Selected: Graphic Design from Europe
This was the official website for the 2010 Selected: Graphic Design from Europe.
Content is from the site's 2010 archived pages.
Index Book is a Barcelona based publishing company specializing in books about graphic design and visual creativity whose activity and distribution covers a global scale, making it a referral in the design industry.
Selected: Graphic Design from Europe
is an event which will gather top professionals from all over Europe in Barcelona, for two days, to share creative ideas and solutions through a series of conferences and workshops.
The Yearbook
As a design-specializing publisher, every year Index Book launches the renowed Spanish design annual, Select. Graphic Design From Spain. Currently entering its 9th edition - Select I - the yearbook showcases a selection of the best design projects completed in Spain during the previous year.
For the first time, Index Book is now taking this editorial project further by extending it to the rest of the continent with the forthcoming launch of its European edition, elected A. Graphic Design From Europe.
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Workshops 12/03/10 - 13/03/10
TwoPoints.Net
Visualizing concepts
10:00-12:00 hrs. Conference room 1.
A 2-day workshop in which we will try to translate a concept into an image. An image which is self-explanatory. We shall start working from a text and everyone must choose a moment which they would like to visualize. Something that moves you, causes you concern, confusion... and which the participant has to express in writing. Only then, with that moment or idea well-defined on paper, you can begin to visualize.
The second part consists of realizing with limited tools (without computer) and format. At the end of the workshop each participant will present his work to the group and will discuss all this, contrasting the writing at the beginning and the visual result and checking for communicative consistency or discrepancy between them.
TwoPoints.Net
www.twopoints.net
10:00-12:00 hrs.
Axa Auditorium - Conference Room 1
L'illa Diagonal
Av. Diagonal, 547. Barcelona
Bilingual: English / Spanish
Capacity limited to 20 persons.
Special discount if you buy your tickets before 31/01
TwoPoints.Net was founded in 2007 with the aim to do exceptional design work.
Work that is tailored to the client's needs, work that excites the client's customers, work that hasn't been done before, work that does more than work. The market immediately responded to such an offer - in only two years TwoPoints.Net has been able to compile a set of very diverse, high quality projects.
TwoPoints.Net is a small company that thinks big, not just in terms of international clientele but also with its network. This network includes musicians, photographers, software developers and writers, among many others.
TwoPoints.Net's core network is directed by Lupi Asensio and Martin Lorenz - two graphic designers with German, Dutch and Spanish education and experience
Catherine Dixon
Letters as forms
9:30-11:30 hrs. Conference room 2.
A 2-day workshop exploring new ways of seeing letters as forms. We shall start by borrowing unexpected visual methods to investigate familiar forms, so that we can begin to better understand what it is that defines the very particular visual personality of a font with surprising results. Letterform quite literally becomes a physical experience!
During the second part of the workshop letterforms are further explored through their creative use. We will explore the expressive potential of letters in a series of small typographic compositions. And while intentionally playful the potential for professional application of what is learned is clear and confidence-building.
Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, London
Catherine was born in London where she studied graphic design at Central Saint Martins before going on to gain her PhD there in 2003. Since graduating she has combined designing, writing, and teaching.
In her design life clients include the publishers Penguin Books, Laurence King and CH Beck. She was part of the D&AD award winning team also nominated for the London Design Museum's Designer of the Year award in 2005 for Penguin's Great Ideas series. She is currently working on a commissioned project commemorating the making of the 7 July London Bombings Memorial.
As a practitioner and writer she has spoken at conferences internationally and is a regular contributor to the design journal Eye, also co-authoring with Phil Baines the book Signs: lettering in the environment (2003) and the critically acclaimed website publiclettering.org.uk.
She has taught widely in the UK and overseas. She is now a Senior Lecturer on the BA(Hons) Graphic Design course at Central Saint Martins, where she has taught and researched for 10 years, and where, with Baines, she co-curates the Central Lettering Record, a unique photographic study archive.
Catherine Dixon
Typography classes
9:30-11:30 hrs.
Axa Auditorium - Conference Room 2
L'illa Diagonal
Av. Diagonal, 547. Barcelona
Bilingual: English / Spanish
Capacity limited to 20 persons.
Special discount if you buy your tickets before 31/01
Ada Cardozo
The Onion
10:30-12:30 hrs. Conference room 3.
A 2-day workshop on developing your creativity and finding a new point of view in reality. All you have to bring is an onion and a camera, laptop, pen and paper, or any other tools you want to work with. The assignment is explained in the first session and right after that the working process will start. At the end of the first session the concepts and first visual ideas will be presented and discussed. The second session will be dedicated to the final presentations.
The story is: we live in a world without onions. It's a new product and you have to design a campaign to introduce the onion in society. You can choose between two options: the real function of the onion (you can cut it, use it for cooking, for its medicinal properties, etc.) or it can be a completely irrational, new product whose funtion is to be discovered. There is an extra option: the onion has become an art piece for artists such as Marcel Duchamp, Claes Oldenburg or any other contemporary artist of your choice. It is then your job to create a concept, a catalogue or a poster for an exhibition.
Royal Academy of Fine Arts, The Hague
Born in Leiden (Holland) in 1952. She graduated from The Royal Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague and studied Art History at the University of Leiden, with a specialisation in design and a graduation thesis on Sol Lewitt. She worked at several art schools in Holland, subsequently as a teacher in art and design history in Rotterdam em Breda, as head of the department of Visual Communication and member of the board in Utrecht, and head of the department of Graphic Design in The Hague.
From 1988-1999 she worked for Royal PTT Nederland as a design consultant, being involved with commissioning projects in the field of graphic design such as a new corporate style, postal stamps, a new font for the telephone guide, year reports etc. She participated in several books on Dutch design and wrote articles in the Dutch design magazine 'Items'. She gave numerous guest lectures in Holland, France, England, Germany and was member of several juries in Holland and abroad.
Ada Lopes Cardozo
10:30-12:30 hrs.
Axa Auditorium - Conference Room 3
L'illa Diagonal
Av. Diagonal, 547. Barcelona
Bilingual: English / Spanish
Capacity limited to 20 persons.
Special discount if you buy your tickets before 31/01
Volcano Type
Tangram Type Total
11:00-13:00 hrs. Conference room 4.
The tangram is a dissection puzzle consisting of seven flat shapes, called tans, which are put together to form shapes. The objective of TANGRAM TYPE TOTAL is to form 26 letter shapes, an alphabet, using individually precutted pieces out of a square, which may not overlap.
Lars Harmsen
Lars Harmsen is associate and creative director of MAGMA Brand Design in Karlsruhe (founded in 1996 with Ulrich Weiss and Florian Gärtner). The focal point of his work is corporate and editorial design. He is also partner and creative director for the Munich agency Melville Brand Design (associated office with MAGMA).
He is founder of Volcano-Type, a font label which distributes over 200 fonts. In 2004 he launched the typography weblog Slanted and a year later the quarterly published Slanted magazine.
Harmsen is author of design and typography books. In 2004, Versus (DGV- Die Gestalten Verlag) received numerous awards (Red Dot, Most Beautiful German Books, Berlin Type). The book Bastard - Choose my identity (Actar, bastard-project.com) published in 2006, examines cultural identities and the influence of globalization and web on culture and design. 2009 and 2010 he published Typodarium, a calendar presenting a new font each day.
Lars Harmsen teaches corporate and editorial design at the School of Design in Pforzheim. Furthermore, he is a sought-after speaker for many conferences (Face-to-Face/Stuttgart, Typo Berlin, Colophon, European Design Conference, ICTVC etc).
Volcano Type
www.volcano-type.de
11:00-13:00 hrs.
Axa Auditorium - Conference Room 4
L'illa Diagonal
Av. Diagonal, 547. Barcelona
Bilingual: English / Spanish
Capacity limited to 20 persons.
Special discount if you buy your tickets before 31/01
Directions
All of the conferences and workshops will take place at the Auditorium of the Axa Convention Centre, situated within the premises of the L'illa Diagonal shopping mall.
Axa Auditorium
L'illa Diagonal
Av. Diagonal 547 / C. Deu i Mata 111
Barcelona (Spain)
Accommodations
The official travel agent for the Selected: Graphic design from Europe event, RACC, offers the possibility of coming to Barcelona at a very attractive price.
More Background on SelectedEurope.com
SelectedEurope.com served as the official website for the 2010 event "Selected: Graphic Design from Europe," a major gathering of European graphic design professionals and enthusiasts in Barcelona. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the website and its context, including its ownership, history, event details, cultural significance, and more—drawing exclusively from publicly available sources and not from the website itself or any attached files.
Ownership and Organization
SelectedEurope.com was established as the digital home for the "Selected: Graphic Design from Europe" event. The event and its online presence were organized by Index Book, a Barcelona-based publishing company specializing in books about graphic design and visual creativity. Index Book has been recognized internationally for its contributions to the design industry, particularly through its annual publications and events that highlight outstanding achievements in graphic design across Europe.
Index Book’s activities are global in scope, but its roots and operational base are firmly situated in Barcelona, Spain. The company is known for organizing conferences, workshops, and publishing yearbooks that document and celebrate excellence in graphic design.
Event Location and Proximity
The "Selected: Graphic Design from Europe" event, for which SelectedEurope.com was the official portal, was held at the Axa Auditorium in the L'illa Diagonal shopping mall, located on Avenida Diagonal 547 in Barcelona. This location is central within Barcelona, providing easy access to the city’s vibrant cultural and commercial districts. The Axa Auditorium is a well-known venue for conferences and creative gatherings, offering modern facilities and proximity to hotels, restaurants, and public transportation.
Event Format and Offerings
Conferences and Workshops
The event spanned two days and featured a dynamic program of conferences and workshops led by prominent figures in European graphic design. Workshops covered a diverse range of topics, such as visualizing concepts, exploring letterforms, creative campaigns, and typographic experimentation. These sessions were designed to foster creativity, professional growth, and cross-cultural exchange among participants.
Notable Speakers and Workshop Leaders
The event attracted a roster of acclaimed designers and educators from across Europe, including representatives from leading design studios and academic institutions. Their participation underscored the event’s reputation as a premier platform for sharing innovative ideas and best practices in graphic design.
Audience and Participation
The audience for SelectedEurope.com and its associated event included professional graphic designers, students, educators, and industry stakeholders from across Europe. The event’s bilingual format (English and Spanish) reflected its commitment to inclusivity and international engagement.
Awards and Recognition
While the event itself was not primarily an awards ceremony, it was closely associated with the launch of a prestigious yearbook that showcased the best graphic design projects from Europe. This annual publication, produced by Index Book, has been widely recognized in the design community for its high standards and influential role in documenting contemporary trends and achievements.
Menus and Program Details
The event’s program was meticulously curated to offer a balance of theoretical and practical content. Workshops were limited in capacity to ensure an intimate and interactive learning environment. Topics ranged from conceptual visualization to typographic exploration, with each session tailored to encourage experimentation and critical thinking.
Goals and Mission
The overarching goal of SelectedEurope.com and the "Selected: Graphic Design from Europe" event was to create a forum for the exchange of creative ideas and solutions among Europe’s top design professionals. By bringing together practitioners from diverse backgrounds, the event aimed to elevate the standards of graphic design and foster a sense of community within the industry.
Index Book’s mission, as reflected in the event, is to support and promote excellence in visual communication through education, publication, and networking opportunities.
Reviews and Audience Reception
While direct reviews of SelectedEurope.com are limited, the event it represented received positive attention in design circles and professional networks. Participants praised the quality of the workshops, the caliber of the speakers, and the opportunity to engage with peers from across Europe. The event’s emphasis on hands-on learning and creative experimentation was particularly well received by attendees.
History and Evolution
The "Selected: Graphic Design from Europe" event built on the legacy of Index Book’s earlier initiatives, including the renowned "Select" yearbook series, which had previously focused on Spanish graphic design. The expansion to a European focus marked a significant evolution in the scope and ambition of the project, positioning SelectedEurope.com as a key resource for the continent’s design community.
The website functioned not only as an informational hub for the event but also as a digital archive of its proceedings, speakers, and featured projects. This archival function contributed to the preservation and dissemination of knowledge within the field.
Press and Media Coverage
The event and its website were covered by various design publications, blogs, and professional networks. Media outlets highlighted the event’s role in showcasing cutting-edge work and facilitating dialogue among leading designers. The involvement of high-profile speakers and the publication of the accompanying yearbook attracted further attention from the press, contributing to the event’s reputation and visibility.
Cultural and Social Significance
SelectedEurope.com and its associated event played a significant role in the European graphic design landscape. By bringing together practitioners from different countries and cultural backgrounds, the event fostered cross-cultural understanding and collaboration. Its emphasis on education, innovation, and community building resonated with the broader goals of the design profession.
The event’s location in Barcelona, a city renowned for its artistic heritage and creative industries, further enhanced its cultural significance. The choice of venue and the international scope of the program underscored the event’s commitment to inclusivity and excellence.
Audience and Community
The primary audience for SelectedEurope.com comprised graphic design professionals, educators, students, and industry stakeholders. The event’s bilingual format and European focus attracted participants from across the continent, creating a diverse and dynamic community of practice.
The website served as a central point of contact for this community, providing information on event logistics, speaker profiles, workshop descriptions, and registration details. Its user-friendly design and comprehensive content contributed to its popularity and effectiveness as an informational resource.
Known For and Distinguishing Features
SelectedEurope.com was known for its association with high-quality design events and publications. Its distinguishing features included:
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A focus on showcasing the best of European graphic design
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Collaboration with leading designers and educators
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A commitment to education and professional development
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An inclusive and international approach to programming
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The publication of an influential yearbook documenting contemporary design trends
Specific Examples and Insights
Workshops and Learning Experiences
Workshops at the event offered participants the chance to engage directly with experts in the field, work on real-world design challenges, and receive feedback on their projects. These hands-on experiences were highly valued by attendees and contributed to the event’s reputation for excellence.
Speaker Contributions
The presence of renowned speakers from top design studios and academic institutions added significant value to the event. Their presentations and workshops provided insights into the latest developments in graphic design and inspired participants to pursue innovation in their own work.
Networking and Community Building
SelectedEurope.com facilitated networking among participants, fostering connections that extended beyond the event itself. This sense of community was reinforced by the website’s role as an ongoing resource for information and updates.
Details and Technical Aspects
The website was designed to be accessible and informative, with clear navigation and comprehensive content. It provided detailed information on event schedules, speaker biographies, workshop topics, venue logistics, and registration procedures. The site’s design reflected the aesthetic values of the graphic design community it served, with a focus on clarity, usability, and visual appeal.
SelectedEurope.com played a pivotal role in supporting and promoting the "Selected: Graphic Design from Europe" event, serving as a vital resource for the European design community. Through its association with Index Book and its commitment to excellence in design education and practice, the website contributed to the advancement of graphic design as both an art form and a profession.
Its legacy endures in the memories of participants, the pages of the yearbook, and the ongoing influence of the ideas and connections it helped to foster.