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Barcelona-based Comodo Screen is the Official Design Partner of PromaxBDA Europe 2016. Comodo Screen’s María Borrás and Pep Prior took time off from designing the overall look and feel of the event to give us the locals-only angle on the creative hot spots in their hometown.
DAILY BRIEF: Where is the creative heart of Barcelona today? Where are the artists and designers gathering?
COMODO SCREEN: Barcelona is a city that inspires.
In the last years a lot of creative minds have been attracted to Poble Nou. Poble Nou is the old industrial neighborhood at the seashore, that little by little, is being filled with artists, designers, agencies and new tech people.
DB: What inspires you in Barcelona? What is it about the city that informs your work?
CS: There is a hidden secret in the word BARCELONA in the Catalan language. If you split the word you get BAR, which means “bar” as well in Catalan), then CEL which is the Catalan word for “sky,” and ONA, which means “wave.”
BAR [Bar]
CEL [Sky]
ONA [Wave]
Also navigating in two languages — Spanish and Catalan — keeps your mind open.
It has a great climate that pushes you outside where there is always something happening and the streets are full of people all year around willing to share and communicate.
We work hard but there is always something to do at the end of the day.
DB: What are creatives and designers talking about in Barcelona today? What’s trending?
CS: These last years of crisis have forced a lot of people and professionals to find new ways of working with tighter budgets. So there is a lot of new co-working spaces, co-creative environments.
There is also a huge trend on everything traditionally made. The old arts-and-crafts disciplines are having a great resurgence.
DB: Thinking beyond the typical tourist sites, what are the places in Barcelona that creative visitors can’t miss?
CS: Barcelona is a small city so it’s really easy to get lost and discover by yourself.
One place we find very interesting is the big plaza around the new Design Hub museum, with the Agbar Tower and the new building for the traditional Barcelona flea market: Els Encants.
A new great location to discover new bars, some design little shops and small business, is the area around Parliament street in Sant Antoni neighborhood. And also within walking distance from there, you have Poble Sec, a beautiful old neighborhood with lots of little plazas and very proud working-class history.
Europe’s best broadcasters and agencies are headed to Barcelona for PromaxBDA Europe, 14-15 March 2016. Register today and find your inspiration in Europe’s Capital of Innovation. PromaxBDA is the publisher of Daily Brief.
Photos: Adobe Stock.
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