At the Turn of the Century: Professional Secrets of Lviv Designers

Abstract

The purpose of the work is to investigate the conditions of the designers’ creative work at the Lviv Art and Production Plant in the socially critical period of the late 1980s and the early 1990s, to identify the features of technological processes in design and layout in the absence of basic professional materials, raw materials and tools. The research methodology lies in studying the scientific literature on the socio-cultural environment features of the Soviet period of the second half of the twentieth century and gathering information by interviewing a former design team member. The scientific novelty of the research is the introduction of the design activity experience of the artists and designers’ creative group and the cooperative “Artes” during 1988-1991 into scientific circulation; its coverage from the inside of the work process. Conclusions. The results of the study capture the unique experience of a group of Lviv designers at the art plant, who, in difficult ideological and material constraints, were able to implement a large number of projects, ranging from the development of machine housings for industrial production and ending with small printing products. An important factor is the compliance of their unique design products with world parameters from a technical and aesthetic point of view, and the use of certain methods and technologies indicates the process of comparison with world achievements in the field of design.