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Imagination as a catalyst
for social change
The times, they are a changing and yes, they always have been. It is important to be sensitive to the spirit of the times. What is happening and where are we going to? How do we relate to the big transitions in our present world? How do we relate to developments such as digitalization, climate change, migration, urbanization and globalization?

Do we approach the negative side of these developments merely as problems that have to be solved or can we also see them as opportunities, as a possibility for developing alternative perspectives, as a source of inspiration for discovering new paradigms in design? Is design just a problem solving practice or can we step beyond and use our imagination as a catalyst for social change? We have to transgress, to break down borders and cross boundaries. 

Opportunities and possibilities are found not only by considering one angle or the other, but by exploring the in-between.
And what about people? What are their opportunities in this process? Do we have respect for the existing, whether people, materials or situation? How do we look upon traditional values? Can we include tradition in our quest for innovation? Do we allow people in the design process? Are we inspired by their dreams and desires? Are we inspired by their diversity? 

And keeping all this in mind, can we develop new perspectives, alternative approaches, set up new relations? It’s all about the power of imagination!

Renny Ramakers
is an Amsterdam based art historian. She is co-founder and director of Droog, the renowned experimental design initiative from the Netherlands. In 1993 she and Gijs Bakker started Droog as an anti-statement; a down to earth design mentality with a human touch that opposed the high style and form-based world of design.
Today, Ramakers' work often reaches beyond the realms of design.

She created the research-and-do programme Design+Desires with the aim to develop new perspectives on a changing society. She is also working as an independent critic and curator, and lectures worldwide. She has curated various events, such as the huge presentation Open Borders in Lille, featuring cutting-edge European designers, artists, architects and other creative people, and Pioneers of Change, a festival of Dutch design, fashion and architecture on New York’s Governors Island.

Currently, she is curator of N’GOLÁ, the eighth Biennial of Arts and Culture in São Tomé e Príncipe in Africa. As a critic, she has contributed to international magazines and catalogues, and authored several books. A book about her life and work, written by Aaron Betsky, has been published early 2019. She was named one of the “150 Women Who Shake the World” by the American magazine Newsweek and received the Dutch Royal Honors for her work.

rennyramakers.com
droog.com

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Pablo Juncadella 
Co-founder of Mucho and one of his 6 creative partners/directors. 
Mucho believes in design as a deductive process to reach visual conclusions. From the strategic thinking aims to create visual languages that are endowed with their own personality and a certain visual poetics. Pablo and his team work in transmedia environments always aspiring to find solutions that fit in the positioning contributing with original ideas.

Levi’s Unlabelled and Ared Foundation
The world we live in should be socially inclusive. A world where we all have the same opportunities regardless of age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or our past. Two examples of work developed to support Ared and Levi’s.

On the one hand, Levi’s unlabelled is a brand created for internal use at LS&Co Europe, to raise awareness of the LGTB+ERG collective within Levi Strauss. The ERG (Employee Resource Groups) is a body that aims at promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace, contributing to create a safe and fair environment, regardless of the sexual orientation or gender definition. The brand itself needed to cultivate and nurture such an environment, and serve as a platform for support and appreciation, where all contributions are welcome and wanted.

On the other hand, the Fundació Ared fights for a different type of inclusion: that pertaining the re-entry to work life and society of people suffering from social alienation, particularly women that were previously incarcerated. The influence and traction of the foundation sparked several initiatives and new products that were not initially linked to the mother brand. However, given the importance of the work done in all the initiatives, a new and unified identity serving as an anchor was built to support the Ared world.

The Ocean Race
Around the world, with the planet at heart. The task at hand was to create a whole new brand identity for the race, partly due to the change of ownership, but mostly due to the change in vision. With an updated narrative that integrates the new values of the race, sustainability and technology, a revamped iconic global brand was built to stand out beyond the sports category, to speak to other brands and to humanity in general about the urgency of taking action on the face of climate change and the power of positive technology.

wearemucho.com

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Typographic spaces
Cofounder Noël Leu will talk about about Grilli Type's approach to design and typography.

Grilli Type
is an independent Swiss type foundry founded by Noël Leu and Thierry Blancpain in late 2009. Grilli Type has become well-known for its retail and custom typefaces. But also, for the minisites which accompany them. Often utilising animation and a host of reference material, the sites break down the design process for each typeface, allowing the nuances of type design to be appreciated by type aficionados and novices alike.

grillitype.com
gt-eesti.com
gt-zirkon.com
gt-america.com
gt-super-com
gt-cinetype.com
gt-walsheim.com
gt-haptik.com

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Desisto is an independent multidisciplinary platform established in 2013 by Margarida Borges and Ricardo Martins. In 2015, the platform started to operate also as a graphic design studio and welcomed José Mendes. From self-initiated projects to cultural and commercial commissions, Desisto’s work encompasses visual identity, branding, editorial projects, exhibition design and webdesign, with a particular focus on typography and production.

«It’s important for us to share knowledge in a structure of values with which we identify ourselves with.»
Margarida Borges
Desisto