CONFERENCES: Paradís, festival of design and creativity by World Design Capital Valencia 2022

A designer’s paradise should be a fun place, full of creativity, friendship and humour. That’s why we’re delighted to present you our own particular paradise, our first design and creativity festival, which will take place in a virtual and express format over three days -the 16th, 17th and 18th of December- and in which nine professionals will talk about some of their professional projects and experiences and will then be available for a chat and a debate.

Mayúscula (Rocío Martinavarro), Pepe Gimeno, Ruiz + Company (David Ruiz), Eduardo del Fraile, Dídac Ballester, Masquespacio (Ana Hernández), Ana Criado, Gràffica (Ana Gea) and Núria Vila will be the protagonists of this first virtual festival organised by World Design Capital Valencia 2022. Nine previously recorded short conversations, which will be followed by a virtual encounter with each of the protagonists. Directed by César Gómez-Mora, a professional with extensive experience in the organisation of TEDx talks, the format will be that of a closed and virtual encounter with each of them, over three consecutive days in which their conferences will be grouped into themes. The graphics of the festival, created by Yinsen, accompany these virtual encounters where inspiration, creativity and design will be to the fore.

Once the talks have been recorded and edited, they will be uploaded to our YouTube channel.

Wednesday 16th December, at 19.00h

«Reinventing yourself», with Ana Gea (from Gràffica), David Ruíz (from Ruiz + Company) and Eduardo del Fraile

→ Registration for Wednesday’s sessions

Ana Gea, de Gràffica

Ana Gea is the alma mater and partner of Gràffica, the world’s most widely read Spanish-language online design publication. Also, at PalauGea, she has been working for years on campaigns and design projects of very different origins, both in the corporate and institutional spheres. Together with Víctor Palau, they have overcome all sorts of crises: economic, digital, paper related… And from each of them they’ve learnt something new and become stronger, facing new challenges that lead them to constantly reinvent themselves, generating new projects that excite them as much as they excite everyone else.

Eduardo del Fraile

After having received more than 125 design awards at the studio that bears his name, Eduardo del Fraile decided to take a break and concentrate all his energies on a new adventure. He wanted to create a new product, where he became his own client, creating everything from the corporate concept to all the design formats, a story of achievement through a project that involved alcoholic beverages. Five years that he has invested in KONG, his new brand of rum that donates a part of its earnings to saving gorillas, and which has been a corporate and personal journey that has resulted in a creative and solvent company.

David Ruiz, de Ruiz & Company

David Ruiz, creative director of Ruiz & Company, decided to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his studio by “casting off”, i.e., embarking on a 4-year journey around the world on board his sailing boat, Thor. A total reinvention where he made a clean break from all his routines and comfort zones. He has just returned, ready to move us, to infect us with his enthusiasm and with the need to enjoy every second of life.

Thursday 17th December, 19.00h

«Design seen from three perspectives»

The Value of an Idea, with Ana Hernández from Masquespacio
The Invisible Design of Books, with Dídac Ballester
Sustainable Design, with Núria Vila

→ Registration for Thursday’s sessions

The Value of an Idea, with Ana Hernández from Masquespacio

Achieving success is often as simple as having the right idea and the ability to set it in motion. The value we place on that idea is the key to creation. And that’s something Ana Hernández knows a lot about, given that she is someone who has learnt to grow from nothing and to establish what is one of the most highly respected and praised design studios in the world. Together with Christophe Penasse, her associate and partner, they have managed to create from Valencia a firm, Masquespacio, that is always at the forefront and always able to provide brands, establishments and shops with their very own tailor-made style.

The Invisible Design of Books, with Dídac Ballester

Books are part of the professional universe of Dídac Ballester. In them he can materialise his interests, his taste and his graphic ability to design unique, readable and beautiful books. Dídac has been in the professional world for almost twenty-five years, combining graphic and editorial work. His design of books has earned him many national and international awards, turning this field into one of his specialties as a graphic designer.

Sustainable Design, with Núria Vila

Núria Vila is a graphic designer and art director specialising in corporate identity, publishing, packaging and visual communication. One of her main objectives is to participate as a designer in reducing and raising awareness of the climate emergency we are experiencing. At her studio, every project she carries out takes ecological criteria and respect for the environment into account, investing in manual work, experimentation and interdisciplinary collaboration to do so.

Friday 18th December, 19.00h

«Borders, Creative Space», with Pepe Gimeno, Rocío Martinavarro and Ana Criado

→ Registration for Friday’s sessions

Pepe Gimeno

The Valencian designer, recently awarded the National Design Award 2020, has spent years navigating the border between design and art. His work blends one with the other depending on the project. Whereas his professional side always responds to the client’s briefing in a functional and rational way, his artistic side allows him to play with shapes, textures and creativity, to create a graphic work that stands at the border between design and art.

Rocío Martinavarro (Mayúscula)

Valencian designer Rocío Martinavarro is the founder and creative director of the Mayúscula studio, specialising in global branding and multilingual design. From her studio, she works for local and international clients in the Middle East and Asia. In her talk, she will speak about how design has helped her to erase borders, to seek inspiration through diversity and communication, and how she has been able to generate an atmosphere of mutual trust based on design and to tear down borders.

Ana Criado

Ana Criado was born in Buñol and yet her day-to-day life takes place much closer to Hollywood. So much so that she can boast about being the only Valencian to be nominated for an Emmy for her title sequences for Star Trek: Discovery, which in the end was topped by “Game of Thrones”. A major achievement. Ana, a graphic designer, has managed to carve out a niche for herself in the entertainment industry as a creative director for title sequences for film and television. She will tell us all about this in her talk, as well as all about her evolution and the creative borders between graphic design title sequences.