Stefan Kanchev
Encyclopedia
Stefan Kirov Kanchev was a Bulgaria
n graphic artist best known for his logo
design work. He has been referred to as the "father of Bulgarian graphic design" and the "master of the trademark".
Kanchev was born in Kalofer
, a town in the sub-Balkan valleys
of south central Bulgaria (then the Kingdom of Bulgaria
). The son of an icon
painter, he enrolled at the National Academy of Arts
in the capital Sofia
, where he studied mural
painting in 1940–1945 under Dechko Uzunov
. After leaving the academy shortly before graduation, Kanchev took part in numerous exhibitions and biennales in Bulgaria and abroad, most notably in Belgrade
, Budapest
, Berlin
, Moscow
, Warsaw
, Brno
, Ljubljana
and New York City
. Individual exhibitions of his work have been organized in Sofia, Moscow, Prague
, Berlin, Warsaw and Budapest, among other cities. In total, Kanchev has authored around 1,600 logos, including highlights such as the National Palace of Culture
, National Art Gallery
, National Opera and Ballet
, Bulgarian National Television
, Union of Bulgarian Artists, TZUM
, International Fair Plovdiv
, Petrol AD
, etc.
In 1967, Kanchev participated in an AIGA
(American Institute of Graphic Arts) international exhibition in which he presented 23 of his logos, with particular emphasis on his Petrol AD trademark. The winner of a large number of contests, Kanchev was also honoured with several state decorations of Bulgaria
, including the Order of Cyril and Methodius 1st class (in 1956, 1963 and 1969), Red Flag of Labour (1965), and People's Republic of Bulgaria 2nd class (1975). In 1982, Japan
ese magazine Idea ran a feature on Kanchev and devoted 16 of its pages to his work, and in 1994 he was included among the world's top ten trademark artists along with Paul Rand
and Saul Bass
in a list published by an international organization. In June 2009, the premier Sofia Design Week featured an exhibition entirely dedicated to Kanchev's logos.
Kanchev's work spanned most varieties of applied art
, though he was most productive in his trademark
and logo work and as a designer of book covers, posters, greetings cards, print advertisements, stamps, product labels and packaging. As a designer, Kanchev was often inspired by traditional Bulgarian art and folklore. According to the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Encyclopedia of Fine Arts in Bulgaria, his work "was distinguished by rich imagination, even and clear composition, successful relation between type
and image, clean shapes [and] original artistic ideas that entirely fulfill the content of the work". In the words of artist and critic Ivan Nenov, "[Kanchev's] trademarks are entirely new, modern without being merely fashionable... Each of these trademarks can be magnified to a monumental size or reduced to a miniature, and it will not lose neither its readability nor its graceful beauty."
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n graphic artist best known for his logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
design work. He has been referred to as the "father of Bulgarian graphic design" and the "master of the trademark".
Kanchev was born in Kalofer
Kalofer
Kalofer is a town in central Bulgaria, located on the banks of the Tundzha between the Balkan Mountains to the north and the Sredna Gora to the south. Kalofer is part of Plovdiv Province and the Karlovo municipality...
, a town in the sub-Balkan valleys
Sub-Balkan valleys
The Sub-Balkan valleys are located between Stara Planina, Vitosha and Sredna Gora. There is great abundance of mineral waters, the most notable spas being Bankya, Sofia, Banya, Pavel Banya, Sliven Mineral Baths, Aitos. They are divided into two parts: western and eastern...
of south central Bulgaria (then the Kingdom of Bulgaria
Kingdom of Bulgaria
The Kingdom of Bulgaria was established as an independent state when the Principality of Bulgaria, an Ottoman vassal, officially proclaimed itself independent on October 5, 1908 . This move also formalised the annexation of the Ottoman province of Eastern Rumelia, which had been under the control...
). The son of an icon
Icon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
painter, he enrolled at the National Academy of Arts
National Academy of Arts
The National Academy of Arts is an institution of higher education in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. It is the oldest and most renowned academy of arts in the country....
in the capital Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
, where he studied mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
painting in 1940–1945 under Dechko Uzunov
Dechko Uzunov
Dechko Uzunov was a Bulgarian painter. He was born in Kazanluk and died in Sofia at the age of 87....
. After leaving the academy shortly before graduation, Kanchev took part in numerous exhibitions and biennales in Bulgaria and abroad, most notably in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
, Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Individual exhibitions of his work have been organized in Sofia, Moscow, Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Berlin, Warsaw and Budapest, among other cities. In total, Kanchev has authored around 1,600 logos, including highlights such as the National Palace of Culture
National Palace of Culture
The National Palace of Culture , located in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, is the largest multifunctional congress, conference, convention and exhibition centre in Southeastern Europe...
, National Art Gallery
National Art Gallery (Bulgaria)
The National Art Gallery is Bulgaria's national gallery and houses over 50,000 pieces of Bulgarian art. It is located on Battenberg Square in the capital city of Sofia, occupying most of the historic and imposing edifice of the former royal palace of Bulgaria, having been established in 1934 and...
, National Opera and Ballet
National Opera and Ballet
The National Opera and Ballet is a national cultural institution in Bulgaria that covers opera and ballet. It is based in an imposing building in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria....
, Bulgarian National Television
Bulgarian National Television
The Bulgarian National Television or BNT is the public broadcaster of Bulgaria. The company was founded in 1959 and began broadcasting on December 26 of the same year. It began broadcasting in color in 1970...
, Union of Bulgarian Artists, TZUM
TZUM
TZUM-Sofia is an upmarket department store in the centre of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, officially opened in 1957 and situated in a monumental edifice on one of the city's main boulevards....
, International Fair Plovdiv
International Fair Plovdiv
International Fair Plovdiv , held in Plovdiv, is Bulgaria's largest and oldest international trade fair. It was established in August 1892 as an industrial and agricultural show....
, Petrol AD
Petrol AD
Petrol AD is a Bulgarian oil distributing company which has 470 petrol stations, 80 petrol depots and 3 petrol port terminals throughout the country. The company was privatised in 1999....
, etc.
In 1967, Kanchev participated in an AIGA
Aiga
‘Aiga is a word in the Samoan language which means 'family.' The aiga is the family unit of Samoan society and differs from the Western sense in that it consists more than just a mother, father and children. The Samoan family, also referred to as an 'extended family' is based on the culture's...
(American Institute of Graphic Arts) international exhibition in which he presented 23 of his logos, with particular emphasis on his Petrol AD trademark. The winner of a large number of contests, Kanchev was also honoured with several state decorations of Bulgaria
Orders, decorations, and medals of Bulgaria
Orders, decorations and medals of Bulgaria are regulated by the law on the Orders and Medals of the Republic Of Bulgaria of 29 May 2003.The National Military History Museum Of Bulgaria in Sofia currently has over 150 Bulgarian Orders in the collection, which it has acquired over 85 years in...
, including the Order of Cyril and Methodius 1st class (in 1956, 1963 and 1969), Red Flag of Labour (1965), and People's Republic of Bulgaria 2nd class (1975). In 1982, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese magazine Idea ran a feature on Kanchev and devoted 16 of its pages to his work, and in 1994 he was included among the world's top ten trademark artists along with Paul Rand
Paul Rand
Paul Rand Paul Rand Paul Rand (born Peretz Rosenbaum, (August 15, 1914 — November 26, 1996) was an American graphic designer, best known for his corporate logo designs, including the logos for IBM, UPS, Enron, Westinghouse, ABC, and Steve Jobs’ NeXT...
and Saul Bass
Saul Bass
Saul Bass was a Jewish-American graphic designer and filmmaker, best known for his design of motion picture title sequences....
in a list published by an international organization. In June 2009, the premier Sofia Design Week featured an exhibition entirely dedicated to Kanchev's logos.
Kanchev's work spanned most varieties of applied art
Applied art
Applied art is the application of design and aesthetics to objects of function and everyday use. Whereas fine arts serve as intellectual stimulation to the viewer or academic sensibilities, the applied arts incorporate design and creative ideals to objects of utility, such as a cup, magazine or...
, though he was most productive in his trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
and logo work and as a designer of book covers, posters, greetings cards, print advertisements, stamps, product labels and packaging. As a designer, Kanchev was often inspired by traditional Bulgarian art and folklore. According to the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences is the National Academy of Bulgaria, established in 1869. The Academy is autonomous and has a Society of Academicians, Correspondent Members and Foreign Members...
Encyclopedia of Fine Arts in Bulgaria, his work "was distinguished by rich imagination, even and clear composition, successful relation between type
Typeface
In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
and image, clean shapes [and] original artistic ideas that entirely fulfill the content of the work". In the words of artist and critic Ivan Nenov, "[Kanchev's] trademarks are entirely new, modern without being merely fashionable... Each of these trademarks can be magnified to a monumental size or reduced to a miniature, and it will not lose neither its readability nor its graceful beauty."
External links
- A website devoted to Stefan Kanchev, with an extensive gallery of logos and other works
- A study of Stefan Kanchev's colours published by the COLOURloversCOLOURloversCOLOURlovers is a social network service and blog that focuses on colour inspiration and colour trends for both personal andprofessional creative projects...
blog