There Is Only One Right Way to Publicly Commission Design
Public design commissioning is not a matter of preference — there is a right way and everything else. We’ve worked through enough flawed briefs, misaligned procurement structures, and well-meaning but broken processes to know exactly where the public commissioning of design goes wrong, and what it looks like when it doesn’t.
A transparent process for commissioning design services that respects both the profession and the public interest. This way of working aligns with best practices in design and public procurement. Below is a summary of your proposal with a brief explanation of each step:
1. Public call for proposals
The client issues a public call, clearly presenting the project goals, expectations, and terms of participation.
2. Designer applies with a portfolio
Interested designers or studios apply by submitting their portfolio, thereby expressing their interest.
3. Client selects 3 designers to create a concept, and they are paid for it
The client selects the three most suitable candidates, who then prepare a concept proposal and have enough time to do so. Each of them is fairly compensated for their work – this is crucial for respecting their time and professionalism.
4. Client selects one and signs a contract
From the three submitted concepts, the client selects one and signs a contract with the chosen designer for further collaboration and project execution.
5. All three concept proposals are publicly published
All three concept proposals are publicly shared, ensuring transparency, allowing for professional and public discussion, and preserving the cultural value of the work.
Why Public Design Commissioning Fails Before It Starts
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Redesign
Brand redesign is one of the most misused terms in the industry. Studios pitch full rebuilds when a type adjustment would do; clients request "a refresh" when the underlying system is broken beyond repair. We've worked through both scenarios enough times to know the difference isn't aesthetic — it's structural, and getting it wrong is expensive.
First You Learn Then You Earn
Designer learning process isn't a phase — it's the foundation everything else is built on. We spent years in Ljubljana studios understanding materials, systems, and failure before a single award or client brief justified the time. The designer learning process, done honestly, is what separates work that holds from work that merely sells.
When was the last time you went on a date?
Brand dating strategy is something most studios won't admit they've ruined. We've watched clients walk into pitches dressed like a corporate handbook and wonder why nobody called back. The problem isn't the product — it's that design forgot to be interesting before it tried to be impressive.
Hell Yes
Hell yes creative approach is how we decide what to make — and what to walk away from. If a project doesn't produce that immediate, visceral pull, we don't take it. That filter, applied consistently since 2004, is the reason our work holds together as a body rather than a portfolio of compromises.
If You Were Ever a Developer, This Is Your Time to Return
Developers returning to coding right now are walking into something different than what they left. The tools got faster, the frameworks multiplied, and somewhere in that churn the advantage quietly moved — away from raw output, toward judgment. If you built things before and stopped, developers returning to coding after a break carry something the continuous practitioners often don't: distance, and the clarity that comes with it.
The Gap
Vanishing middle designers are the most interesting people in any studio — and the first ones the industry stops talking about. The gap between junior promise and senior authority isn't new, but it's getting harder to cross, and we've been watching it happen up close for twenty years. What follows is what that looks like from where we sit.
Self-Doubt in the Design Process – It Means You’re Halfway There
Self-doubt in the design process is not the problem — ignoring it is. We've watched it surface in almost every serious project we've taken on over two decades, and we've stopped trying to push past it. Designer self-doubt, when you learn to sit with it, is usually the clearest signal that the work is getting close to something real.
Everything beautiful is analog
Everything beautiful is analog — that's not nostalgia, it's a working method. We've spent two decades in Ljubljana making things by hand first, screen second, and the difference shows up in the work. Analog design philosophy isn't a romantic detour; it's where the real decisions get made.