Celebrating the life and work of Miroslav Cipár

We heard with great sadness that Mr. Miroslav Cipár passed away on 8 November. The husband of our dear Vilma, a founding member of the IWCB, Mr. Cipar was the designer of the IWCB logo and has supported our club in many other ways in the past. May he rest in peace.

An esteemed and well-respected Slovak artist Mr Cipár was a draftsman, illustrator, graphic designer, creator of many famous symbols and logos and a passionate painter. As such, he is considered the most important representative of abstract art in Slovakia. His artistic creations are famous and appreciated in Slovakia as well as abroad.

Thanks to their fine-art properties, Mr. Cipár’s works of art go beyond home as well as beyond European fine-art traditions. They display mixed motives from Slovak folklore art and non-European fine-art cultures, which he became acquainted with during his professional internships at many important destinations. You can see some of his work here www.artsy.net/artist/miroslav-cipar

Designing the IWCB logo

Here Mr Cipár explains the origin of the IWCB logo.

“The origin of the IWC logo was very spontaneous. One of the founding members came up with a proposal of having a club logo or a symbol. At that time I worked as a graphic designer so it did not take long to fulfill the wish.

The initials of the club were easy to pronounce. I liked the idea of three letters. I also like minimalistic logotypes. There were suggestions to include the sign of the capital (such as the castle) into the logo which I had waived. I wanted the logo to be unique and not to be similar to other symbols.

The composition was determined by the letter W. A central location ensured an interesting link with the letter I. The letter C hugged both letters in the compact unit. The message of the club. This was the first phase of my consideration of the symbol composed of three initials. The next step was to decide which letter types should be used. All typographic designs were cold and technical. I decided to try the hand-writing.

I presented the hand-writing sketches to the ladies awaiting that one of them would comply with their expectations. They were kindly welcomed and after some consideration the choice had been made.

Looking at the logo after almost 30 years of its use brings a smile on my face. At the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the IWCB, I have tested a new modification which is my present to your anniversary.”
- Mr. Miroslav Cipár

Original IWCB logo

The reimagined logo