graphispag, which is held from March 26 to 29 in Barcelona, is allied with Grada & CongrésGràfic, a new event that brings together knowledge about disciplines that have their form of expression in the image, and in which more than twenty experts in design, infographics, illustration, concept art or typography, among others, participate.
For four days they will take place at Grada & CongrésGràfic, organized by the Official College of Graphic Design of Catalonia and Fira de Barcelona, conferences, workshops, masterclasses and networking sessions in a program of activities that will have image and society, publishing and visual communication as its main axes, and the relationship between art, culture and technology, as well as emerging talent. Likewise, it will have its own exhibition area in which some 30 companies will participate.
Grada & CongrésGràfic joins the Graphispag 2019 activities program this year with the aim of offering tailored content for designers and other groups that use images in their creative processes. "Graphispag has always been the benchmark show for graphic design in this country ... / ... The graphic industrial sector needs to get in touch with the prescriber and this is facilitated by Graphispag", said Jordi Magre, director of Graphispag, during the presentation to the press .
Organized by Fira de Barcelona in collaboration with the Graphispack Association, Graphispag will bring together the latest technology, printing equipment and finishes, materials, supports and inks. It foresees the participation of more than 200 direct exhibitors and occupying 9.000m2 in Hall 2 of the Gran Via fairgrounds. "We have 90% of the contracted area, with a loyalty ratio of 75%," added Jordi Magre.
In addition to Grada, Graphispag has more novelties, such as the Graphispag Experience space, the personalization areas and the Graphispag Process, with two production trains working, one with a large format and the other with packaging. Jordi Magre also highlighted the Graphispag Talks and Graphispag PrintInnovation programs, an area coordinated by the 3Neo Platform in which there will be demonstrations of functional printing, printed electronics, bioprinting and 3D printing.
The dean of the Official Col·legi de Disseny Gràfic de Catalunya, Jesús Del Hoyo, spoke of the importance of graphic design as "the guiding principle that prescribes how products should be produced" and explained that the Col·legi is the first in Spain born in Catalonia but with associates from all over the country. The program of conferences, masterclasses and workshops of Grada & CongrésGràfic will be taught by more than 20 national and international experts from visual artists to graphic designers, through specialists in geoinformation tools, sketch up, image technologies, urban sketching, scientific illustration and calligraphy .
Among the speakers, names such as the graphic editor of National Geographic and one of the best infographics in the world stand out, Ferdinand Baptista, who will talk about the art of telling stories visually. The presence of Felix Beltran, considered the father of the Cuban poster and a benchmark of graphic design in Latin America; the Mexican Theresa Camacho, graphic designer expert in new technologies; and the influential Slovenian illustrator Martina Paukova who collaborates for Google, Converse or The New York Times.
Other disciplines that use and reproduce the image in their creative processes will also be represented at Grada & CongrésGràfic through experts such as the architect Benedetta Tagliabue; Taschen's editor-in-chief, Julius Wiederman; the illustrator and urban sketcher (live cartoonist of urban life), gabriel bell tower; or the multidisciplinary artist, Judas arrieta. The state of the design will also be discussed with the founder of the Vasava communication studio, Toni Selles, and the Catalan designer based in Amsterdam, Marta Cerda. The packaging will have its representation with Carlos Anadon from the SeriesNemo study. For its part, the psychological focus on the persuasive power of the image will be provided by the neurolinguist Victor Amatwhile the designer Joan Widen will give a workshop on motion graphics. There will also be space for typography and calligraphy with the designers Ricardo Rousselot, Octavio Pardo and Pablo Mariné; the journalistic infographic with the person in charge of this area in La Vanguardia, jamie sierra; scientific illustration with Carles Puche and Blanca Martí; or the decorative arts with the designer specialized in corporate visual identity, Javier Gonzalez Solas, among other specialties and speakers.
Grada & CongrésGràfic will also dedicate a space to future design professionals with the exhibition of selected works and the award ceremony of the second edition of the gaudeamusProjecta Awards, with a global financial endowment close to 50.000 euros, to which projects of End of degree in graphic design carried out by students from Spanish artistic education centers and faculties that offer this degree.
