and do good

**[01:22:02]** work,

**[01:22:04]** somehow be a bit unsettled,

**[01:22:06]** so that we could also

**[01:22:08]** contribute and it would make sense?

**[01:22:10]** I think it has to be furious marketing.

**[01:22:12]** That it has to be

**[01:22:14]** simply visible.

**[01:22:16]** That there is really a big

**[01:22:18]** effort to make that work

**[01:22:20]** visible. I think that serves and helps

**[01:22:22]** Darek. We basically are five

**[01:22:24]** in the team and three of us somehow

**[01:22:26]** handle communication.

**[01:22:28]** So and at the same time

**[01:22:30]** like people write to us,

**[01:22:32]** that we are expensive. Our merch is expensive.

**[01:22:36]** But that's another thing,

**[01:22:38]** we just try to admit

**[01:22:40]** that yes, these things are expensive.

**[01:22:42]** But we pay for all of this from them.

**[01:22:44]** We have it set up

**[01:22:46]** actually so that

**[01:22:48]** if someone contributes to the collection, then 100%

**[01:22:50]** of that contribution, for example, even though the law

**[01:22:52]** allows deducting 20%,

**[01:22:54]** we give 100% directly to the collection

**[01:22:56]** with the understanding that

**[01:22:58]** whoever wants to support us

**[01:23:00]** and the things we are still kind of doing around it,

**[01:23:02]** can buy merch.

**[01:23:04]** So basically, they can buy

**[01:23:06]** some of our

**[01:23:08]** t-shirts, and luckily they are

**[01:23:10]** quite popular. We try to make

**[01:23:12]** people enjoy the t-shirts.

**[01:23:14]** They have become popular.

**[01:23:18]** Yes, exactly.

**[01:23:20]** Basically, we have

**[01:23:22]** delivered

**[01:23:24]** merch worth 19 million crowns over about a year and a half.

**[01:23:26]** Just to give you an idea. We will have it

**[01:23:28]** in the annual report.

**[01:23:30]** Who here has it? So basically,

**[01:23:32]** we don't just finance ourselves. That would be great,

**[01:23:34]** if it were our own money. We have agreed on

**[01:23:36]** some rewards, but

**[01:23:38]** besides that, we organized a concert

**[01:23:40]** at Ofore Carlin,

**[01:23:42]** which is not cheap.

**[01:23:44]** And so on, so we supported the production

**[01:23:46]** of some things, we delivered some

**[01:23:48]** urgent items,

**[01:23:50]** for which we didn't want to run a collection.

**[01:23:52]** So from that money,

**[01:23:54]** we kind of continuously finance

**[01:23:58]** various other things, we have

**[01:24:00]** like a reserve for that. So either

**[01:24:02]** we do some marketing thing, like we do there

**[01:24:04]** we do, call people,

**[01:24:06]** let's meet

**[01:24:08]** and let's say, it's interesting for the media.

**[01:24:10]** So

**[01:24:12]** like, yeah,

**[01:24:14]** we are basically viable

**[01:24:16]** or self-financed

**[01:24:18]** for about a year now and moving forward.

**[01:24:20]** So

**[01:24:22]** I would end it here.

**[01:24:24]** Thank you very much for the talk,

**[01:24:26]** for presenting the project, especially

**[01:24:28]** also for what you do, so

**[01:24:30]** all the best, thanks. Thank you,

**[01:24:32]** thank you all.

**[01:24:34]** Please,

**[01:24:36]** whether you watched us

**[01:24:38]** or you are here,

**[01:24:40]** give us feedback.

**[01:24:42]** I feel like now

**[01:24:44]** we can easily

**[01:24:46]** switch

**[01:24:48]** hopefully I can do it.

**[01:24:50]** It's on now.

**[01:24:52]** Switch to some stars.

**[01:24:54]** If you

**[01:24:56]** also write a word that

**[01:24:58]** we presented,

**[01:25:00]** if you

**[01:25:02]** also write a word that

**[01:25:04]** came to your mind related to today's breakfast,

**[01:25:06]** we will be

**[01:25:08]** very happy.

**[01:25:12]** So,

**[01:25:14]** if you would like

**[01:25:16]** to keep what you took away today

**[01:25:18]** a little bit more

**[01:25:20]** to retain more,

**[01:25:22]** there is a good tool

**[01:25:24]** and that is to talk about it with someone.

**[01:25:26]** We highly recommend,

**[01:25:28]** whether you're watching us in a library

**[01:25:30]** or at work. Try with colleagues

**[01:25:32]** or at home with family,

**[01:25:34]** once you start your breakfast,

**[01:25:36]** talk about what it gave you, what the main

**[01:25:38]** aha moments were. It's

**[01:25:40]** really nice and also maybe what you disagree with.

**[01:25:42]** I feel that

**[01:25:44]** it helps us to communicate together.

**[01:25:46]** So

**[01:25:48]** this is the circle.

**[01:25:50]** Of course, we also do this circle.

**[01:25:52]** On July 10th, we will have

**[01:25:54]** a lunch circle where together

**[01:25:56]** we do things.

**[01:25:58]** So we do things that are

**[01:26:00]** completely completely completely

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**[01:28:52]** www.arkance-systems.cz