From Valencia With Design INTERNATIONAL VALENCIAN DESIGN EXHIBITION

PRESENTATION

Exporting design services from the Valencian Community is a relatively recent phenomenon, particularly if we are to consider its quantitative dimension and the frequency of the exports. However, some Valencian designers were indeed pioneers in their work for foreign customers. The first reference we know of dates back to the 1960s; Monika Buch, from Valencia, was not just the only Spanish student at the famous Hochschule für Gestaltung in Ulm, Germany; she also moved to the Netherlands where she designed graphic design pieces and educational toys for ADO, the toy manufacturer.

Later, in the 1970s and 1980s, designers like Xavier Bordils, Pedro Miralles, Xavier Mariscal, Pepe Escribano and some members of La Nave like Daniel Nebot, Eduardo Albors, Sandra Figuerola and Marisa Gallén worked for companies in France, Italy, Japan, etc.

But it was in the 1990s and especially as of 2000 that Valencian designers and design studios started to work for foreign clients on a more regular basis. The progress made by communication technologies –with fax transmission of texts and images but also of technical drawings and plans– followed by the advent of the Internet and the e-mail, facilitated to a great extent the relationship between our designers and companies from remote locations.

The fact that many professionals had an opportunity to study or further their education abroad, e.g. in Milan or London, is also noteworthy, as this really contributed to opening up new avenues and making professional contacts.

Today, the tendency to study design or to continue studying abroad is more and more common, and our young designers now consider it natural to have to work with clients from all over the world. Links are forged out of ‘being in tune’ with some design criteria... It does not depend on how geographically close your clients are. Besides, a great many professionals have made the decision to settle down in other countries, where they work in very different sectors: automation, home fixtures and fittings, graphic design for the new media, etc.

In recent years, as a result of the economic crisis especially in Spain but also as a consequence of the need to find new possibilities for professional fulfilment, Valencian designers and design studios have made huge efforts to become more international. The outcome is the very many collaboration projects with companies from numerous countries. Consisting of works by the Designers’ Association, the contents of the exhibition are indeed a good example of this.