George Kràl
George Peter Kràl (1928-1978) was a passionate and influential graphic designer and interior designer during the 1960s and 70s in Melbourne.
Born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, George’s vocational school training underscored a career start as an advertising draftsman. He immigrated to Australia in the early 50s, becoming an Australian citizen in 1959.
George practiced as a consultant designer through to his passing in 1978, entering a number of creative partnerships along the way. He actively participated within the Society of Designers for Industry (SDI) and was thoroughly immersed in Melbourne’s lively design community. George’s first documented work is thought to have been a window display for John Browning opticians.
Known for his meticulous attention to detail, his design aesthetic was described in the RMIT Design Archives Journal (Vol 3 No2 2013), as a “combination of minimalist spatial design with rich textured surfaces.” George Kral’s retail interiors were “particularly admired” in the way he approached the display of luxury products by creating a “pared back” setting with a focus on the objects, while his use of lighting was lauded as being “well in advance of its time.”
A diversity of projects unfolded during the 50s including: furniture design; showroom and motor show displays for Volkswagen; interior design for several homewares shops and hospitality venues such as - La Caprice Restaurant in Collins Street Melbourne (comprising interiors, furniture and lighting), Esquire Restaurant in Canberra and interiors for the iconic Southern Cross Hotel. Exhibition designs were another prominent feature within his body of work as were the commissioned designs by the Department of Trade for several world expos namely Osaka Japan and Montreal in Canada. In addition, it was George’s graphic design output that was would be later recognised by a posthumous Penpoint Hall of Fame award from AGDA in 1998.
Gallery A in Flinders Lane (1959 through to approximately 1964) was a particularly formative time spent with design colleagues and friends, Max Hutchinson, Clement Meadmore and Bernard Joyce. George was director of design at the Gallery’s expanded South Yarra premises - ahead of the firm’s shift to Sydney – coordinating interior designers, graphic designers, furniture designers and architects. In another collaboration: George, Derek Hooper and Bernard Joyce formed a design group within Bogle & Banfield Architects. He also taught Interior Design briefly at RMIT during 1961.
During the mid 60s and 70s (1964-1977), George practiced from various studios providing design services to: Stewart’s Jewellers, Visy Board, Auski, Trevor West Menswear along with completing a bar project at Tullamarine Airport.
