Zgraf’s history preserved in new book after archive challenges
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In Croatia, editors published a new monograph documenting the 50-year history of Zgraf, an international design exhibition, after facing difficulties accessing its archives.
Sanja Rocco, the monograph’s editor, explained that archiving technology changed significantly over the last 50 years, causing some storage media to become unusable and negatives to fade. However, the team gained access to the estate of Alfred Pal, the originator of Zgraf, which contained numerous documents, records, and letters.
The book, published by ULUPUH, details the origins of Zgraf with the first exhibition of graphic design in Zagreb, ZGRAF ’75, held in 1975. Designers from Kuna zlatica studio created the nearly 400-page book, which features both historical documentation and a catalog of the latest Zgraf 13 manifestation, held in Zagreb in June 2025. The main exhibition showcased 186 selected works by domestic and international designers within the French Pavilion at SC, designed by Igor Presečan.
The monograph also honors the late Croatian design figures Alfred Pal and Ivan Picelj, with recollections from surviving participants of the initial 1975 Zgraf and recipients of the “Zgraf 50 honor” award. Boris Ljubičić, Mirko Ilić, and Slovenian designer Edvard Čehovin. Ivana Bakal, president of ULUPUH, stated the book provides a lasting record of the international design manifestation and the importance of Croatian graphic designers.
