Starting a year full of activities to strengthen the sector’s connection with society, with talks in bars, workshops, and routes throughout the Comunitat
The Associació de Professionals del Disseny de la Comunitat Valenciana (ADCV) has embarked on a new phase with the debut of a corporate identity that is «brave, honest, and free from any artifice,» focused on communicating the importance of design to society and giving voice to Valencian designers. The new image, coinciding with its 40th anniversary, goes beyond a simple logo and aims to endure over time.
After 40 years that «have not been easy,» in the words of ADCV President Ramón Arnau, Valencian designers want to «keep building» alongside professionals, companies, and administrations to move towards «a strong, solid, sustainable design ecosystem capable of adapting to future challenges.» This commitment is symbolically articulated through their new name (previously Associació de Dissenyadors) and the change in corporate identity.
The renewed image was unveiled to the entire ADCV, which has over 300 associated designers, at the Festa XL held this Friday night at Feria Valencia. The calendar of activities and events for the anniversary, including a special edition of Valencia Disseny Week, was also announced.
ADCV is the new graphic identity of the organization, going beyond the strictly visual and conceived as a communication tool that reflects its commitment to design and its active role in the creative, institutional, and social ecosystem. It reflects everything that ADCV is and does: pedagogy, dissemination, promotion, research, conservation, institutional relations, and dialogue with society.
There is «more intention than design,» describes the ADCV President about an image where designer Ibán Ramón has taken the «small whim» of including the colon punctuation mark after the initials to draw attention to what follows. The logo, implemented from this Friday, features a more neutral and harmonious typography than the previous one so that it can complement the brands of other projects.
The goal is for «any designer to feel comfortable» with this identity, to be embraced as «something of their own and not foreign,» and for «the form not to overpower the message.» «We are not dedicated to drawing or preparing interesting solutions, but to thinking,» summarizes the designer, who reveals that the logo will be «completely naked» in the posters.
Aside from the new identity, ADCV does not plan to leave the Las Naves building as its headquarters to «move» to the center of València, at least «in the short term,» explains its manager and project director, María Navarro. An extraordinary assembly is planned for the end of the year to vote on the new statutes of the association, with the intention of «making them more sustainable and inclusive, and adapting them to the future.»
FROM BAR MEETUPS TO A DEBATE ON AI
The anniversary program combines historical initiatives of ADCV with proposals that seek to strengthen the connection of design with society. Informal meetings among colleagues are being revived under the title ‘Bareando,’ with «surprise guests» and a first edition scheduled for the end of June; the participatory debate space ‘Cuadrilátero,’ which returns focusing on the complex relationship between ‘AI and creativity,’ and the continuation of the ‘Design with Positive Impact’ conferences in its fourth edition.
Among the new initiatives, the ‘Talleres XL’ will allow for experimenting with different disciplines, techniques, and tools, with four planned for this year alongside Impresum, Sirope Lab, Makea, and Mang Sánchez. ‘Disseny a peu de carrer’ will invite exploring design in its everyday context through tours of Valencian municipalities, with the calendar still being finalized.
In the fall, ADCV will participate as usual in the Hábitat Valencia fair, one of the sector’s most important events. Among the actions at this trade show, they will revive another of their historical formats, ‘Altavoz,’ and the Moviment de Disseny Emergent (MoDE) will showcase young talent and organize experimentation spaces.
VALENCIA DISSENY WEEK
The sixteenth edition of Valencia Disseny Week (VDW) is taking place until next Thursday with around twenty proposals organized with professionals, studios, companies, institutions, and creative spaces. This time it is postponed to June to coincide with the anniversary, after which the date for next year will be decided based on the outcome.
This Saturday’s agenda is marked by Paradís 2025, an event by Fundació del Disseny bringing together key figures in international and local design at CaixaForum València. Curated by Wences Sanz and art directed by Sayavera, speakers include Andrea Trabucco-Campos (Pentagram NY), Vasilis Marmatakis, Marta Botas, Clap Studio, Pedro Cebrián (Ferrari), Espuma Corp, Meritxell Casamira, and the Wozere collective. It concludes with a nighttime party.
Among the exhibition proposals, ‘LLEGAT. Dèsset pioners del disseny interior valencià,’ organized by the Official College of Interior Designers (CDICV) at EASD, stands out. It is a documentary tribute to 17 pioneers of Valencian interior design, with materials from the Arxiu Valencià del Disseny.
‘FALTAL, GRACIAS’: TALK ON DESIGNERS’ MISTAKES
MoDE promotes the event ‘Fatal, gracias…??,’ a series of brief talks where designers and creatives share failed projects, wrong decisions, technical errors, or professional stumbles.
Other presentations and talks included in the program are ‘Confort urbà: tres mirades des del disseny,’ organized by Associació La Plaça (Debats), with Nacho Lavernia, Kike Correcher, and Marisa Gallén; ‘Designing the Invisible: How to design digital products with positive impact,’ organized by EDEM, and ‘Ecodisseny com a motor de la innovació industrial’ by the Curial studio. Also, the presentation of projects from the Product Design master’s at CEU, organized by Odosdesign, or the joint effort of Annud and Cosín Estudio ‘Design, Culture, Territory.’
REOPENING A STUDIO DESTROYED BY THE DANA
The Angelgráfico studio is hosting a party to celebrate the reopening of its studio, which was destroyed by the dana. Additionally, workshops will be held including ‘From Idea to Market: Steps to Launch a Brand to Market,’ by Brandsummit; ‘Bioinspired Design through Form Inventory,’ by Clausell Studio; a traditional signage workshop by Nico Barrios, and two workshops on printing and pattern design by Davante / MasterD and Ángela Baeza.
The program is complemented by Design Walks, including a route through the Carmen neighborhood of València visiting Brandsummit, Meteorito, and Filmac, and open house events at Nacho Timón Diseño Industrial, PackCo, Brand and Packaging, and Studio Glasserie: Artistic Stained Glass Workshop. There are plans to collaborate once again with the Miradors de l’Horta festival, which fills the València orchard with ephemeral installations.