Pad (Dec 2020)
The First Female Professional Group of Graphic Designers in Catalonia (1960s - 1970s)
Abstract
A research project named Amb mirada de dissenyadora gràfica (From a Female Designer’s Perspective) was developed in 2019. Its aim was to fight for the recognition of the role of female designers in the graphic design sector. Its main objective was to recognize the work developed by the first generation of professional female graphic designers in Catalonia (Spain). This first important female professional group emerged from the first promotions of the design schools in Barcelona, such as Elisava and EINA. These women were born between the 1940s and 1950s, during the Franco dictatorship. As a result, at the end of the 1960s and during the 1970s, the first generation of female graphic designers in Catalonia accessed the professional world. Among them were figures such as Toni Miserachs, Pilar Villuendas, Mercedes Azúa, Tere Moral, Carme Vives, Tere Martínez, Ana Zelich, Mont Marsá, Xeixa Rosa and Pati Núñez. The current paper focuses on this project. Therefore, it’s a research on gender issues, deploying a historiographic methodology combining a literature review with firsthand accounts and oral sources, mainly interviews to some of the most relevant female designers.
