In this day and age, the biggest challenge for many employers is finding good people for their team. The young upcoming generation seeks only to sit in a well-air-conditioned office all day and sip barista-perfect coffee. How do you, then, promote a physically demanding job which requires one to get dirty and sweat through their shirt? The answer is surprisingly simple: we were brutally honest.
UNICO MODULAR is a Czech manufacturing company specialized in their own development and construction of modular container structures. Among their references, you will find many large-scale international projects, schools and hospitals. The company gives great importance to the well-being of their workers, understanding that the most valuable asset to any organization is manpower. The collection of photographs we present today were taken for a recruitment campaign.
Nowadays, when everyone has a smartphone camera at hand, the demand for professional photography is declining. Most companies either make do with smartphone pictures or turn to stock photography services that are filled with professional photographs. However, there are demanding clients who understand that the most important element of a truly superb photograph is authenticity.
The passion for true, high-quality photography is what separates CODES CREATIVE from many other studios and agencies. Thus, we set out and visited the production halls of our client, to take photos of their workers as they went about their jobs. We wanted to document the workers without embellishments, no make-up or styling. All that’s present are real working people who we asked to pose for the camera for a few minutes.
The people in the photos carry values that are indispensable to the working process – discipline, competence, thoroughness, experience, creativity, craft and tradition.
Real men in an engineering factory
A place where hard rock music plays so loud that it drowns out the racket of the workshop. A place with posters of naked women plastered on the walls. In the summer, the temperatures can reach 40°C (104°F), but welders have to grit their teeth while wearing protective leather garb, helmet and gloves. The exact opposite of the environment which most of the young, productive population gravitates towards. However, it’s an environment where a person can truly thrive in their element filled with strength and glory.
This recruitment campaign is aimed at men who don’t mind getting their hands dirty and are looking for a long-term job outside of the office with an informal workplace atmosphere, security and stability.
It is aimed at people who want to create and see the result of their work at the end of the day.
These authentic portraits were so well received by our client, that they decided to decorate the company premises with them as well. We picked 10 of the portraits and printed them in large format on aluminium base – to continue the industrial theme. The results were so striking and authentic, we felt we simply had to share their message.
We thank our client UNICO MODULAR for allowing us to share these works of art with the world and our other client HB Reavis for providing the space for the “Honour Work” exhibition in the Nivy mall.
“Honour Work” is a greeting which was tarnished by the old regime. With this exhibition, we want to draw attention to the original meaning of the phrase.
The exhibition takes place from 9. 8. 2022 to 4. 9. 2022 in Nivy Centrum, Bratislava.
The international Card Coutre Award Fedrigoni design competition took place in September. When I found out about this competition, I first thought it would be more of a chamber competition. Yet the opposite was true. This phase covered Germany, Austria, Czechia, Hungary and Slovakia. The competition had many entries - in terms of number and especially quality. Leading design teams from these countries entered more than 350 projects, with the only condition being the use of Fedrigoni paper. Fedrigoni has been around for 400 years and provides thousands of various paper items. Fedrigoni paper is among Europe's most expensive and best. Hence its use mainly by leading companies that pay utmost attention to quality presentation. Such leading companies always include Mercedes, BMW, Hans Grohe, and Edding.
Photo: Milan Jursa and Sylvia Jursová
We competed with the image-product catalogue of ARTRA (manufacturer of work shoes sold in 32 European countries). Its sales using classic catalogues are an integral part of business strategy and marketing, while it also prioritises digital presentation and sales. Digital media has put enormous pressure on the printing and graphics industries in the last decade, resulting in a shift from quantity to quality. Requirements for the quality of graphic designers, materials, and technologies have greatly increased. This trend has been observed by clients and designers around the world. It was also a frequent conversation point with international colleagues during the barbecue party.
Codes Creative has been nominated in one of the four "Graphic Design and Communication“ categories. The awards ceremony took place in the Austrian mountain resort of Maria Alm. Attendance was limited due to strict anti-Covid measures. At the gala night, we were awarded silver as the best positioned non-French-speaking country. This silver gave us a nomination for the pan-European competition, enabling us to showcase the quality of Slovak graphic design in Europe. All fans and friends - please keep your fingers crossed. Check out the awarded project here.
