Periodicals as testimony to an era : the changing graphic design of the cover of Host do domu (1954–1970)

The study focuses on the graphic design of the covers created for the legendary periodical Host do domu (A Guest in the House; 1954–1970). In periodical publications, the cover is regarded as a specific component whose function is to initiate communication with a reader and to visually articulate the general character of the periodical. It is studied as a specific graphic work, one that both originates and functions within the context of a certain time and social conditions. The analysis of individual volumes of this periodical examines how the cover page offered an artistic interpretation of the content of individual issues, and explores contemporary standards in visual culture and the changes occurring in 'high' art. It also attempts to highlight the original approaches taken by individual typographers and graphic artists and notes the similarities and differences in this periodical's treatment of the cover compared to some other thematically and typologically similar periodicals.