admin, autor en Fundació del Disseny

And suddenly, December. As an intrinsic task at this time of the year, the time has also come for the Fundació del Disseny to take stock. And perhaps in this case with special sense and conviction, remembering that 2023 has been our first year of activity at the executive and more pragmatic level. Today, the fact of summarizing, evaluating and supporting the milestones achieved becomes a more than necessary exercise.

In the last twelve months we have wanted to understand Valencian design from a transversal perspective: graphic, social, industrial, fashion, architecture, contemporary crafts or urbanism… All of them are disciplines that jointly motivate everyday life and the reason for being of our entity, whether through professionals, companies, public and private institutions or society in general. But, above all, with the help of all those agents who have ensured the good work and the projection of an heterogeneous professional ecosystem.

At the beginning of the year we used with conviction five key words: disseminate, position, celebrate, connect and promote. Five objectives to which each of the projects we have carried out have responded: the beginning of the Consell del Disseny together with the Valencia City Council, the launch of the book “Design is good for health”, the integration of the “Designing the air” exhibition at the G20 summit in India, the launch of the digital museum Icons of Valencian Design together with the Arxiu Valencià del Disseny. We launched the first València Design Fest, which framed the self-produced exhibition “Time and Matter”, combining contemporary craftsmanship and design. We presented the documentary “València 22. City of Design”, a true lesson in design that we will release at the beginning of next year. We celebrated the “Paradís” festival, a meeting point for professionals highly anticipated. We launched the 2nd edition of the international sustainable fashion summit “Future of Fashion”, in which national and international names from the sector gathered, endorsed by representatives of Industry and Culture of the Valencian administration. And finally we were able to celebrate the designation of Valencia by UNESCO as a City of Design, becoming part of its Network of Creative Cities. Definitely, the design has already become part of the new story of the entire Valencian territory, an internationally recognized milestone.

To all this, in addition, has been added a constant collaboration with tourist, cultural or economic projection entities of the Valencian administration, as well as professional organizations at the local, national and international level. Consolidated and highly recognized entities that, thanks to the positioning work throughout 2022, understood the value of design as an asset capable of projecting their image, as well as that of our territory as a whole. And the fact is that design and local creativity have been key in the promotion and international recognition of Valencia as the main interests when visiting the city.

The attractiveness of the Valencian Community has allowed us to weave networks with various international delegations, interested in the positioning strategy developed in recent years. It has also allowed to be a national speaker for projects linked to creativity, open the discipline to a general public eager for cultural programming or as well as give continuity to the collaboration agreements of those schools that have managed to elevate Valencian design in the educational panorama, among other actions.

Referring to the most tangible: the number of people reached thanks to the media impacts achieved has exceeded 615 million users. At the same time, these different appearances in the press—both local, national and international—translate into an editorial value of €799,539.

In total, 20 collaboration agreements have been signed with different entities such as professional associations and colleges, design schools, technological institutes, trade fair events affiliated to the sector or organizations for the conservation and preservation of creative heritage.

Hiring of professionals with direct links to the design sector has reached a total of 62: 10 international, 52 national, and 36 from the Valencian Community. Among them you can find speakers, publishing labels, independent professionals and creative studios, curatorial figures and communication agencies.

At the same time, thank every contribution made in the form of content or trust in economic terms. To the support of public institutions such as the Valencia City Council, the Valencian Institute of Business Competitiveness (IVACE) of the Generalitat Valenciana, the València Activa Foundation, Feria Valencia and Visit València, as well as the General Directorate of Cultural Industries of the Ministry of Culture and Sports and the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda. From the private sphere, we have received financial support from Andreu World, APE Grupo, Padima, JISO Iluminación, LZF Lamps, Punt, Readymag and Simon.

We thus say goodbye to a memorable 2023 where, between milestones, recognitions and projects, we experienced how the Valencian design scene has expanded to accommodate a true emergence of promoters and new collaborators.

From the Fundació del Disseny, as an entity for the promotion and promotion of design, we will continue with the mission of encouraging institutions, industry and companies to incorporate this discipline into their strategies through our action plan for 2024. Likewise, we commit to continue working with our network of collaborating entities and other aligned organizations, with the desire to continue building, adding and disseminating the culture of design to our society.

– It will be held on 13 and 14 November at CaixaForum València, as a meeting point for industry professionals and the general public with a high level of awareness about the subject.

– The entire programme has been designed under the slogan “From Ideas to Action”, including big names of sustainability activists or sustainability managers in international industry firms, such as the 2000s model and climate activist Lily Cole, or the head of sustainable design at Dior Men, Natalia Culebras.

– The congress is curated by Patricia Moreno, journalist and expert in fashion communication, and celebrates the role of the Valencian Community as the leading region in the textile industry in Spain in terms of its contribution to GDP.

Design will dominate the city’s cultural and professional calendar throughout the month of September.

Exhibitions, conferences, editorial presentations, thematic routes and audiovisual screenings open to all audiences will take place, alongside major events such as Feria Hábitat València, the TAC! Festival and Valencia Disseny Week.

The main objective of the festival promoted by the Fundació del Disseny (Design Foundation) is to continue highlighting the Valencian Community’s image on a national and international scale as a territory indisputably linked to design.

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September is synonymous with design in Valencia. The design sector’s calendar is once again focused on the Valencian Community throughout the month thanks to a programme that is open to both the general public and the professional sector. It was within this context, as a brand that embodies the spirit of València World Design Capital 2022, that València Design Fest was born. A festival that seeks to promote the best version of Mediterranean design and to value the conjunction of major events such as Feria Hábitat València, València Disseny Week (organised by the Designers’ Association of the Valencian Community) and the urban architecture festival TAC!.

The Design Foundation of the Region of Valencia was born and develops its activity as a legacy of World Design Capital Valencia 2022. A year of celebration and positioning of local talent that was possible thanks to the previous designation by the World Design Organization (WDO).

With the aim of continuing to strengthen ties, recognition and to continue promoting the use of design to achieve a better world, today the collaboration with the WDO is extended and takes on a new form: making the Design Foundation of the Region of Valencia a new member of the international network of entities adhered to the organisation.

With more than 180 companies and institutions from all over the world, the various members of the WDO represent a global network that collaborates to support the profession of industrial design and promote its contribution to economic, social, cultural and environmental development.

Our country’s links with the World Design Organization (WDO) extend to other highly recognised entities such as the furniture brand Andreu World, Barcelona centre de Disseny (BCD) cluster, CEU Cardenal Herrera University and Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV).

On an international scale, the best universities in the field of design and creativity, as well as associations, foundations and institutions ensure the ethics and promotion of the discipline for a more prosperous, sustainable and diverse world. They are all part of WDO’s network of members across five continents. You can find them at wdo.org/community/members.

València Design Fest will take place next September, a design festival that will bring together national and international companies and professionals to discover first-hand the local talent, the creative effervescence of our city and the latest trends in design from the Mediterranean. All this, thanks to an agenda of activities made up of events dedicated to the industry, as well as exhibitions, conferences, presentations, projects led by emerging talents, pop-up spaces, screenings and themed routes, among many other initiatives. A full programme that, following the success and interest generated in recent years, is being extended to a whole month of activity.

The consolidated Feria Hábitat València and Home Textiles Premium by Textilhogar -coinciding in date and location from 19 to 22 September at Feria Valencia- stand as annual events of reference and, together with the city’s design week (Valencia Disseny Week), will become the epicentre of València Design Fest, a brand that inherits all the spirit of World Design Capital Valencia 2022 and integrates the local agendas of the entire Valencian design ecosystem, but also of art galleries, cultural centres and entities linked to architecture and creativity in general.

In short, a month of experiential, participatory and open events to continue to demonstrate the link and international relevance of València with creativity and design.

We are calling for design and/or illustration professionals, studios, collectives and agencies to create the image and application for Valencia’s candidacy to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.

The Fundació del Disseny de la Comunitat Valenciana is carrying out this commission in collaboration with the ADCV (Designers’ Association of the Valencian Community), ComunitAD (Advertising Communication Companies of the Valencian Community) and APIV (Association of Illustration Professionals of Valencia).

Download the rules

In each edition of “nude”, design experts are responsible for guaranteeing a quality and innovative product, as well as for selecting the designers, studios and publishing firms that will participate.

On this occasion, Xavi Calvo—director of the Fundació—will sit on the jury alongside renowned professionals from the sector: the design journalist Teresa Herrero, the designer and founder of Venture Experience, Alberto Martínez, and Jacobo Ventura, interior designer and creative director at the furniture firm Alexandra. All of them will meet at Feria València and be coordinated by the founder and curator of the “nude” show, María Fontes.

Registration for “nude 2023” is open until 22 June. You can view the rules and all the details regarding registration on the competition’s website: nudegeneration.com.

The next edition of “nude” will take place from 19 to 22 September 2023 at Feria Hábitat Valencia.

Under the title “The Desired City”, this assessment of the city has been created with the aim of proposing opportunities in the city for the wellbeing of its residents, taking into account different types of intervention and prototyping for the Valencia of the future.

The document presents a vision of the city, an assessment and a proposal for the next steps, establishing the Consell del Disseny (the Design Council) as a consultative team made up of design and architecture professionals who help the Valencian city council to focus on the existing challenges to the relationship between the city and its citizens.

Design cannot cure anything in and of itself, but neither can a vaccine if we don’t have a syringe to inject it with. The design is part of the solution itself, not an added value; it is an essential stage in the development of any innovation for social good. From industry to architecture, from graphic communication to fashion, there are many examples that serve to highlight the value of this creative activity for the most important thing of all: our health. This is right at the other end of the spectrum from decorative aspects and accessories. All of them are presented in the book El diseño es bueno para la salud (Design is Good for Health), published by La Fábrica and promoted by the Fundació del Disseny, Andreu World and the MuVIM.

The first event in this inspirational series organised by Cosentino for design and architecture professionals will take place on 23 March. It is an open conversation to highlight the special relationship between the creative studio and the publishing company during the creation of a product or a space.

Expormim and the creative duo of MUT Design and Cosentino—from the field of product development and innovation—will take centre stage at the first Design Crush, presented and moderated by Marina Peñalver, journalist and editor at Architectural Digest Spain.

On Thursday 23 March at 6:30pm at the CTAV (Territorial College of Architects of Valencia) this meeting will take place to answer various questions, such as: What is the greatest value a creative studio can bring to a production company? How can you experiment with the use of traditional materials?

Issues to address the needs of the contemporary world from an emotional as well as a professional perspective.