On the occasion of the opening of the Exhibition of Croatian Design 0708 organized by the Croatian Designers Society, a professional jury composed of respected domestic and foreign representatives of the design profession awarded prizes for the best achievements in 2007 and 2008.
The Grand Prix award was won by the project reviving the iconic sneakers of the Vukovar factory Borovo – Startas – under the guidance of Italian designer Mauro Massarotti, director of the Scheriff&Cherry studio. Massarotto took on the Startas in mid-2007, presenting a new version to the public in the spring of 2008 at the world men’s fashion fair in Florence, after which presentations followed in European metropolises such as Paris, Barcelona, Milan, and Zagreb. The HDD award for best product/industrial design in the professional category was awarded to the studio For Use/Numen for the Riva chair, Vesta studio I-Gle for best fashion design, and the best design of visual communications was awarded to Dejan Kršić for the monograph of Mirko Ilić. The concept that earned recognition from the HDD in the past and current year is that of Tomislav Lerotić titled Operi me, which alerts the public that Cemex does not use enough filters to protect the environment from cement dust. In addition to the mentioned awards, the HDD also awarded honorary recognitions and rewarded students for their works. (S. B.)
