About Sudetype

About Sudetype

We are Sudetype1—a graphic design studio and digital type foundry with roots in northern Bohemia, yet open to collaborations worldwide. Our work spans a broad spectrum of visual communication, from logo design and wayfinding systems to web design, book layouts, and original posters. We place great emphasis on harmonising the semiotics of content with the aesthetics of form. Our fascination with bold graphic symbols is also reflected in our original typeface designs.

Sudetype is a creative duo formed by Jiří Beran and Lucie Bočková. Our portfolio includes collaborations with major institutions and companies such as the University of Hradec Králové, the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tim Burton Productions, the Office of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic, Exclusive Tours, Whoop·de·doo, and Jablotron. However, we have also enjoyed working with start-ups, and for several years, we designed posters for a community-run summer cinema in Stříbrné Hory with just as much enthusiasm. We value clients who, like us, consider the broader context of their work. For us, a client’s market position or annual turnover is far less important than the values we share. After all, the final outcome of any project is always a meeting point between the perspectives of both the client and the designer.

We see design primarily as a means of cultivating the environment around us. We firmly believe that only refined and thoughtful (visual) communication can create lasting positive values—ones that not only propel our clients forward but also contribute to the betterment of society as a whole.

Jiří Beran (Toman)

Graphic designer, type designer, violinist, and passionate cyclist. Born in 1987 in Liberec, he studied Graphic Design at the Faculty of Art and Design at UJEP in Ústí nad Labem under Professor Karel Míšek. In 2009–2010, he completed an exchange programme in Communication Design at HTW Berlin. Between 2012 and 2016, he pursued a PhD in Visual Communication at FUD UJEP, after which he spent four years as an assistant professor in the Department of Visual Communication, also leading the type design studio.

His work spans a wide spectrum of visual communication, with a strong focus on typography, typeface design, pictographic systems, and visual identities. In 2009, he and Michal Kukačka won a public, anonymous competition for the logo and visual identity of the University of Hradec Králové, which was based on their custom typeface, Gradec. This achievement earned them a nomination for the Czech Grand Design Award the same year. His PhD research centred on the history of Czechoslovak type design, combining theoretical study with practical work, including the digital restoration of historical typefaces such as Kolektiv, originally designed by Josef Týfa, Stanislav Duda, and Karel Míšek Sr.

Lucie Bočková (Pacalová)

Graphic designer. Born in 1984 in Kutná Hora, Lucie studied at the Václav Hollar Art School before continuing her education at the Faculty of Art and Design at UJEP in Ústí nad Labem, where she studied Graphic Design II under Michal Slejška. In 2007, she completed an exchange programme at FBA Universidade do Porto (Design de Comunicação) and, in 2008, an internship at the Revolta graphic studio, where she continued working intermittently for the following two years. After several years of designing for ŠKODA AUTO, she joined Sudetype.

Lucie focuses primarily on visual identity design, wayfinding systems, book design, and typesetting. In 2006, her work was nominated for the Graphic of the Year award and exhibited at the Clam-Gallas Palace. In 2009, her billboard design opposing the lifting of mining limits in Horní Jiřetín was realised as part of the Billboart Gallery project in Ústí nad Labem. She is the designer behind the graphic layout of the children’s books Baryk and Navarana (winner of the Golden Ribbon Award 2010), written and illustrated by Martin Kuriš. Her thesis—an original publication exploring the origins and development of computer graphics from 1945 to 1970—was nominated for the 2012 National Student Design Award. In 2017, she welcomed her daughter Anežka, followed by her son Štěpán in 2021. She returned fully to graphic design at the end of 2024 and now enjoys her creative work more than ever, embracing a diverse range of projects.

1  The name of our studio (which, by the way, we pronounce [ˈsʊdɛtaip]) is a clear reference to the Sudety (Sudetenland)—the region where Jiří Beran was born as a descendant of the original Czech minority in Liberec. The term Sudety is still seen by some as controversial, unfairly associated solely with Nazism. However, the Sudetenland is, above all, a place of breathtaking beauty and diversity. We firmly believe that mutual respect for linguistic, cultural, and religious differences enriches us all. Through our work, we strive to contribute to the perception of the Sudetenland not as a place of division, but as a symbol of hope for a more sustainable and better world. [↑]

Would you like to meet us? Do you have any questions about our projects, attitude or course of cooperation? Do you need a preliminary calculation for your project?

How can we help you?