Over the years Zgraf has been bringing together designers, theorists and critics with the intention of examining basic issues and the position of design in contemporary society in order to continually point to the significance of design as a profession.  Zgraf has accordingly drawn attention to the importance of design as a profession, dealt with the relationship between graphic design and art, referred to the importance of education – in favour of establishing a school of design, investigated ways of expanding digital technology in design – web design and multimedia as new segments of design, probed the role and social responsibility of design and designers in the realm of advertising and has been the meeting point of different cultures and a place for addressing and discussing local and global.

International Jury:

Rick Poynor, Radovan Jenko, Vaughan Oliver, Jianping He and Sanja Rocco

Sanja Rocco Sanja Rocco (architect, MA) is a visual communication designer. She holds a master’s degree in marketing and trains future managers in the role of design. The focus of her research is design management in interdisciplinary areas. Active in promoting the design profession (vice-president of ICOGRADA 1998-2001, Zgraf 7-11, frequent jury member and initiator of many projects and exhibitions) and a winner of several national and international honours (Gold – 3rd Crane European Letterhead Design Competition, Honourable Mention – BIO 15, Merit Award – 78th ADC Annual – co-author T. Bratelj). Her works have been published in exhibition catalogues and design issues (Print Annual 2000, AREA Phaidon 2004, Umjetnost uvjeravanja 2006, Hrvatski dizajn sad, 2009). A member of the Croatian Association of Artists of Applied Arts (ULUPUH) and Croatian Designers Association (HDD).

Jianping He was born in China in 1973 and now lives in Berlin, where he works as a graphic designer, professor, and publisher. He studied graphic design at the China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK), and the Free University of Berlin (Freie Universität Berlin), before teaching at the University of the Arts, Berlin. Furthermore, he was guest professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the China Academy of Art Hangzhou.

Radovan Jenko is graphic designer, illustrator and professor. In 1981 he graduated in Poster Art under prof. Henryk Tomaszewski and Painting under prof. Teresa Pagowska in Warsaw. From 1981-86 he was art director and designer at Aero Design studio, and then in 1986 started as an independent designer in his own workshop, where he did work for various cultural institutions and economic companies in Slovenia. In 1991 he began teaching Visual Communication at the University of Ljubljana, Academy of Fine Arts and Design; where he recently worked as professor for Visual Communication and Illustration.In 2003, Jenko helped co-found the Brumen Foundation, an institution for promoting visual communications, which organises the Biennial of Slovene Visual Communication. As part of the foundation, for their 4th Biennial in 2009, Jenko established and became the artistic director of the International Poster Festival Ljubljana. Jenko has won several awards, including the Slovene National Award for Design, a silver medal at Art Directors Club New York, a Silver Award at Toyama Poster Triennial, 1st Award at the International Exhibition of Graphic Design and Visual communications ZGRAF, 1st Award at the Triennial of Eco Poster Kharkov; and from 2005-2013 he was awarded 6 Brumen Awards at the Biennials of Slovene Visual Communications. He is a member of the AGI, Alliance Graphique Internationale.

Vaughan Oliver is a British graphic designer based in Epsom, South of London. Oliver is most noted for his work with graphic design studios 23 Envelope and v23.[citation needed] Both studios maintained a close relationship with record label 4AD between 1982 and 1998 and were to give distinct visual identities for the 4AD releases by many bands, including Mojave 3, Lush, Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, The Breeders, This Mortal Coil, Pale Saints, Pixies, and Throwing Muses. Outside of 4AD, Oliver has also done sleeve design for such artists as David Sylvian, The Golden Palominos, and Bush. In 2011, Oliver was awarded an honorary Master of Arts from the University for the Creative Arts, where he teaches on the Epsom campus as a Visiting Professor.

Rick Poynor is a British writer, critic, lecturer, and curator, specializing in design, media, and visual culture. He was the founding editor of Eye magazine in London, which he edited from 1990 to 1997, and he has contributed the “Critique” column to Eye since 1999. He has written a regular column for Print magazine since 2000. His articles, essays, and reviews have appeared in I.D., Metropolis, Harvard Design Magazine, Adbusters, Blueprint, Icon, Frieze, Creative Review, The Guardian, Financial Times, and many other publications. In 2003, he was a co-founder of Design Observer, where he blogs regularly. Poynor has been a visiting professor at the Royal College of Art in London (1994–99) and a research fellow at the college (2006–09). He has also taught at the Jan van Eyck Academie in Maastricht in the Netherlands. He is a frequent lecturer and has spoken about design and visual culture at public events, conferences, and design schools throughout Europe, the United States, Australia, and China. In 2007, he was a featured interviewee in the hit documentary Helvetica.