Pavel Vrzheshch, co-founder and artistic director of the award winning Ukrainian agency Banda, will be speaking at DesignTalks on 3rd May in Harpa. 

We needed to transform from a creative agency to creative forces for Ukraine.

Under Pavel’s leadership, Banda has won numerous awards, the latest being the Silver Lion in the Design Category at the Cannes Lions festival 2022, and worked for numerous international clients.

On February 24th 2022, all day-to-day work at Kyiv-based ad agency Banda stopped. Russia had invaded Ukraine, and business could not go on as usual. After spending a few days in shock (and helping coworkers and his own family move abroad), Pavel Vrzheshch, who stayed in Kyiv, says that he and his team made a decision: “We needed to transform from a creative agency to creative forces for Ukraine, to start to do everything as creative warriors.” Since then Banda has worked on various projects with the goal of telling the stories of Ukraine in a broad context, including their communication campaign Be Brave Like Ukraine. The campaign is meant to raise awareness about Ukraine, beyond being a country in war. “Someday the war will be over and we have a huge opportunity to use this attention to build new relationships and new interest in our country”. The campaign is accessible to all and can be adapted to whatever format needed. Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, promoted the campaign which has now been launched in over 15 countries. 

Before the war, Banda, which was founded in 2011 and has around 80 employees in Kyiv and Los Angeles, was doing work for brands, such as Uber, Netflix, Pepsi, Spotify, and the National Art Museum of Ukraine. Pavel was named one of Fast Company magazine’s Most Creative People in Business 2022. Pavel is also on the list of Adweek Creative 100 - leaders of agencies that define a new era of creativity. Focus magazine ranked him amongst the top 100 most influential Ukrainians.

DesignTalks 2023 will take place in Harpa on the 3rd of May and is curated by Hlin Helga Guðlaugsdóttir. 

This year’s theme is What now? and the event will tackle this question, explore and showcase some answers and alternatives, discuss current challenges for designers and architects and, if successful, raise even more questions!

DesignTalks addresses the challenges the world is facing and highlights the importance of design and architecture in societal and global change, with talks about impactful projects and inspiring conversations. Designers, architects and creative thinkers, international and local, provide insight into pressing issues with passion. Nothing is off limits. 

Ticket sale are now open - join us in Reykjavík.

DesignTalks 2023 - Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator of Architecture & Design at The Museum of Modern Art, producer of the MoMA R&D Salons, and co-founder of the platform Design Emergency

DesignTalks 2023 - Odile Decq, architect and urban planner, founder and owner of Studio Odile Decq.

DesignTalks 2023 - Natsai Audrey Chieza, founder and CEO at Faber Futures

DesignTalks 2023 - Peter Veenstra, landscape architect and co-founder of LOLA Landscape Architects

DesignTalks 2023 - Sigríður Sunna Reynisdóttir, founder and artistic director fo ÞYKJÓ 

DesignTalks 2023 - Pavel Vrzheshch, co-founder and artistic director of Ukrainian agency Banda

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