Speed Date / SAMUEL ČARNOKY, graphic designer
Where are you from?
I come from Kľuknava in Spiš, currently I live in Košice.
Where did you study?
At the Secondary School of Applied Arts in Kremnica and at the Faculty of Arts of TU in Košice.
Who was your best teacher?
Cyril Koreň and Jožko Haščák.
Who were/ are your parents?
My father was a technical and economic worker in the East Slovak Power Engineering, now he is retired. My mother is a nurse, retired and still works in the internal medicine department.
What don’t you enjoy in design?
I don’t enjoy insensitive interventions in public space.
And on the contrary, what do you?
What annoys me also amuses me. I like to observe and perceive all the bizarre things.
What do you listen to?
Funky, synthwave, retrowave, electro, italo-disco…
Your favourite film, cartoon, series?
Film: Blade Runner, Under the skin; cartoon: Transformers The Movie (1986); TV series: Black Mirror, The Handmaid’s Tale, Breaking Bad, The Sinner…
Who do you respect as an authority in and out of your field?
In my field, I consider anyone who does their job honestly and can inspire and enthuse me to be an authority. There are many of them and I don’t have favorites here. Outside the field, Eckhart Tolle is a great authority for me, and he makes me realize how important it is to fully feel the power of the present moment.
What thing did you last buy?
The Nike X Undercover Gyakusou running jacket.
Do you buy professional literature? What was the latest book?
I both buy and receive, most recently I guess How to create typefaces/From sketch to screen.
Do you vote?
Yes, regularly.
Who throws the best parties?
Tabačka and Úsmev 😉
Your favourite dome?
The new synagogue in Žilina by Peter Behrens.
Party dress. Made by…?
Sporty, casual outfit – NikeLab or Fred Perry.
Your hero from the past?
He-man.
Best/nicest house?
I don’t have a favorite.
Do you have any stereotypes when you work? How do they show?
I certainly do, but I can’t judge it objectively myself.
What’s on your desktop?
Icons on the blue desktop.
Best exhibition, work of art?
From the current exhibitions of the Brno Biennial 2018, the best work is Džumelec – Erik Sikora.
What do you respect both from the local and foreign design scene? And why?
I respect honest, precise work, a dose of courage, overreaching and breaking conventions, humour and detachment.
Ethics or money?
Ethics for money 🙂
Extraordinary book?
Invisible Cities – Italo Calvino; design by Palo Bálik, illustrations by Daniela Olejníková.
Optimist, pessimist, nihilist?
An introverted optimist and here and there the other.
Do you have any hobby?
Lately I’ve been trying to run actively and visit castles and monuments. Outside of that, I collect old Transformers and I like science fiction.
Solo or in a collective?
More individually.
Slovakia as the Promised Land?
Native pride, roots and ties.