There are many ways to stimulate your mind, like traveling or talking to people from different cultures, but I still think that there is nothing like visiting a museum. Museums offer everything we can imagine. We can travel back in time, or to the future, they allow us to discover whole new universes or ideas. They always generate new questions. Entering a silent museum room is refreshing, it feels like oxygen for your brain.
I recently went to an exhibition at Museu del Disseny de Barcelona called “Do you design or work?”. It presents a collection of graphic design pieces created in Barcelona from 1979 to 2003. It made me think about how design always takes up new challenges – the end of dictatorships, wars, technology, major events such as the Olympic Games, or even global warming.
I realized that design has an important role to play in society and always pushes more and more the limits. I asked myself: what would happen if we asked someone to pick five pieces of graphic design they like? Would this person be surprised by the fact that we are surrounded by design without even noticing it?
Throughout history, design has played a major role in politics, technology and society in general. For instance, after the death of Franco in Spain, and with the integration of the country in Europe, design began to have a major social presence. The establishment of democracy resulted in demanding the creation and transformation of public institutions, as well as corporations.
It was very interesting to learn how the development of technology had a direct impact both in music and design in the 90’s, a time where flyers were a way to promote bars and underground music in the city. Design evolves with people, times and places, facing mutations vividly the same way a person does.
Today, design still faces new challenges such as the increasing multiculturality of our societies. Visiting this exhibition was an enriching experience that made me think about our work as designers. I ask myself: what about tomorrow? What about the future of design? And what about our future?
The world changes fast and we, designers, must have our eyes open to see what surrounds us, to be in touch with what is going on in the world in order to feed our minds, stay updated and aware. Again, I ask myself: as designers, how can we have an impact on society through innovation?
Don’t you love the exhibitions that tell you about the past and leave you with questions about the future?
Barbara Flores Lugo,
Communications Manager
Logic Design Barcelona
