 From the inception of Belgrade Design Week in 2006, Jat Airways has backed inviting internationally recognised creative artists in areas such as branding, architecture, design and media in Serbia as well as contacts between global standards and regional creative teams and business representatives.
By opening the Blue Sky Brief contest aimed at presenting the vision of the national air carrier and acting as partner, Jat has supported the Speed2 conference motto that the creative industries will dominate economic and cultural life in the 21st century and are the prime movers in terms of internationally-oriented development and changes in the economy of Serbia as a whole, as well as that of the region.
The topic-wise unrestricted contest was intended for creative individuals in various fields and freelance artists in all areas, including branding, marketing, design, architecture, space decoration... Using their expertise and inspiration and by choosing a particular area, they proceeded toward conceiving solutions that sustain evolving new services and preserving the protected national brand while at the same time being inspired by the vision, mission and tradition of the national air company. A total of 103 participants registered for the contest, of which 11 were from the Balkans and Europe. Among them, 24 were creative studios and 79 were individual artists and creative teams.
Saša Vidaković, a designer of international stature, conducted two creative workshops. The first was devoted to creating the air carrier brand landscape. By using the examples of British Airways, British Midland and Gulf Air, he offered pointers as regards strategy for creating and maintaining brands in air traffic.
The aim of "refreshing a brand" implies more clearly defining the values that make you stand part from your rivals and thus attaining closer communication with the customer. Visual identity is merely one of the characteristics a brand is expected to contribute to in terms of positive travel experience to a chosen destination.
The Blue Sky Brief contest’s selected finalists presented their conceptual solutions of a new Jat identity brand in the second workshop. The jury (Saša Vidaković and Gala Radović of Jat Airways) awarded the three best works with gratis air tickets on scheduled Jat lines.
Contest Winners:
Brand Dizajn agency (Croatia): Vjekoslav Mravunac, architecture technician and web designer, Tomislav Vinšek, graphic and web designer.
* Evincing enthusiasm and consistency in details in the process of applying the identity brand through a broad range of connecting points within the brand.
Group of Artists:
Jovana Dlačić, contemporary dress designer, Bratislav Milenković, illustrator, Miloš Sibinović, graphic designer.
*An excellent example of guerrilla marketing – uncomplicated, intelligent and efficacious.
Aleksandar Saša Škorić, graphic designer
*Advertisement: A dynamic and strikingly visual solution lending itself to animation and advertising campaigns.
* From the jury elaboration
The accompanying designPark exhibition -- the pivotal point where business and creativity in Serbia and the region meet -- displayed the works of all the finalists, as the awards were also formally presented to the winners.
Jury Members
- Mia David-Zarić, an architect with a master’s degree in stage design from the University of Arts in Belgrade. Editor-in-Chief of Kvart, a magazine on architecture, design and culture.
- Nebojša Babić, Association of Fine and Applied Artists and Designers of Serbia (ULUPUDS) member and Serbian Art Photographers’ Association (USUF) president. Founder of Orange Studio, a creative studio for applied photography and visual communications, and of the O3ONE multimedia art project.
- Slobodan Jovanović Coba, graduated from the Accademia Delle Belle Arti (Academy of Fine Arts) in Florence. He is the creative director with the Coba & Associates design and branding agency.
- Gala Radović, Jat Media Center Director
Saša Vidaković, the creative workshop moderator
A successful European designer. He lives and works in London where he heads the SVIDesign design studio. He authored design solutions for such entities as Harrods, Volvo, Marazzi, Alfa Romeo, Citroën, Azimut Yachts as well as fashion brands Maxx, Sandra Bugarin and Ossie Clark...
The fourth Belgrade Design Week opened with his exhibition of posters titled Oko Moje Glave (Around My Head). | 
