You know that feeling when you’re sitting at a conference, the speaker is on the fiftieth slide of their presentation, and you’ve been thinking about what to have for dinner for the past ten minutes? You definitely won’t experience anything like that at Zlin Design Week! One of the formats we regularly feature is Flash Talks, powered by PechaKucha, which you can look forward to on Sunday, May 10, 2026.
What exactly is the PechaKucha format?
The name comes from Japanese and can be loosely translated as “chatter” or “rambling.” The format was created in 2003 by architects Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham in Tokyo. Their goal was simple: to get architects and designers to speak to the point and not show hundreds of technical drawings.
This Japanese phenomenon emerged as a remedy for endless monologues and today helps creatives around the world share their ideas without unnecessary delays.
The magic lies in the strict 20 × 20 rule:
- 20 slides: Each speaker prepares exactly twenty slides.
- 20 seconds: Each slide appears on the screen for just twenty seconds.
- Automatic advance: The presentation runs on its own. The speaker cannot pause or rewind it.
The result is a dynamic show that lasts exactly 6 minutes and 40 seconds. Not a second more.
And why do we love this format?
PechaKucha is great attention training for both the speaker and the audience. Thanks to the time pressure, a natural filtering process occurs—the speaker must omit the unnecessary and keep only the essentials.
The visual aspect plays a key role in this format. Since the images change quickly, the text on them doesn’t make sense, and the audience wouldn’t have time to read it anyway. That’s why everything relies on powerful photographs, sketches, and emotions that convey the idea instantly.
Thanks to the fast pace, you’ll also see a large number of projects throughout the evening. It’s very dynamic—if one topic doesn’t interest you at the moment, it doesn’t matter. In a few minutes, another speaker will take the stage with a completely new idea.
This format draws maximum sincerity from the speakers. The time limit doesn’t allow them to hide behind complex charts or empty phrases. They have to speak to the point, authentically, and focus only on what’s truly important.
“PechaKucha isn’t about perfection, but about sharing passion in its purest form.”
This Year’s (R)Evolution: Keynote & 9 Faces of Design
This year’s PechaKucha won’t just be about a rapid-fire exchange of ideas. A new feature is joining the program—the Keynote. While the classic format takes us through projects at lightning speed, the evening’s keynote speaker will have the space to delve deeper into the topic.
Sara Polak, a technological anthropologist, will explore in her talk “Why We Are Not Machines” what happens when 200,000 years of human evolution collide with AI and blockchain. Sara doesn’t just deal with code, but primarily with us—people. It’s a look at technology without empty phrases or unnecessary fear.
In addition to Sara, eight other speakers will take the stage. Each will have their 6 minutes and 40 seconds of fame, and among the names are projects that are truly changing society.
One of them is the Brno-based architectural studio ČTYŘSTĚN. Karel Kubza, Milan Joja, and Tomáš Págo focus on buildings with a strong social impact, such as the social housing in Bílovice nad Svitavou or the library in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm. In Zlín, they will speak about their project, House for Julia, and how important decisions shape a building that aims to change people’s lives. According to them, the context and the impact of architecture on people are far more important than the form itself.
Tereza Bláhová and Jáchym Kubů will share another story. These design students from UMPRUM have managed to bring style back to Czech pubs and restaurants. In collaboration with the Bomma glassworks and the Ambiente gastronomic group, they have revived traditional Czech beer mugs, which had all but disappeared from Czech tables for two decades. If you’ve recently had a beer at Lokál, Kantýna, or Brasileiro in Prague, you were holding the result of their work in your hand.
Nine projects, one keynote, and an evening where you won’t have a moment to yawn. That’s Flash Talks, powered by PechaKucha.
