LEÓN ROMERO adds a technical yet human touch to the brand for Barcelona Design Week’s 18th edition

“For the organisation team and the curator of the Barcelona Design Week, the aim was to position it as the first global design week expressly associated with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals,” as defined by the United Nations, says Mikel Romero, Co-Founder & Creative Director of visual communication studio LEÓN ROMERO. “Based on the idea that the 2023 edition coincides with the 18th edition of the Barcelona Design Week,” he continues, “it was decided to promote the initiative of adding an 18th goal to the existing 17 – Design for Human Future,” contextualising his team’s elaborate and exciting identity for the 2023 showcase. “Thus, the design of the identity sought to represent the number 18 in an iconic, transgressive and dynamic way,” Co-Founder & Creative Director Jorge León adds, associating and cementing the brand within this new development aim, “therefore, we sought a representation that would evoke both the technological part, and the organic and human essence of this new goal.” The result is a fluid, fluctuating and endlessly engaging visual language, established through LEÓN ROMERO’s use of multiple generative language tools, firmly encapsulating the studio’s collision of humanist and technology features. “These tools allowed the creation of a large number of artworks based on the number 18,” León details, “each with different visual treatments,” communicated in a harmonious, balanced tone – a character likewise mirrored in the warm and semi-robotic typeface pairing. Opting for Monument Grotesk by Dinamo and Optimo’s Stanley, León explains, “on the one hand, Monument Grotesk had a more functional and informative role, while Stanley provided the humanistic,” offering a more overtly expressive output to the brand.