Yugo.logo: Signs by the Roadside – Exhibition by Ognjen Ranković i Antonio Karača

The exhibition „Yugo.logo: Signs by the Roadside” is opening on April 18th at 19:00!

The exhibition presents a selection of logos and visual identities created across the territory of the former Yugoslavia. The project’s authors, graphic designers Ognjen Ranković and Antonio Karača, have spent years systematically collecting and researching this material, which they have brought together under the name Yugo.logo.. The exhibition presents a portion of their extensive collection, directing our attention to a time when graphic design played an important role in shaping public space, industrial production, and everyday visual culture. The logos on display are not merely traces of former companies, cultural institutions, and brands, but also testimonies to a broader system of values, aesthetic norms, and social aspirations. Positioned between East and West, and in dialogue with contemporary global design trends of the time, the Yugoslav graphic design scene of the second half of the twentieth century developed a distinctive and authentic visual language. This language was at once functional, modern, and closely connected to the needs of a developed industrial and public sphere. Despite the temporal distance and radically transformed conditions of production and the market, the works presented here continue to retain their formal clarity, precision, and aesthetic relevance. Their visual economy, wit, and ability to communicate the identity of a company or institution through the interplay of letters, words, forms, and stylized motifs confirm that these are works of enduring design value, transcending the historical framework of their origin.

A particular value of the Yugo.logo project lies in its documentary dimension. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, a large part of the material and immaterial heritage related to industry, production, and applied art was left neglected, fragmented, or irretrievably lost. In this context, what Yugo.logo achieves through collecting, systematizing, and publicly presenting this material constitutes an important act of cultural revaluation. The exhibition title “Signs by the Roadside” further guides the reading of this material toward symbols that were present in everyday life for decades, and which today endure as visual remnants of a former social and economic system, as well as of a shared cultural heritage.

Ognjen Ranković
Born in 1991 in Belgrade, Serbia. Self-taught designer, researcher, archivist, and collector. Independently and as part of various teams, he has participated in the realization of more than 150 commercial projects and over 50 projects in the field of independent culture. He is the founder of the Yugo.logo project, the author of two Yugo.logo books, and co-author of 20 yugo.logo exhibitions (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, North Macedonia, and Italy).

Antonio Karača
Born in 1988 in Požega, Croatia. Designer, publisher, mentor, and lecturer. He completed his Master’s degree in Visual Communications Design at the University of Zagreb. He is the recipient of multiple recognitions and awards in the field of visual communication and identity design. Since 2010, he has been a member of Parabureau, Fahrenheit / McCann Erickson, and Craft. Since 2017, he has worked independently as the founder of the Radnja studio (Zagreb). 2023. In 2023, he launched the Radnja publishing house, which has so far published two Yugo.logo books and three music albums by artists from the region..

You can visit the exhibition untill Maj 19th, everyday from 10:00 – 20:00.

The ticket price is 300 RSD. By purchasing a ticket, you support the sustainability and development of the Museum of the Nineties program.