Guarda.El estudio de Godellafotografiado porJordi Dur en 1997.

FlyleafGodella studiophotographed byJordi Dur in 1997.

Guarda.El estudio de Godellafotografiado porJordi Dur en 1997.

FlyleafGodella studiophotographed byJordi Dur in 1997.

Pepe Gimenofotografiadopor Concha Pradaen 1997.

Pepe Gimenophotographedby Concha Pradain 1997.

Pepe Gimenofotografiadopor Concha Pradaen 1997.

Pepe Gimenophotographedby Concha Pradain 1997.

PresentacinDe verdades frgiles y secretasPierluigi Cattermole

IntroduccinEl Proyecto Grfico de Pepe GimenoAnna Calvera

Flashes de la MemoriaCarlos Prez

Mensajes en una botellaPablo Olivares

Trece formas de emitir un mensajeDibujar figuras para comunicarCristina Morozzi

Clip artTamices para un tiempo de abundanciaFelipe Hernndez Cava

La secuencia como soporteRicard Huerta

Luz, lnea, manchaSantiago Miranda

La tipografa como imagenEl tipgrafo/ La tipografa como imagenJos M Cerezo

La potica de la contundenciaAnna Calvera

La teora del caosCuatro palos de ciegoAlberto Corazn

La teora del caosRamn Lapiedra

Biografa

Agradecimientos

PresentationOn fragile and secret truthsPierluigi Cattermole

IntroductionPepe Gimenos Graphic DesignAnna Calvera

Flashes from MemoryCarlos Prez

Messages in a bottlePablo Olivares

Thirteen ways of conveying a messageDrawing figures for communicationCristina Morozzi

Clip artSieves for a time of plentyFelipe Hernndez Cava

The sequence as a supportRicard Huerta

Light, lines and patchesSantiago Miranda

Typography as imageThe typographer / Typography as imageJos M Cerezo

The poetic art of impactAnna Calvera

The theory of chaosStriking out blindlyAlberto Corazn

The theory of chaosRamn Lapiedra

Biography

Acknowledgments

SummarySumario

8

10

29

51

77

99

115

137

153

171

203

211

219

224

PresentacinDe verdades frgiles y secretasPierluigi Cattermole

IntroduccinEl Proyecto Grfico de Pepe GimenoAnna Calvera

Flashes de la MemoriaCarlos Prez

Mensajes en una botellaPablo Olivares

Trece formas de emitir un mensajeDibujar figuras para comunicarCristina Morozzi

Clip artTamices para un tiempo de abundanciaFelipe Hernndez Cava

La secuencia como soporteRicard Huerta

Luz, lnea, manchaSantiago Miranda

La tipografa como imagenEl tipgrafo/ La tipografa como imagenJos M Cerezo

La potica de la contundenciaAnna Calvera

La teora del caosCuatro palos de ciegoAlberto Corazn

La teora del caosRamn Lapiedra

Biografa

Agradecimientos

PresentationOn fragile and secret truthsPierluigi Cattermole

IntroductionPepe Gimenos Graphic DesignAnna Calvera

Flashes from MemoryCarlos Prez

Messages in a bottlePablo Olivares

Thirteen ways of conveying a messageDrawing figures for communicationCristina Morozzi

Clip artSieves for a time of plentyFelipe Hernndez Cava

The sequence as a supportRicard Huerta

Light, lines and patchesSantiago Miranda

Typography as imageThe typographer / Typography as imageJos M Cerezo

The poetic art of impactAnna Calvera

The theory of chaosStriking out blindlyAlberto Corazn

The theory of chaosRamn Lapiedra

Biography

Acknowledgments

SummarySumario

8

10

29

51

77

99

115

137

153

171

203

211

219

224

Vivimos en la era de la comunicacin global y sin embargo este nuevo contexto cada

vez ms informtico y meditico parece dominado por la homogeneizacin y la

banalizacin planetaria de las imgenes y los contenidos. La sociedad de la informacin

se torna, paradjicamente, sociedad del ruido y de la contaminacin semitica.

Vivimos el vrtigo de una continua aceleracin que reduce al mnimo, incluso para

el diseo grfico, el espacio para la crtica y la reflexin. El tiempo entre la idea y su

,materializacin parece comprimirse inexorablemente. Slo importa la respuesta del

mercado y los niveles de audiencia, los nicos verdaderos garantes de la mediocridad

y de su perpetuarse.

En cambio en el estudio de Pepe Gimeno, el tiempo vuelve a dilatarse. En el

proceso que va desde las primeras ideas a la materializacin definitiva del artefacto

grfico las paredes se recubren incansables de bocetos, pruebas y dibujos. Y en este

entretiempo se abre un parntesis, un espacio de sentido donde el proyecto recobra

todo su protagonismo. Ya no es el cliente quien decide entre una y otra opcin, no

es el mercado quien asume el rol de la crtica, sino el diseador y la prctica del

proyecto. Pepe Gimeno no es ni un creativo ni un tcnico de la comunicacin

The age we live in is hailed as being one of global communication,

and yet this new increasingly computer and media-based environment

would seem to be dominated by the standardising and trivialising

of images and contents on a world-wide scale. The information

society has paradoxically become the society of noise and semiotic

pollution. We live in a dizzy spurt of continuous acceleration which

cuts the space available for criticism and reflection down to the very

minimum, even as regards graphic design. The time elapsing between

an idea and its materialisation seems to be getting inexorably

shortened. The only thing that matters is market response and

audience levels, the sole real guarantors of mediocrity and its

perpetuation.

Nevertheless, at Pepe Gimenos studio time once more expands.

In the process going from the initial idea to the definitive

materialisation of the graphic device the walls are made untiring

supports for sketches, proofs and drawings. There is an interval

opening up at this point, a space full of meaning in which the project

itself once more moves into the limelight. It is no longer the customer

who decides between one option and another, it is not now the

market which assumes the role of critic, but the designer and the

application of the project. Pepe Gimeno is neither a visual

communication creative nor a technician. He is a Designer with

a capital d because he is capable of filling the waste-paper bin with

many of the different options which gradually come forward in any

design process, and the walls of his studio thus return to their

immaculate initial state time after time, in a sort of unceasing

metamorphosis.

25 years of graphic activity are condensed in this book on Pepe

Gimenos work. As a publisher I am well aware of the fact that this

is one of those books which mysteriously open up by themselves on

certain evenings, so that their characters and drawings can take on

life. But keep calm! This is not another publishers sales spiel - it is

something which only depends on what is actually trapped in its

pages.

One must remember that in the distant past, as Borges has it,

it was the Chinese who invented the drawing, intending this to be

a good tool for trapping dreams. Even today, so many years on from

that point, some drawings and also certain works of contemporary

graphic design continue to contain traces of that ancient mystery.

This is why, with Pepe Gimeno, we find writing sometimes losing

authority and becoming image, and sometimes images becoming

indelible metaphors of memory and recollection. Some already

existed in one square metre of forest, or came from the happy

encounters with the unexpected, from a printing error, perhaps

from some aesthetic expression. And even so, lurking behind all

these there are the traces and signs of other narratives, of fragile and

secret truths. But be careful - here is Pepes book and work: simply

enjoy them because, as Lacan used to affirm, saying kills - it kills

the dreams that we always wished to pin down in drawings and

images.

Finally, if is true that a book starts to take on its greatest meaning

when it finds its own readers, I should like there to be graphic design

professionals and students amongst these. This modest contribution

is partly intended for them, at a time of great changes also affecting

the world of visual communication, in the hope that they can, like

Pepe Gimeno, set the culture of the project against the predominant

trend towards the trivialisation and standardisation of culture.

Lastly, as the publisher of this book, I should like to express my

thanks to all the colleagues and professionals who wrote the

presentation texts for each of its chapters, to Mria Surez for the

publishing coordination and especially to Pepe Gimeno, who also

made his time and professional sense available for the design and

page-making of a book whose form is ultimately inseparable from

its content.

visual, es un Diseador con la d mayscula porque sabe tirar a la papelera muchas

de esas variadas opciones que van perfilndose en todo proceso de diseo, y las

paredes de su estudio, en una especie de incesante metamorfosis vuelven, una y otra

vez, a su inmaculado aspecto inicial.

En este libro, dedicado al trabajo de Pepe Gimeno se condensan 25 aos de

su actividad grfica. Como editor s a ciencia cierta que esto es uno de aquellos libros

que algunas noches se abren solos, misteriosamente, para que sus personajes y sus

dibujos cobren vida. Pero, qudense tranquilos, no se trata de un nuevo argumento

de venta editorial, es algo que slo depende de todo aquello que se qued atrapado

entre sus pginas.

Hay que saber que en tiempos muy muy remotos -segn relata Borges-

fueron los chinos quienes inventaron el dibujo con la intencin de que ste fuera una

buena herramienta para atrapar a los sueos. An hoy, a distancia de innumerables

aos, algunos dibujos y tambin algunas propuestas de diseo grfico contemporneo

siguen custodiando escarchas de ese antiguo misterio. As en Pepe Gimeno, unas

veces la escritura pierde autoridad y se vuelve imagen, otras las imgenes se convierten

en metforas indelebles de la memoria y del recuerdo. Algunas ya existan en un

metro cuadrado de bosque, o surgieron de encuentros afortunados con lo imprevisto,

de un error de impresin, quizs de un gesto esttico. Y an as, detrs de todas

ellas afloran las huellas y los indicios de otras narraciones, de verdades frgiles y

secretas. Pero cuidado! aqu estn el libro y los trabajos de Pepe, disfrtenlos sin

ms porque, como deca Lacan el decir mata, mata aquellos sueos que desde

siempre quisimos atrapar con los dibujos y las imgenes.

Finalmente, si es verdad que un libro empieza a tener sentido sobre todo

cuando encuentra a sus propios lectores, deseara que entre ellos figuraran profesionales

y estudiantes de diseo grfico. A ellos nos dirigimos con esta modesta aportacin, en

un momento de grandes cambios que afectan tambin al mundo de la comunicacin

visual, con la esperanza de que como Pepe Gimeno sepan oponer cultura del proyecto

a la imperante tendencia a la banalizacin y estandarizacin de la cultura.

Por ltimo, como editor de este libro, quiero expresar mi gratitud a todos

los colaboradores y profesionales que han elaborado los textos de presentacin de

los captulos que componen el volumen, a Mria Surez por la coordinacin editorial

y, en especial a Pepe Gimeno, quien adems a puesto a disposicin su tiempo y su

profesionalidad para el diseo y la puesta en pgina de un libro cuya forma resulta

finalmente inseparable de su contenido.

De verdades frgiles y secretasPierluigi Cattermole

On fragile and secret truthsPierluigi Cattermole

Vivimos en la era de la comunicacin global y sin embargo este nuevo contexto cada

vez ms informtico y meditico parece dominado por la homogeneizacin y la

banalizacin planetaria de las imgenes y los contenidos. La sociedad de la informacin

se torna, paradjicamente, sociedad del ruido y de la contaminacin semitica.

Vivimos el vrtigo de una continua aceleracin que reduce al mnimo, incluso para

el diseo grfico, el espacio para la crtica y la reflexin. El tiempo entre la idea y su

,materializacin parece comprimirse inexorablemente. Slo importa la respuesta del

mercado y los niveles de audiencia, los nicos verdaderos garantes de la mediocridad

y de su perpetuarse.

En cambio en el estudio de Pepe Gimeno, el tiempo vuelve a dilatarse. En el

proceso que va desde las primeras ideas a la materializacin definitiva del artefacto

grfico las paredes se recubren incansables de bocetos, pruebas y dibujos. Y en este

entretiempo se abre un parntesis, un espacio de sentido donde el proyecto recobra

todo su protagonismo. Ya no es el cliente quien decide entre una y otra opcin, no

es el mercado quien asume el rol de la crtica, sino el diseador y la prctica del

proyecto. Pepe Gimeno no es ni un creativo ni un tcnico de la comunicacin

The age we live in is hailed as being one of global communication,

and yet this new increasingly computer and media-based environment

would seem to be dominated by the standardising and trivialising

of images and contents on a world-wide scale. The information

society has paradoxically become the society of noise and semiotic

pollution. We live in a dizzy spurt of continuous acceleration which

cuts the space available for criticism and reflection down to the very

minimum, even as regards graphic design. The time elapsing between

an idea and its materialisation seems to be getting inexorably

shortened. The only thing that matters is market response and

audience levels, the sole real guarantors of mediocrity and its

perpetuation.

Nevertheless, at Pepe Gimenos studio time once more expands.

In the process going from the initial idea to the definitive

materialisation of the graphic device the walls are made untiring

supports for sketches, proofs and drawings. There is an interval

opening up at this point, a space full of meaning in which the project

itself once more moves into the limelight. It is no longer the customer

who decides between one option and another, it is not now the

market which assumes the role of critic, but the designer and the

application of the project. Pepe Gimeno is neither a visual

communication creative nor a technician. He is a Designer with

a capital d because he is capable of filling the waste-paper bin with

many of the different options which gradually come forward in any

design process, and the walls of his studio thus return to their

immaculate initial state time after time, in a sort of unceasing

metamorphosis.

25 years of graphic activity are condensed in this book on Pepe

Gimenos work. As a publisher I am well aware of the fact that this

is one of those books which mysteriously open up by themselves on

certain evenings, so that their characters and drawings can take on

life. But keep calm! This is not another publishers sales spiel - it is

something which only depends on what is actually trapped in its

pages.

One must remember that in the distant past, as Borges has it,

it was the Chinese who invented the drawing, intending this to be

a good tool for trapping dreams. Even today, so many years on from

that point, some drawings and also certain works of contemporary

graphic design continue to contain traces of that ancient mystery.

This is why, with Pepe Gimeno, we find writing sometimes losing

authority and becoming image, and sometimes images becoming

indelible metaphors of memory and recollection. Some already

existed in one square metre of forest, or came from the happy

encounters with the unexpected, from a printing error, perhaps

from some aesthetic expression. And even so, lurking behind all

these there are the traces and signs of other narratives, of fragile and

secret truths. But be careful - here is Pepes book and work: simply

enjoy them because, as Lacan used to affirm, saying kills - it kills

the dreams that we always wished to pin down in drawings and

images.

Finally, if is true that a book starts to take on its greatest meaning

when it finds its own readers, I should like there to be graphic design

professionals and students amongst these. This modest contribution

is partly intended for them, at a time of great changes also affecting

the world of visual communication, in the hope that they can, like

Pepe Gimeno, set the culture of the project against the predominant

trend towards the trivialisation and standardisation of culture.

Lastly, as the publisher of this book, I should like to express my

thanks to all the colleagues and professionals who wrote the

presentation texts for each of its chapters, to Mria Surez for the

publishing coordination and especially to Pepe Gimeno, who also

made his time and professional sense available for the design and

page-making of a book whose form is ultimately inseparable from

its content.

visual, es un Diseador con la d mayscula porque sabe tirar a la papelera muchas

de esas variadas opciones que van perfilndose en todo proceso de diseo, y las

paredes de su estudio, en una especie de incesante metamorfosis vuelven, una y otra

vez, a su inmaculado aspecto inicial.

En este libro, dedicado al trabajo de Pepe Gimeno se condensan 25 aos de

su actividad grfica. Como editor s a ciencia cierta que esto es uno de aquellos libros

que algunas noches se abren solos, misteriosamente, para que sus personajes y sus

dibujos cobren vida. Pero, qudense tranquilos, no se trata de un nuevo argumento

de venta editorial, es algo que slo depende de todo aquello que se qued atrapado

entre sus pginas.

Hay que saber que en tiempos muy muy remotos -segn relata Borges-

fueron los chinos quienes inventaron el dibujo con la intencin de que ste fuera una

buena herramienta para atrapar a los sueos. An hoy, a distancia de innumerables

aos, algunos dibujos y tambin algunas propuestas de diseo grfico contemporneo

siguen custodiando escarchas de ese antiguo misterio. As en Pepe Gimeno, unas

veces la escritura pierde autoridad y se vuelve imagen, otras las imgenes se convierten

en metforas indelebles de la memoria y del recuerdo. Algunas ya existan en un

metro cuadrado de bosque, o surgieron de encuentros afortunados con lo imprevisto,

de un error de impresin, quizs de un gesto esttico. Y an as, detrs de todas

ellas afloran las huellas y los indicios de otras narraciones, de verdades frgiles y

secretas. Pero cuidado! aqu estn el libro y los trabajos de Pepe, disfrtenlos sin

ms porque, como deca Lacan el decir mata, mata aquellos sueos que desde

siempre quisimos atrapar con los dibujos y las imgenes.

Finalmente, si es verdad que un libro empieza a tener sentido sobre todo

cuando encuentra a sus propios lectores, deseara que entre ellos figuraran profesionales

y estudiantes de diseo grfico. A ellos nos dirigimos con esta modesta aportacin, en

un momento de grandes cambios que afectan tambin al mundo de la comunicacin

visual, con la esperanza de que como Pepe Gimeno sepan oponer cultura del proyecto

a la imperante tendencia a la banalizacin y estandarizacin de la cultura.

Por ltimo, como editor de este libro, quiero expresar mi gratitud a todos

los colaboradores y profesionales que han elaborado los textos de presentacin de

los captulos que componen el volumen, a Mria Surez por la coordinacin editorial

y, en especial a Pepe Gimeno, quien adems a puesto a disposicin su tiempo y su

profesionalidad para el diseo y la puesta en pgina de un libro cuya forma resulta

finalmente inseparable de su contenido.

De verdades frgiles y secretasPierluigi Cattermole

On fragile and secret truthsPierluigi Cattermole

Qu es Pepe Gimeno / Proyecto Grfico?

Pepe Gimeno es un gestor del espacio, un gran decorador del folio Gestiona

el espacio de una manera impresionante, lo cual es lo ms difcil y el fundamento

del diseo grfico. Siempre coloca lo que toca en el sitio que toca. Es un prescriptor

nato y un ordenador fantstico del espacio grfico.

As de claro y rotundo fue Daniel Nebot al referirse a su amigo Pepe Gimeno.

Es difcil sin embargo ver detrs de esa definicin a una persona de carne y hueso,

pero an es ms difcil imaginarse cmo es. Es una abstraccin que resume

perfectamente el conjunto de una obra y, por aadidura, caracteriza en pocas lneas

el estilo de un autor, el retrato de una personalidad grfica. Por eso es una definicin

perfecta, acadmica y profesionalmente hablando, que, adems, es la mejor clave

de lectura para ver este libro, el leit-motiv de los nueve captulos que lo componen,

el comn denominador a todos los proyectos mostrados; en definitiva, es la

diagramacin sobre la que se ha levantado toda una obra grfica a lo largo de unos

ya cuantos aos. Pero en realidad, Pepe Gimeno, adems de una obra, es tambin

una persona, un diseador, un estudio grfico y una empresa. Todos llevan el

mismo nombre pero cada uno ha adoptado un logotipo distinto.

Para desvelar la pregunta quin es Pepe Gimeno? el editor pens que sera

bonito reunir a un grupo de colegas y amigos de Pepe para hablar en una mesa

redonda sobre l y su circunstancia. No fue una mesa redonda, porque la mesa era

ovalada, y porque en lugar de vasos, botellines de agua, pblico y tiempos cronometrados,

haba manjares, buenos vinos, amigos y una calurosa larga noche por delante para

estar al aire libre. Al final, no fue la mesa redonda que haba propuesto el editor Don

Pierluigi Cattermole, sino una tertulia de amigos, colegas y compaeros de fatigas

conversando sobre la realidad del diseo y la profesin de diseador. No tiene nada

de raro que, una vez explicado el motivo que nos haba congregado, Daniel Nebot,

uno de los comensales, fuera tan incisivo y contundente al querer entrar en materia:

Pepe Gimeno es lo dicho. Alrededor de la mesa: Daniel Nebot, Pierluigi Cattermole,

Paco Bascun, Vicent Martnez, Nora Santos, esposa de Pepe y eficacsima intendente,

Pepe Gimeno, Lola Castell y Anna Calvera. La larga conversacin fluida, pausada

y prolongada ha servido para poder redactar en comandita una sinpsis biogrfica

que lo es del diseador Pepe Gimeno pero tambin de los amigos de su quinta.

Pepe Gimenos Graphic DesignAnna CalveraValencia, 18th September 1998

What is Pepe Gimeno / Proyecto Grfico?

Pepe Gimeno is an arranger of space, a superb decorator of

the page He arranges space really impressively, which is the

hardest thing to do in graphic design, and the basis of the whole

thing. He always puts the right thing in just the right place. He is

a born orchestrator and fantastic organiser of graphic space.

Such was Daniel Nebots clear and forthright description of

his friend Pepe Gimeno. It is nevertheless difficult to see a person

of flesh and blood behind this definition and even harder to

imagine him as he actually is. It is an abstraction which

beautifully sums up a body of work and also characterises the

style of an author in a few lines, sketching out a graphic

personality. This is why it is a perfect definition academically

and professionally speaking, one which is also the best key for

interpreting this book, the leitmotiv of its nine chapters, the

common denominator of all the designs shown, the structure in

fact on which a whole body of graphic work has been erected

over quite a number of years now. But the truth is that Pepe

Gimeno, apart from a body of work, is also a person, a designer,

a graphic studio and a company. These all have the same name

but have each assumed a different logotype.

To answer the question Who is Pepe Gimeno? the editor

thought it would be a good idea to get a group of Pepes friends

and colleagues together at a round table on him and his

circumstances. It was not actually a round table, because the

table was oval, and because instead of the usual glasses, little

bottles of water, audience and timed talks there was food, good

wine, friends and a long hot night ahead to enjoy in the fresh

air. It was finally not the round table proposed by editor Pierluigi

Cattermole, but more a group of friends, colleagues and

companions in fortune and misfortune alike, chatting about the

real nature of design and the designers profession. It is not in

the least surprising that after explaining the reasons for our

getting together, Daniel Nebot, one of the guests, should be so

incisive and categorical on starting the proceedings with his

Pepe Gimeno description as above. Around the table were

Daniel Nebot, Pierluigi Cattermole, Paco Bascun, Vicent

Martnez, Nora Santos - Pepes wife and extremely efficient

manager, Pepe Gimeno, Lola Castell and Anna Calvera. The

conversation was free-flowing, steady and lengthy, and of great

use for jointly drawing up a biographical synopsis on designer

Pepe Gimeno, and also on the friends from his generation.

El Proyecto Grfico de Pepe GimenoAnna Calvera18 de Septiembre de 1998

El Proyecto Grfico de Pepe Gimeno

Pepe Gimenos GraphicDesign

10

Pepe Gimeno retratadopor su hijo Mauro.Lpiz de color. 1994.

Portrait of Pepe Gimenoby his son Mauro.Crayon. 1994.

Qu es Pepe Gimeno / Proyecto Grfico?

Pepe Gimeno es un gestor del espacio, un gran decorador del folio Gestiona

el espacio de una manera impresionante, lo cual es lo ms difcil y el fundamento

del diseo grfico. Siempre coloca lo que toca en el sitio que toca. Es un prescriptor

nato y un ordenador fantstico del espacio grfico.

As de claro y rotundo fue Daniel Nebot al referirse a su amigo Pepe Gimeno.

Es difcil sin embargo ver detrs de esa definicin a una persona de carne y hueso,

pero an es ms difcil imaginarse cmo es. Es una abstraccin que resume

perfectamente el conjunto de una obra y, por aadidura, caracteriza en pocas lneas

el estilo de un autor, el retrato de una personalidad grfica. Por eso es una definicin

perfecta, acadmica y profesionalmente hablando, que, adems, es la mejor clave

de lectura para ver este libro, el leit-motiv de los nueve captulos que lo componen,

el comn denominador a todos los proyectos mostrados; en definitiva, es la

diagramacin sobre la que se ha levantado toda una obra grfica a lo largo de unos

ya cuantos aos. Pero en realidad, Pepe Gimeno, adems de una obra, es tambin

una persona, un diseador, un estudio grfico y una empresa. Todos llevan el

mismo nombre pero cada uno ha adoptado un logotipo distinto.

Para desvelar la pregunta quin es Pepe Gimeno? el editor pens que sera

bonito reunir a un grupo de colegas y amigos de Pepe para hablar en una mesa

redonda sobre l y su circunstancia. No fue una mesa redonda, porque la mesa era

ovalada, y porque en lugar de vasos, botellines de agua, pblico y tiempos cronometrados,

haba manjares, buenos vinos, amigos y una calurosa larga noche por delante para

estar al aire libre. Al final, no fue la mesa redonda que haba propuesto el editor Don

Pierluigi Cattermole, sino una tertulia de amigos, colegas y compaeros de fatigas

conversando sobre la realidad del diseo y la profesin de diseador. No tiene nada

de raro que, una vez explicado el motivo que nos haba congregado, Daniel Nebot,

uno de los comensales, fuera tan incisivo y contundente al querer entrar en materia:

Pepe Gimeno es lo dicho. Alrededor de la mesa: Daniel Nebot, Pierluigi Cattermole,

Paco Bascun, Vicent Martnez, Nora Santos, esposa de Pepe y eficacsima intendente,

Pepe Gimeno, Lola Castell y Anna Calvera. La larga conversacin fluida, pausada

y prolongada ha servido para poder redactar en comandita una sinpsis biogrfica

que lo es del diseador Pepe Gimeno pero tambin de los amigos de su quinta.

Pepe Gimenos Graphic DesignAnna CalveraValencia, 18th September 1998

What is Pepe Gimeno / Proyecto Grfico?

Pepe Gimeno is an arranger of space, a superb decorator of

the page He arranges space really impressively, which is the

hardest thing to do in graphic design, and the basis of the whole

thing. He always puts the right thing in just the right place. He is

a born orchestrator and fantastic organiser of graphic space.

Such was Daniel Nebots clear and forthright description of

his friend Pepe Gimeno. It is nevertheless difficult to see a person

of flesh and blood behind this definition and even harder to

imagine him as he actually is. It is an abstraction which

beautifully sums up a body of work and also characterises the

style of an author in a few lines, sketching out a graphic

personality. This is why it is a perfect definition academically

and professionally speaking, one which is also the best key for

interpreting this book, the leitmotiv of its nine chapters, the

common denominator of all the designs shown, the structure in

fact on which a whole body of graphic work has been erected

over quite a number of years now. But the truth is that Pepe

Gimeno, apart from a body of work, is also a person, a designer,

a graphic studio and a company. These all have the same name

but have each assumed a different logotype.

To answer the question Who is Pepe Gimeno? the editor

thought it would be a good idea to get a group of Pepes friends

and colleagues together at a round table on him and his

circumstances. It was not actually a round table, because the

table was oval, and because instead of the usual glasses, little

bottles of water, audience and timed talks there was food, good

wine, friends and a long hot night ahead to enjoy in the fresh

air. It was finally not the round table proposed by editor Pierluigi

Cattermole, but more a group of friends, colleagues and

companions in fortune and misfortune alike, chatting about the

real nature of design and the designers profession. It is not in

the least surprising that after explaining the reasons for our

getting together, Daniel Nebot, one of the guests, should be so

incisive and categorical on starting the proceedings with his

Pepe Gimeno description as above. Around the table were

Daniel Nebot, Pierluigi Cattermole, Paco Bascun, Vicent

Martnez, Nora Santos - Pepes wife and extremely efficient

manager, Pepe Gimeno, Lola Castell and Anna Calvera. The

conversation was free-flowing, steady and lengthy, and of great

use for jointly drawing up a biographical synopsis on designer

Pepe Gimeno, and also on the friends from his generation.

El Proyecto Grfico de Pepe GimenoAnna Calvera18 de Septiembre de 1998

El Proyecto Grfico de Pepe Gimeno

Pepe Gimenos GraphicDesign

10

Pepe Gimeno retratadopor su hijo Mauro.Lpiz de color. 1994.

Portrait of Pepe Gimenoby his son Mauro.Crayon. 1994.

A space available for graphic design. As is the wont of people in

the design world, the conversation started by a visit to the studio

where we were going to have dinner. This is a new building in Godella,

a small town close to Valencia Trade Fair premises, a special area in

which a market garden with intruding buildings ends up in a hill dotted

with olive and carob trees, summer houses and warehouses. The

relations between the market garden and the city were also the subject

of conversation, a point at which citizen Gimeno enthusiastically put

forward his own point of view: the huerta - Valencias famous market

garden area - is one of the items which most accurately define the city

of Valencias character, with its limits that can be seen by following

the line drawn by the walls of the buildings backing onto the fields

which start at their feet. Pepe feels that one of the most urgent town

planning challenges today is to recover contact with the huerta: this

should be incorporated in the city and urban customs without being

divested of its essential qualities for this reason. He himself has a very

personal relationship with the market garden, whose spirit would seem

to have pervaded his studio. The arrangement of space, the colours

and geometrical order, the perfection and perfectionism seen in the

way furrows are painstakingly aligned are all there in the building, in

its architecture, in the treatment of interiors and the traces left at night

by the use to which this is put during the day.

One small detail: he has managed to make the white of the

tables hide that commonplace neutral tone of computer plastic. It is

furthermore one of the few buildings to have its own full moon: in

fact Pepe has one for each window. If it is indeed worthwhile having

a brief look at the studio this is because it very accurately reflects the

personality of the designer who works there: this is what was

expressed by his colleagues, both surprised and amused.

Five people work with him there: Ana Iranzo, Suso Prez, Luisa

Sanjun, Jos Gil, and Mara Chamorro. Together they form a

management and production team, carrying out all the different tasks

proper to graphic design. The most advanced techniques are combined

with simple manuals, for mounting, preparing originals, illustrating

and photography. There is also a student doing practical work, being

trained as a professional. Helping beginners find a way into the

profession is a responsibility assumed by recognised professionals

and Pepe undertook it right from the start, proud indeed to do to.

In the studio as a whole, designer and businessman Pepe Gimeno

acts as the conductor. Is he the creative author? Is he the art director?

Is he in charge of seeking and dealing with customers? He is in fact

all of these at the same time because he is ultimately a designer who

is highly representative of the way the profession is understood in

Spain today. This could lead us into a discourse on man and

circumstances at a time of global concepts, a burning question dealt

with in depth during the supper, but one we had better leave for later

on. It would nevertheless be useful to have a look, albeit superficially,

at what is meant by this Spanish way of conceiving the profession

and its business dynamics. It involves the figure of the designer who

has very often been accused of working as a craftsman, and this is

indeed the case. They direct small companies in which they perform

many different functions, but mainly that of designing: assuming

responsibility for design throughout the process of creation and

execution, even though they work with their colleagues as a team in

the later stages. They understand design as being a dual service: on

one hand the client, with whom they prefer to establish a personal

relationship, if possible one of complicity and teamwork, but

professional in any event, and on the other hand, as a service to the

group of readers, the people who are actually going to see their

designs out there in the streets.

Un Espacio Para El Proyecto Grfico. Como es habitual entre gente

del mundo del diseo, la charla empez visitando el estudio en el que bamos a cenar.

Es un edificio de nueva planta situado en Godella, un pueblo cercano a la Feria de

Valencia, esa zona tan especial en que una huerta invadida de edificios se entrega a

una colina llena de olivos, algarrobos, chalets y almacenes. La relacin entre la huerta

y la ciudad fue tambin motivo de conversacin, momento en que el ciudadano Pepe

Gimeno se emocion explicando su punto de vista al respecto: la huerta es uno de los

elementos que ms define el carcter de Valencia, una ciudad cuyo lmite se ve con

recorrer la lnea dibujada por las medianeras de unos edificios que dan la espalda a una

huerta que empieza a sus pies. Pepe opina que uno de los retos ms urgentes de la

planificacin urbana es recuperar el contacto con la huerta: hay que incoporarla a la

ciudad y a los usos urbanos sin por ello desvirtuarla. l por su parte mantiene una

relacin muy personal con la huerta y parece como si el espritu de sta se hubiera

colado en su estudio. La ordenacin del espacio, los colores y el orden geomtrico, la

perfeccin y el perfeccionismo del trazado de los surcos, todo est en el aire del estudio,

en su arquitectura, en el tratamiento de los interiores y en las huellas que quedan por

la noche del uso a que se le somete diariamente.

Un solo detalle: ha conseguido que el blanco de las mesas oculte ese color tan

neutro y socorrido del plstico de los ordenadores. Por otra parte, el estudio es uno

de esos pocos edificios que dispone de luna llena propia: de hecho, Pepe tiene una

para cada ventana. Si vale la pena hablar un poco del estudio es porque refleja muy

fielmente la personalidad del diseador que lo habita: eso manifestaron entre

sorprendidos y divertidos sus colegas.

Hay cinco personas trabajando en l. Son Ana Iranzo, Suso Prez, Luisa Sanjun,

Jos Gil y Mara Chamorro. Juntos forman un equipo de gestin y produccin, ejerciendo

todos las diversas tareas propias del proyecto grfico. Conviven las tcnicas ms

avanzadas con las manuales, las del montador, las del preparador de originales, las del

ilustrador y las del fotgrafo. Tambin hay un estudiante trabajando en rgimen de

prcticas. Se est formando como profesional. Facilitar a los que suben el acceso a la

profesin es una responsabilidad contrada por los profesionales reconocidos y Pepe

la asumi desde buen comienzo. Se siente orgulloso de hacerlo.

En el conjunto del estudio, el diseador y empresario Pepe Gimeno ejerce

de director de orquesta. Es el creativo?, es el director de arte?, es el encargado

de buscar y tratar a los clientes?. En realidad lo es todo a la vez porque en el fondo

no es sino un diseador muy representativo de esa manera de entender la profesin

que se tiene en la Espaa actual. Eso nos llevara a una disquisicin sobre el ser y la

circunstancia en una poca de globalidades, tema candente que se trat con bastante

profundidad a lo largo de la cena. Mejor lo dejamos para ms tarde. Sin embargo,

vale la pena explicar aunque sea por encima lo que significa esa manera espaola

de concebir la profesin y su dinmica empresarial. Hace referencia a esa figura del

diseador al que muchas veces se le ha echado en cara trabajar como un artesano,

y as es. Dirige una pequea empresa en la que realiza muchas funciones distintas

pero principalmente la de disear: se hace cargo del diseo a lo largo de todo el

proceso de creacin y de realizacin, aunque en esas fases trabaje en equipo con sus

colaboradores. Entiende el diseo como un doble servicio, por un lado al cliente, con

quien prefiere establecer una relacin personal, si puede ser de complicidad y de

equipo, pero profesional al fin y al cabo; y, por el otro, como un servicio a la colec-

tividad de los lectores, la gente que va a ver su diseo en la calle.12

Entrada del estudio de Godellay vista de un despacho yel jardn fotografiadas porJuan Garca en 1997.

Entrance to the Godella studioand view of an office andthe garden photographed byJuan Garca in 1997.

A space available for graphic design. As is the wont of people in

the design world, the conversation started by a visit to the studio

where we were going to have dinner. This is a new building in Godella,

a small town close to Valencia Trade Fair premises, a special area in

which a market garden with intruding buildings ends up in a hill dotted

with olive and carob trees, summer houses and warehouses. The

relations between the market garden and the city were also the subject

of conversation, a point at which citizen Gimeno enthusiastically put

forward his own point of view: the huerta - Valencias famous market

garden area - is one of the items which most accurately define the city

of Valencias character, with its limits that can be seen by following

the line drawn by the walls of the buildings backing onto the fields

which start at their feet. Pepe feels that one of the most urgent town

planning challenges today is to recover contact with the huerta: this

should be incorporated in the city and urban customs without being

divested of its essential qualities for this reason. He himself has a very

personal relationship with the market garden, whose spirit would seem

to have pervaded his studio. The arrangement of space, the colours

and geometrical order, the perfection and perfectionism seen in the

way furrows are painstakingly aligned are all there in the building, in

its architecture, in the treatment of interiors and the traces left at night

by the use to which this is put during the day.

One small detail: he has managed to make the white of the

tables hide that commonplace neutral tone of computer plastic. It is

furthermore one of the few buildings to have its own full moon: in

fact Pepe has one for each window. If it is indeed worthwhile having

a brief look at the studio this is because it very accurately reflects the

personality of the designer who works there: this is what was

expressed by his colleagues, both surprised and amused.

Five people work with him there: Ana Iranzo, Suso Prez, Luisa

Sanjun, Jos Gil, and Mara Chamorro. Together they form a

management and production team, carrying out all the different tasks

proper to graphic design. The most advanced techniques are combined

with simple manuals, for mounting, preparing originals, illustrating

and photography. There is also a student doing practical work, being

trained as a professional. Helping beginners find a way into the

profession is a responsibility assumed by recognised professionals

and Pepe undertook it right from the start, proud indeed to do to.

In the studio as a whole, designer and businessman Pepe Gimeno

acts as the conductor. Is he the creative author? Is he the art director?

Is he in charge of seeking and dealing with customers? He is in fact

all of these at the same time because he is ultimately a designer who

is highly representative of the way the profession is understood in

Spain today. This could lead us into a discourse on man and

circumstances at a time of global concepts, a burning question dealt

with in depth during the supper, but one we had better leave for later

on. It would nevertheless be useful to have a look, albeit superficially,

at what is meant by this Spanish way of conceiving the profession

and its business dynamics. It involves the figure of the designer who

has very often been accused of working as a craftsman, and this is

indeed the case. They direct small companies in which they perform

many different functions, but mainly that of designing: assuming

responsibility for design throughout the process of creation and

execution, even though they work with their colleagues as a team in

the later stages. They understand design as being a dual service: on

one hand the client, with whom they prefer to establish a personal

relationship, if possible one of complicity and teamwork, but

professional in any event, and on the other hand, as a service to the

group of readers, the people who are actually going to see their

designs out there in the streets.

Un Espacio Para El Proyecto Grfico. Como es habitual entre gente

del mundo del diseo, la charla empez visitando el estudio en el que bamos a cenar.

Es un edificio de nueva planta situado en Godella, un pueblo cercano a la Feria de

Valencia, esa zona tan especial en que una huerta invadida de edificios se entrega a

una colina llena de olivos, algarrobos, chalets y almacenes. La relacin entre la huerta

y la ciudad fue tambin motivo de conversacin, momento en que el ciudadano Pepe

Gimeno se emocion explicando su punto de vista al respecto: la huerta es uno de los

elementos que ms define el carcter de Valencia, una ciudad cuyo lmite se ve con

recorrer la lnea dibujada por las medianeras de unos edificios que dan la espalda a una

huerta que empieza a sus pies. Pepe opina que uno de los retos ms urgentes de la

planificacin urbana es recuperar el contacto con la huerta: hay que incoporarla a la

ciudad y a los usos urbanos sin por ello desvirtuarla. l por su parte mantiene una

relacin muy personal con la huerta y parece como si el espritu de sta se hubiera

colado en su estudio. La ordenacin del espacio, los colores y el orden geomtrico, la

perfeccin y el perfeccionismo del trazado de los surcos, todo est en el aire del estudio,

en su arquitectura, en el tratamiento de los interiores y en las huellas que quedan por

la noche del uso a que se le somete diariamente.

Un solo detalle: ha conseguido que el blanco de las mesas oculte ese color tan

neutro y socorrido del plstico de los ordenadores. Por otra parte, el estudio es uno

de esos pocos edificios que dispone de luna llena propia: de hecho, Pepe tiene una

para cada ventana. Si vale la pena hablar un poco del estudio es porque refleja muy

fielmente la personalidad del diseador que lo habita: eso manifestaron entre

sorprendidos y divertidos sus colegas.

Hay cinco personas trabajando en l. Son Ana Iranzo, Suso Prez, Luisa Sanjun,

Jos Gil y Mara Chamorro. Juntos forman un equipo de gestin y produccin, ejerciendo

todos las diversas tareas propias del proyecto grfico. Conviven las tcnicas ms

avanzadas con las manuales, las del montador, las del preparador de originales, las del

ilustrador y las del fotgrafo. Tambin hay un estudiante trabajando en rgimen de

prcticas. Se est formando como profesional. Facilitar a los que suben el acceso a la

profesin es una responsabilidad contrada por los profesionales reconocidos y Pepe

la asumi desde buen comienzo. Se siente orgulloso de hacerlo.

En el conjunto del estudio, el diseador y empresario Pepe Gimeno ejerce

de director de orquesta. Es el creativo?, es el director de arte?, es el encargado

de buscar y tratar a los clientes?. En realidad lo es todo a la vez porque en el fondo

no es sino un diseador muy representativo de esa manera de entender la profesin

que se tiene en la Espaa actual. Eso nos llevara a una disquisicin sobre el ser y la

circunstancia en una poca de globalidades, tema candente que se trat con bastante

profundidad a lo largo de la cena. Mejor lo dejamos para ms tarde. Sin embargo,

vale la pena explicar aunque sea por encima lo que significa esa manera espaola

de concebir la profesin y su dinmica empresarial. Hace referencia a esa figura del

diseador al que muchas veces se le ha echado en cara trabajar como un artesano,

y as es. Dirige una pequea empresa en la que realiza muchas funciones distintas

pero principalmente la de disear: se hace cargo del diseo a lo largo de todo el

proceso de creacin y de realizacin, aunque en esas fases trabaje en equipo con sus

colaboradores. Entiende el diseo como un doble servicio, por un lado al cliente, con

quien prefiere establecer una relacin personal, si puede ser de complicidad y de

equipo, pero profesional al fin y al cabo; y, por el otro, como un servicio a la colec-

tividad de los lectores, la gente que va a ver su diseo en la calle.12

Entrada del estudio de Godellay vista de un despacho yel jardn fotografiadas porJuan Garca en 1997.

Entrance to the Godella studioand view of an office andthe garden photographed byJuan Garca in 1997.

Por esa razn, la mayora de empresas de diseo en Espaa son pequeas PyMES

para decirlo en la terminologa tcnica al uso y prefieren llamarse estudios; tambin,

por esa razn la mayora de los estudios infunden a los trabajos que llevan a cabo

el sello de la personalidad del diseador que los dirige. Paco lo resumi en dos

palabras: el titular del estudio es fundamentalmente su alma mater. Por otra parte

y desde una perspectiva histrica, ese perfil profesional del diseador surgi en

Espaa a principios de los aos setenta exactamente cuando Pepe, Dani, Paco,

Vicent y Lola se hicieron mayores, se fue consolidando durante la dcada de los

setenta y en los ochenta salt a la palestra como estructura profesional del sector,

aunque conviviendo con los grandes despachos y los pequeos estudios de las

agencias, caractersticos de otros pases, a los que ha ido desbancando, aunque a

sus protagonistas les sea difcil darse cuenta de ello. El diseador espaol es un

profesional cuya eficacia depende de su capacidad para intervenir en todas las fases

del proceso: un seor que boceta, dibuja, teclea, recorta y pega, graba y modela,

que se pelea con el impresor a pie de mquina y que asiste personalmente a las

entrevistas con los clientes, que gestiona el encargo desde que lo llaman y que

elabora su propio briefing cada vez que se pone a trabajar.

Pepe Gimeno se extiende mucho al explicar su peculiar relacin con los

clientes. Sus amigos, Dani y Paco, al frente de sendos estudios similares, comparten

experiencias y puntos de vista. Han asumido que la relacin con ellos, los clientes,

es a menudo mucho ms prxima de lo deseable en una relacin estrictamente

profesional: incluso cuando no se llega a ser amigos, el cliente llama a todas horas,

consulta muchas cosas, tambin las que no tienen nada que ver con el diseo, o que

no pueden resolverse con un impreso. La imagen del divn planea sobre la

conversacin. Es lgico. La relacin que busca el diseador con su cliente est basada

en la confianza, en la confianza mutua y en la complicidad que da la creencia

compartida en la calidad y el inters del producto a partir del cul se trabaja.

Esa es, en palabras de Pepe, la gran diferencia entre el diseo grfico y la

publicidad: en este ltimo caso, que Pepe conoce muy bien porque fue en ese sector

donde empez su carrera, es difcil comprometerse y creerse la bondad del producto

que se anuncia, sustraerse a la banalidad de fondo que los productos presentados al

consumo tienen cuando son slo eso, productos que se presentan al mercado para

ser consumidos, es decir, engullidos. Conviene destacar la diferencia. El mero hecho

de marcar distancias con respecto a la publicidad, sus fines y sus procedimientos

constituye un dato fundamental para conceptualizar la postura de un profesional

determinado. Fue la clave en la definicin del diseo grfico como profesin especfica

en la Suiza de finales de los aos cincuenta, la que adopt ICOGRADA desde su

fundacin, y, en Espaa, fue tambin el caballo de batalla entre los que se decan

diseadores grficos, la generacin de los setenta, frente a sus antecesores, la

generacin de los que se denominaban grafistas, heredera a pesar suyo de los antiguos

dibujantes publicitarios, cuya actividad se desarroll principalmente en el sector de la

publicidad aunque siempre trabajaron con la idea de grafismo en la cabeza.

calls at all times of day, enquires about all sorts of things, also

asking about questions which have nothing to do with design,

or that cannot be solved with a printed form. The image of the

divan hovers over the conversation. This is understandable,

because the relationship that designers seek with their clients is

based on trust, on the mutual faith and complicity provided by

the common belief in the quality and interest of the product from

which the work stems.

This is, in Pepes words, the great difference between graphic

design and advertising: in the latter (which Pepe knows very well,

because his career started in this field) it is very hard to become

committed and believe in the virtues of the product being

advertised, to get away from the banality lying behind products

presented for consumption when they are merely this, products

presented on the market to be consumed, that is, swallowed up.

One should perhaps make the difference clear. The mere fact of

marking out differences compared with advertising, its purposes

and procedures, constitutes a fact of fundamental importance for

conceptualising the position of a particular professional.

This was the key in the definition of graphic design as a specific

profession in Switzerland in the late fifties, the one adopted by

ICOGRADA from its founding, and in Spain it was also the central

issue between those who called themselves diseadores

grficos, the seventies generation, as compared with their

predecessors, the generation who called themselves grafistas,

inheritors albeit unwilling of the former advertising draughtsmen,

whose work was done mainly in the advertising sphere, though

they always worked with the idea of graphics in their heads.

For this reason most design companies in Spain are small-scale

setups - SMEs, to use the proper term commonly used for these

- and prefer to be called studios; this is also why most studios

imbue the work they do with the personality of the designer

directing them. Paco summed this up in two words: the owner

of the studio is basically its alma mater. On the other hand,

from a historical angle, this professional profile of the designer

took shape in Spain in the early seventies, just when Pepe, Dani,

Paco, Vicent and Lola were coming of age.

It was then consolidated over the seventies and in the eighties

came to the fore as the sectors professional structure, though

combined with the bigger offices and small studios of agencies,

characteristic of other countries, which it has gradually been

ousting, however hard it may be for the authors to realise this.

The Spanish designer is a professional whose effectiveness

depends on his or her capacity to intervene in all the stages of

the process: someone who sketches, draws, types, cuts out and

sticks, engraves and models, who battles with the printer right

down on the shop floor and personally handles interviews with

his customers, who deals with the commission right from the

first phone call and organises his or her own briefing every time

they set to work.

Pepe Gimeno goes on at length about his particular relations

with clients. His friends, Dani and Paco, who run two similar

studios, share experiences and points of view. They have accepted

that the relationship with their customers is often much closer

than the ideal situation in a strictly professional association:

even when they do not actually become friends, the customer

14

Marcas utilizadas por Pepe Gimenoen diferentes estudios.(arriba) Marca de Pepe GimenoS.L. utilizada desde 1986/89.(abajo) Pin de Gimeno / Laverniautilizada desde 1990/95.

"1415" utilizada desde 1975/79.

Trademarks used by Pepe Gimenoin different studios.(above) Trademark of PepeGimeno S.L. used from 1986/89.(below) Pin of Gimeno / Laverniaused from 1990/95.

"1415" used from 1975/79.

Los componentes de PepeGimeno / Proyecto Grficofotografiados por EnriqueCarrazoni en 1998.(de izquierda a derecha)Luisa San Jun, Suso Prez,Jos Gil, Pepe Gimeno,Amparo Ivars, Mara Chamorroy Ana Iranzo.

The staff of Pepe Gimeno /Proyecto Grfico photographedby Enrique Carrazoni in 1998.(From left to right)Luisa San Jun, Suso Prez,Jos Gil, Pepe Gimeno,Amparo Ivars, Mara Chamorroand Ana Iranzo.

15

Por esa razn, la mayora de empresas de diseo en Espaa son pequeas PyMES

para decirlo en la terminologa tcnica al uso y prefieren llamarse estudios; tambin,

por esa razn la mayora de los estudios infunden a los trabajos que llevan a cabo

el sello de la personalidad del diseador que los dirige. Paco lo resumi en dos

palabras: el titular del estudio es fundamentalmente su alma mater. Por otra parte

y desde una perspectiva histrica, ese perfil profesional del diseador surgi en

Espaa a principios de los aos setenta exactamente cuando Pepe, Dani, Paco,

Vicent y Lola se hicieron mayores, se fue consolidando durante la dcada de los

setenta y en los ochenta salt a la palestra como estructura profesional del sector,

aunque conviviendo con los grandes despachos y los pequeos estudios de las

agencias, caractersticos de otros pases, a los que ha ido desbancando, aunque a

sus protagonistas les sea difcil darse cuenta de ello. El diseador espaol es un

profesional cuya eficacia depende de su capacidad para intervenir en todas las fases

del proceso: un seor que boceta, dibuja, teclea, recorta y pega, graba y modela,

que se pelea con el impresor a pie de mquina y que asiste personalmente a las

entrevistas con los clientes, que gestiona el encargo desde que lo llaman y que

elabora su propio briefing cada vez que se pone a trabajar.

Pepe Gimeno se extiende mucho al explicar su peculiar relacin con los

clientes. Sus amigos, Dani y Paco, al frente de sendos estudios similares, comparten

experiencias y puntos de vista. Han asumido que la relacin con ellos, los clientes,

es a menudo mucho ms prxima de lo deseable en una relacin estrictamente

profesional: incluso cuando no se llega a ser amigos, el cliente llama a todas horas,

consulta muchas cosas, tambin las que no tienen nada que ver con el diseo, o que

no pueden resolverse con un impreso. La imagen del divn planea sobre la

conversacin. Es lgico. La relacin que busca el diseador con su cliente est basada

en la confianza, en la confianza mutua y en la complicidad que da la creencia

compartida en la calidad y el inters del producto a partir del cul se trabaja.

Esa es, en palabras de Pepe, la gran diferencia entre el diseo grfico y la

publicidad: en este ltimo caso, que Pepe conoce muy bien porque fue en ese sector

donde empez su carrera, es difcil comprometerse y creerse la bondad del producto

que se anuncia, sustraerse a la banalidad de fondo que los productos presentados al

consumo tienen cuando son slo eso, productos que se presentan al mercado para

ser consumidos, es decir, engullidos. Conviene destacar la diferencia. El mero hecho

de marcar distancias con respecto a la publicidad, sus fines y sus procedimientos

constituye un dato fundamental para conceptualizar la postura de un profesional

determinado. Fue la clave en la definicin del diseo grfico como profesin especfica

en la Suiza de finales de los aos cincuenta, la que adopt ICOGRADA desde su

fundacin, y, en Espaa, fue tambin el caballo de batalla entre los que se decan

diseadores grficos, la generacin de los setenta, frente a sus antecesores, la

generacin de los que se denominaban grafistas, heredera a pesar suyo de los antiguos

dibujantes publicitarios, cuya actividad se desarroll principalmente en el sector de la

publicidad aunque siempre trabajaron con la idea de grafismo en la cabeza.

calls at all times of day, enquires about all sorts of things, also

asking about questions which have nothing to do with design,

or that cannot be solved with a printed form. The image of the

divan hovers over the conversation. This is understandable,

because the relationship that designers seek with their clients is

based on trust, on the mutual faith and complicity provided by

the common belief in the quality and interest of the product from

which the work stems.

This is, in Pepes words, the great difference between graphic

design and advertising: in the latter (which Pepe knows very well,

because his career started in this field) it is very hard to become

committed and believe in the virtues of the product being

advertised, to get away from the banality lying behind products

presented for consumption when they are merely this, products

presented on the market to be consumed, that is, swallowed up.

One should perhaps make the difference clear. The mere fact of

marking out differences compared with advertising, its purposes

and procedures, constitutes a fact of fundamental importance for

conceptualising the position of a particular professional.

This was the key in the definition of graphic design as a specific

profession in Switzerland in the late fifties, the one adopted by

ICOGRADA from its founding, and in Spain it was also the central

issue between those who called themselves diseadores

grficos, the seventies generation, as compared with their

predecessors, the generation who called themselves grafistas,

inheritors albeit unwilling of the former advertising draughtsmen,

whose work was done mainly in the advertising sphere, though

they always worked with the idea of graphics in their heads.

For this reason most design companies in Spain are small-scale

setups - SMEs, to use the proper term commonly used for these

- and prefer to be called studios; this is also why most studios

imbue the work they do with the personality of the designer

directing them. Paco summed this up in two words: the owner

of the studio is basically its alma mater. On the other hand,

from a historical angle, this professional profile of the designer

took shape in Spain in the early seventies, just when Pepe, Dani,

Paco, Vicent and Lola were coming of age.

It was then consolidated over the seventies and in the eighties

came to the fore as the sectors professional structure, though

combined with the bigger offices and small studios of agencies,

characteristic of other countries, which it has gradually been

ousting, however hard it may be for the authors to realise this.

The Spanish designer is a professional whose effectiveness

depends on his or her capacity to intervene in all the stages of

the process: someone who sketches, draws, types, cuts out and

sticks, engraves and models, who battles with the printer right

down on the shop floor and personally handles interviews with

his customers, who deals with the commission right from the

first phone call and organises his or her own briefing every time

they set to work.

Pepe Gimeno goes on at length about his particular relations

with clients. His friends, Dani and Paco, who run two similar

studios, share experiences and points of view. They have accepted

that the relationship with their customers is often much closer

than the ideal situation in a strictly professional association:

even when they do not actually become friends, the customer

14

Marcas utilizadas por Pepe Gimenoen diferentes estudios.(arriba) Marca de Pepe GimenoS.L. utilizada desde 1986/89.(abajo) Pin de Gimeno / Laverniautilizada desde 1990/95.

"1415" utilizada desde 1975/79.

Trademarks used by Pepe Gimenoin different studios.(above) Trademark of PepeGimeno S.L. used from 1986/89.(below) Pin of Gimeno / Laverniaused from 1990/95.

"1415" used from 1975/79.

Los componentes de PepeGimeno / Proyecto Grficofotografiados por EnriqueCarrazoni en 1998.(de izquierda a derecha)Luisa San Jun, Suso Prez,Jos Gil, Pepe Gimeno,Amparo Ivars, Mara Chamorroy Ana Iranzo.

The staff of Pepe Gimeno /Proyecto Grfico photographedby Enrique Carrazoni in 1998.(From left to right)Luisa San Jun, Suso Prez,Jos Gil, Pepe Gimeno,Amparo Ivars, Mara Chamorroand Ana Iranzo.

15

Modos y maneras de un diseador. Para Pepe, la relacin con el

cliente forma parte de su sistema creativo. Es una opcin metodolgica. Una entrevista

le da la suficiente informacin como para situar los parmetros del trabajo, para detectar

los caracteres grficos con los que el cliente puede sentirse a gusto y verse reflejado en

el resultado, los que le permiten familiarizarse con la obra y sentirse satisfecho con el

diseo, en definitiva lo que le permite compartir la obra con el diseador. No quiere

decir eso que Pepe sea un mercenario de los estilos, ni un diseador polivalente, sino

todo lo contrario. Esta es una caracterstica comn a todos aquellos diseadores que

defienden la idea de servicio al hablar de su actividad, los que saben que el diseo est

ligado a, por lo menos, tres grandes personalidades: la del cliente o emisor, la del

usuario o pblico receptor y la del diseador o transmisor en trminos de Cassandre,

traductor en los dHenry Wolf. Pepe, como Dani, Paco, los empresarios Vicent, Lola,

Pierluigi, y yo tambin, sabemos y pensamos que el buen diseo y deseo que les guste

la metfora es en realidad un billar a tres bandas: ha de responder por igual a tres tipos

de exigencias, a saber, las que impone el cliente y sus intereses, las que se derivan de

los lectores, sus gustos y necesidades, con quienes el cliente interacta informndoles,

y las que impone el diseo por el mero hecho de tratarse de diseo, el cual dispone de

una tradicin propia y de unos modos especficos que son los que, al fin y al cabo,

establecen criterios de calidad muy concretos. Todo nuevo diseo se inserta en una

realidad a la que aporta algo, y la novedad de la aportacin slo puede establecerse

en trminos de diseo, por referencia a una tradicin plagada de ejemplos anteriores

y coetneos en relacin a los cules un diseo nuevo adquiere identidad. La obra de

Pepe, el conjunto de sus diseos, la mayora de las veces eficaz con respecto a las

exigencias de clientes y lectores, forma parte de la historia reciente, eso s, dada su

edad y de la realidad del diseo tanto en nuestro pas como en la colectividad

internacional, y eso depende exclusivamente de la calidad de los diseos en s. Lo acre-

ditan los numerosos premios y distinciones recibidos desde que puso estudio en 1987.

A designers modes and manners. For Pepe, the relations

with the customer form part of his creative system. This is a

methodological option. An interview gives him enough information

to be able to locate the parameters of his work, to detect the

graphic characters with which customers may feel comfortable

and see themselves reflected in the results, the ones that will

enable them to become familiar with the work and feel satisfied

with the design, definitively what will enable them to share the

work with the designer. This does not mean that Pepe is a

mercenary of styles, nor a polyvalent designer - quite the opposite.

This is a trait common to all the designers who defend the idea

of service when talking of their work, those who know that design

is associated with at least three overall personalities: that of the

customer, or emitter, that of the user or receiving public, and that

of the designer, or transmitter, in Cassandres terms - translator

in those of Henry Wolf. Pepe, like Dani, Paco, businessmen/women

Vicent, Lola, Pierluigi, and I myself, know and believe that good

design (I hope you like the metaphor) is in fact a three-way billiards

game: it has to respond equally to three types of requirements;

namely, the ones set by the customers and their interests, those

stemming from the readers, their tastes and needs, with whom

the customers interact by informing them, and those imposed by

design through the simple fact of being design, which has a

tradition of its own and certain specific modes which are ultimately

what establish very particular quality criteria. Any new design

takes a place in a reality in which it contributes something, and

the novelty of the contribution can only be established in terms

of design by reference to a tradition abounding in prior and

contemporary examples in relation with which a new design takes

on identity. Pepes work, his designs as a whole, mostly effective

as regards the demands of customers and readers, forms part of

the history (admittedly recent in view of his age) and of the quality

of design both in our country and in the international world, and

that depends only on the quality of designs themselves. This can

be vouched for by the many awards and distinctions received

since he set up his studio in 1987.

1

17

1, 2,3 y 4. Ilustraciones paraetiquetas de Marlboro Jeans.1984.5, 6 y 7. Etiquetas para Grin's.1983/84.

8. Imagen de campaade la 22 Feria Internacional delMueble. 1985.9 y 10. Displays de lascolecciones de calzado Afro yLolitas para Sabrina. 1986.

1,2,3 and 4. Illustrations forlabels of Marlboro Jeans. 1984.5, 6 and 7. Labels for Grin's.1983/84.

8. Campaign image forthe 22nd International FurnitureFair. 1985.9 and 10. Display units for theAfro and Lolitas footwearcollections for Sabrina. 1986.

2 3 4

56 7

8

9

10

Modos y maneras de un diseador. Para Pepe, la relacin con el

cliente forma parte de su sistema creativo. Es una opcin metodolgica. Una entrevista

le da la suficiente informacin como para situar los parmetros del trabajo, para detectar

los caracteres grficos con los que el cliente puede sentirse a gusto y verse reflejado en

el resultado, los que le permiten familiarizarse con la obra y sentirse satisfecho con el

diseo, en definitiva lo que le permite compartir la obra con el diseador. No quiere

decir eso que Pepe sea un mercenario de los estilos, ni un diseador polivalente, sino

todo lo contrario. Esta es una caracterstica comn a todos aquellos diseadores que

defienden la idea de servicio al hablar de su actividad, los que saben que el diseo est

ligado a, por lo menos, tres grandes personalidades: la del cliente o emisor, la del

usuario o pblico receptor y la del diseador o transmisor en trminos de Cassandre,

traductor en los dHenry Wolf. Pepe, como Dani, Paco, los empresarios Vicent, Lola,

Pierluigi, y yo tambin, sabemos y pensamos que el buen diseo y deseo que les guste

la metfora es en realidad un billar a tres bandas: ha de responder por igual a tres tipos

de exigencias, a saber, las que impone el cliente y sus intereses, las que se derivan de

los lectores, sus gustos y necesidades, con quienes el cliente interacta informndoles,

y las que impone el diseo por el mero hecho de tratarse de diseo, el cual dispone de

una tradicin propia y de unos modos especficos que son los que, al fin y al cabo,

establecen criterios de calidad muy concretos. Todo nuevo diseo se inserta en una

realidad a la que aporta algo, y la novedad de la aportacin slo puede establecerse

en trminos de diseo, por referencia a una tradicin plagada de ejemplos anteriores

y coetneos en relacin a los cules un diseo nuevo adquiere identidad. La obra de

Pepe, el conjunto de sus diseos, la mayora de las veces eficaz con respecto a las

exigencias de clientes y lectores, forma parte de la historia reciente, eso s, dada su

edad y de la realidad del diseo tanto en nuestro pas como en la colectividad

internacional, y eso depende exclusivamente de la calidad de los diseos en s. Lo acre-

ditan los numerosos premios y distinciones recibidos desde que puso estudio en 1987.

A designers modes and manners. For Pepe, the relations

with the customer form part of his creative system. This is a

methodological option. An interview gives him enough information

to be able to locate the parameters of his work, to detect the

graphic characters with which customers may feel comfortable

and see themselves reflected in the results, the ones that will

enable them to become familiar with the work and feel satisfied

with the design, definitively what will enable them to share the

work with the designer. This does not mean that Pepe is a

mercenary of styles, nor a polyvalent designer - quite the opposite.

This is a trait common to all the designers who defend the idea

of service when talking of their work, those who know that design

is associated with at least three overall personalities: that of the

customer, or emitter, that of the user or receiving public, and that

of the designer, or transmitter, in Cassandres terms - translator

in those of Henry Wolf. Pepe, like Dani, Paco, businessmen/women

Vicent, Lola, Pierluigi, and I myself, know and believe that good

design (I hope you like the metaphor) is in fact a three-way billiards

game: it has to respond equally to three types of requirements;

namely, the ones set by the customers and their interests, those

stemming from the readers, their tastes and needs, with whom

the customers interact by informing them, and those imposed by

design through the simple fact of being design, which has a

tradition of its own and certain specific modes which are ultimately

what establish very particular quality criteria. Any new design

takes a place in a reality in which it contributes something, and

the novelty of the contribution can only be established in terms

of design by reference to a tradition abounding in prior and

contemporary examples in relation with which a new design takes

on identity. Pepes work, his designs as a whole, mostly effective

as regards the demands of customers and readers, forms part of

the history (admittedly recent in view of his age) and of the quality

of design both in our country and in the international world, and

that depends only on the quality of designs themselves. This can

be vouched for by the many awards and distinctions received

since he set up his studio in 1987.

1

17

1, 2,3 y 4. Ilustraciones paraetiquetas de Marlboro Jeans.1984.5, 6 y 7. Etiquetas para Grin's.1983/84.

8. Imagen de campaade la 22 Feria Internacional delMueble. 1985.9 y 10. Displays de lascolecciones de calzado Afro yLolitas para Sabrina. 1986.

1,2,3 and 4. Illustrations forlabels of Marlboro Jeans. 1984.5, 6 and 7. Labels for Grin's.1983/84.

8. Campaign image forthe 22nd International FurnitureFair. 1985.9 and 10. Display units for theAfro and Lolitas footwearcollections for Sabrina. 1986.

2 3 4

56 7

8

9

10

This matter is more important than it may seem at first sight. It

soon came up in the conversation in fact, and this time the most

radical voice was that of Daniel Nebot. If I can convey what he

said correctly, Dani said he was absolutely against any

characterisation of a designer and his designs based only on

what part of the world he happens to have originated in. In his

opinion any description that starts by describing a designer as

being Valencian is doomed to failure because it has no interest

anyway: it cannot in the least reflect either the reality of a designer

or his particular relationship with his work. What is more, neither

the fact of being Valencian, or Spanish, or any national attribute

is of the slightest help for understanding the character of a body

of work. These are merely adjectives which at most let us know

where someone was born, or where they were brought up, but

that is all. For him, in this age of universalising communication

media and immediateness of information, design is only good

or bad. There is a lot of truth in what he says too, because the

design community is international and as universal as that of so

many other professions. The value criteria are the same for all

communities, stemming from the very evolution of design in the

modern and developed worlds, but more than that, design, only

through its essential modernity, involves the international facet,

the universal quality of its proposals as one of the essential

requisites of the notion itself.

It may well be boring to examine but still, the fact of having

to affirm something which may seem so obvious is an interesting

symptom of the historical reality of the times we have to live in.

The balance between the local and the global spheres, a

dichotomy so commonly found in the world of modern culture,

is on the table, more or less ideologically tinged in each particular

case, but there is no doubt that this is part of the agenda in

international debate, coming to the fore much more often than

it would appear at first sight, even as a possible argument for

taking positions on the international market. The endemic free-

exchange, exporting and anti-protectionist tradition of the

Valencian Communitys economy, as Vicent Martnez so rightly

pointed out, should not be ignored in any attempt to understand

Valencians interpretation of the international sphere. The

experience of La Nave group in the Valencia of the nineteen

eighties is the case that we all have in mind. This was precisely

the example given by Paco when the conversation was appraising

to what extent the market, the expectations of the designers

natural interlocutors, the sociological reality and cultural substrate

in which the designer moves act as real conditioners of the

design being made in any particular place.

La cuestin es ms importante de lo que parece a simple vista. De hecho, surgi

enseguida en la conversacin y, ah, el ms radical fue Daniel Nebot. Espero haber

podido recoger el sentido de sus palabras. Dani declar su ms firme rechazo a toda

caracterizacin de un diseador y de sus diseos en base a su origen geogrfico

solamente. Segn l toda descripcin que comience calificando a un diseador de

valenciano est condenada al fracaso porque, adems, no tiene ningn inters: no

puede reflejar en ningn modo ni la realidad de un diseador ni su peculiar relacin con

la obra. Es ms, ni la valencianidad, ni la espaolidad, ni cualquier atributo nacional

puede dar pista alguna para comprender el carcter de una obra. Es un adjetivo que, a

lo sumo, sirve para saber dnde ha nacido alguien, o dnde se ha criado, pero nada ms.

Para l, en la poca de la globalizacin de los medios de comunicacin y la inmediatez

de la informacin, el diseo slo es bueno o malo. Lleva mucha razn porque la

comunidad del diseo es internacional y tan global como la de otras tantas profesiones.

Los criterios de valor son los mismos para todas las comunidades, derivan de la evolucin

propia del diseo en los mundos modernos y desarrollados pero, adems, el diseo, slo

por su modernidad esencial, tiene la internacionalidad, la globalidad de sus propuestas,

como uno de los requisitos esenciales de la nocin de diseo.

Ser un aburrimiento hablar de ello pero, sin embargo, tener que afirmar eso

que puede parecer tan obvio es un sntoma interesante de la realidad histrica que nos

ha tocado vivir. El equilibrio entre lo local y lo global, esa dicotoma tan habitual en el

mundo de la cultura moderna, est sobre la mesa, ms o menos ideologizado segn los

casos, pero no cabe duda que est sobre la mesa del debate internacional y aflora

muchas ms veces de lo que parece a simple vista incluso como posible argumento para

posicionarse en el mercado internacional. La endmica tradicin librecambista, exportadora

y antiproteccionista de la economa de la Comunidad Valenciana, como muy bien

recordaba Vicent Martnez, no debera ser un dato despreciable para comprender

la interpretacin que los valencianos tienen de lo internacional. La experiencia del gru-

po La Nave en la Valencia de los aos ochenta es el ejemplo que todos tenemos en

mente. Fue exactamente el ejemplo que puso Paco cuando la conversacin valoraba

en qu medida el mercado, las expectativas de los interlocutores naturales del disea-

dor, la realidad sociolgica y el sustrato cultural en que se mueve el diseador operan

como condicionantes reales del diseo que se ejecuta en un determinado lugar.18

3

1. Cartel de exposicin en la salaAnastasia Klein. Castelln. 1977.2. Cartel de exposicin en la salaAnastasia Klein. Castelln. 1978.3, 5. Folleto y cartel de la exposicin

"Pensant en la dona", sala Gisal,Valencia. 1977.4. Cartel de la exposicin en la salaCITE, Valencia. 1971.6. Cartel de exposicin en la sala Gisal.Valencia. 1978.

1. Poster for an exhibition at theAnastasia Klein rooms. Castelln. 1977.2. Poster for an exhibition at theAnastasia Klein rooms. Castelln. 1978.3, 5. Brochure and poster for theexhibition "Pensant en la dona"(Thinking of woman), sala Gisal,Valencia. 1977.4. Poster for the exhibition at the CITErooms, Valencia. 1971.6. Poster for an exhibition at the Gisalrooms. Valencia. 1978.

5

4

6

1

2

This matter is more important than it may seem at first sight. It

soon came up in the conversation in fact, and this time the most

radical voice was that of Daniel Nebot. If I can convey what he

said correctly, Dani said he was absolutely against any

characterisation of a designer and his designs based only on

what part of the world he happens to have originated in. In his

opinion any description that starts by describing a designer as

being Valencian is doomed to failure because it has no interest

anyway: it cannot in the least reflect either the reality of a designer

or his particular relationship with his work. What is more, neither

the fact of being Valencian, or Spanish, or any national attribute

is of the slightest help for understanding the character of a body

of work. These are merely adjectives which at most let us know

where someone was born, or where they were brought up, but

that is all. For him, in this age of universalising communication

media and immediateness of information, design is only good

or bad. There is a lot of truth in what he says too, because the

design community is international and as universal as that of so

many other professions. The value criteria are the same for all

communities, stemming from the very evolution of design in the

modern and developed worlds, but more than that, design, only

through its essential modernity, involves the international facet,

the universal quality of its proposals as one of the essential

requisites of the notion itself.

It may well be boring to examine but still, the fact of having

to affirm something which may seem so obvious is an interesting

symptom of the historical reality of the times we have to live in.

The balance between the local and the global spheres, a

dichotomy so commonly found in the world of modern culture,

is on the table, more or less ideologically tinged in each particular

case, but there is no doubt that this is part of the agenda in

international debate, coming to the fore much more often than

it would appear at first sight, even as a possible argument for

taking positions on the international market. The endemic free-

exchange, exporting and anti-protectionist tradition of the

Valencian Communitys economy, as Vicent Martnez so rightly

pointed out, should not be ignored in any attempt to understand

Valencians interpretation of the international sphere. The

experience of La Nave group in the Valencia of the nineteen

eighties is the case that we all have in mind. This was precisely

the example given by Paco when the conversation was appraising

to what extent the market, the expectations of the designers

natural interlocutors, the sociological reality and cultural substrate

in which the designer moves act as real conditioners of the

design being made in any particular place.

La cuestin es ms importante de lo que parece a simple vista. De hecho, surgi

enseguida en la conversacin y, ah, el ms radical fue Daniel Nebot. Espero haber

podido recoger el sentido de sus palabras. Dani declar su ms firme rechazo a toda

caracterizacin de un diseador y de sus diseos en base a su origen geogrfico

solamente. Segn l toda descripcin que comience calificando a un diseador de

valenciano est condenada al fracaso porque, adems, no tiene ningn inters: no

puede reflejar en ningn modo ni la realidad de un diseador ni su peculiar relacin con

la obra. Es ms, ni la valencianidad, ni la espaolidad, ni cualquier atributo nacional

puede dar pista alguna para comprender el carcter de una obra. Es un adjetivo que, a

lo sumo, sirve para saber dnde ha nacido alguien, o dnde se ha criado, pero nada ms.

Para l, en la poca de la globalizacin de los medios de comunicacin y la inmediatez

de la informacin, el diseo slo es bueno o malo. Lleva mucha razn porque la

comunidad del diseo es internacional y tan global como la de otras tantas profesiones.

Los criterios de valor son los mismos para todas las comunidades, derivan de la evolucin

propia del diseo en los mundos modernos y desarrollados pero, adems, el diseo, slo

por su modernidad esencial, tiene la internacionalidad, la globalidad de sus propuestas,

como uno de los requisitos esenciales de la nocin de diseo.

Ser un aburrimiento hablar de ello pero, sin embargo, tener que afirmar eso

que puede parecer tan obvio es un sntoma interesante de la realidad histrica que nos

ha tocado vivir. El equilibrio entre lo local y lo global, esa dicotoma tan habitual en el

mundo de la cultura moderna, est sobre la mesa, ms o menos ideologizado segn los

casos, pero no cabe duda que est sobre la mesa del debate internacional y aflora

muchas ms veces de lo que parece a simple vista incluso como posible argumento para

posicionarse en el mercado internacional. La endmica tradicin librecambista, exportadora

y antiproteccionista de la economa de la Comunidad Valenciana, como muy bien

recordaba Vicent Martnez, no debera ser un dato despreciable para comprender

la interpretacin que los valencianos tienen de lo internacional. La experiencia del gru-

po La Nave en la Valencia de los aos ochenta es el ejemplo que todos tenemos en

mente. Fue exactamente el ejemplo que puso Paco cuando la conversacin valoraba

en qu medida el mercado, las expectativas de los interlocutores naturales del disea-

dor, la realidad sociolgica y el sustrato cultural en que se mueve el diseador operan