Summer designs
The plaquettes were small publications, generally in the form of a notebook, which Ricard Giralt Miracle (see earlier post) sent to his clients and friends as Christmas greetings or notifications of the summer holiday period during which the pioneer closed his workshop Filograf (see earlier post). As Giralt Miracle himself stated about the plaquettes, they ‘have been the...
Temas españoles (Spanish Matters): Verdú’s covers
The magazine Temas españoles (Spanish Matters) was an instrument for disseminating Francoist thought. The content between its covers enables us to gain an understanding of the ideas that evolved during the dictatorship via a selection of relevant issues and the construction of an idiosyncratic imaginary. The two-tone covers belonging to the first four hundred editions...
The catalogue for mobile types of Filograf
On the cover of this “Selection of printing characters”, five different types already appear: a capital “F” – which he would also use in certain time periods as an image for his “Graphic Art Institute” – a “Spanish thin semi-bold”; his own name made up of English calligraphy characters, one “Hellenic”, and, to conclude, a...
Jordi Blassi and the Cuenca Museum
In 1966 the Museo de Arte Abstracto Español (the Museum of Spanish Abstract Art) was opened in the Casas Colgadas (Hanging Houses), in Cuenca, exhibiting a collection of paintings and sculptures by Spanish artists associated with this movement that Fernando Zóbel had been amassing, by and large, in the preceding years. The museum opening represented...
FAD’s graphic designers in black and white
“I truly believe that the present work is a rich source of discoveries, full of pleasant surprises,” was how the ‘modest prologue’ by Swiss designer Donald Brun started. It was written in 1964 for the volume that compiled the work of 18 graphic artists from Agrupación FAD, edited to commemorate the early years of their...
Filograf, a world of tests
‘When my father founded Filograf. Instituto de Arte Gráfico, in 1947, a dream he had worked towards came true: to have a design studio and graphic design workshop set up in the same place. His broad experience as a studio manager in the publishing house Industrias Gráficas Seix y Barral, from Barcelona, proved that this...
The FAD stars
The FAD stars (Foment de les Arts i del Disseny – Catalan design association) In December 1963 each member of the ADG/FAD (graphic design and communication branch of this design association) designed a star for their Christmas greeting. The card was designed by Tomás Vellvé and printed by Industrias Gráficas Casamajó, it is a piece of great beauty...
Amador Garrell: local design
The graphic designer and printer Amador Garrell came from a long line of graphic arts professionals who were known for their experimental endeavours within the field. He began his career as a signwriter and cartoonist for the Catalan magazine “La Gralla”. In 1954, after completing his first few jobs in Barcelona, he returned to his...
Pla-Narbona’s Cosmo(s)
Pla-Narbona was “entrusted with the responsibility of creating the visual personality” of the Spanish company Industrias Cosmo, as can be read in his magnificent and original Manual of Corporate Identity edited in 1969. This manual in its first part consisted of texts written by Will Burtin, Daniel Giralt-Miracle and the very Pla-Narbona, titled “Reflections on...
CAU magazine: Enric Satué
CAU – Construction, Architecture and urbanism – was the magazine of the official college of construction engineers and technical architects of Catalunya and the Balearic Islands. It was first published in 1970, and the initial 20 editions featured a section entitled ‘Visual Communication’ featuring design critiques written by Ferran Cartes. Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, José Miguel...
‘Plaquetas’: Ricard Giralt Miracle
The ‘plaquetes’ were greetings cards created by the ‘Filograf’ studio of designer Ricard Giralt Miracle. Sent out between 1953 and 1989 at christmas, or in the summer, they represent the synthesis of Giralt Miracle’s graphic world; his most personal, and gratifying work. Employing texts by Cervantes, Dante Aligheri, Juan Ramón Jiménez, Maragall or Salvat Papasseit...