![]() We have had designers from the United States, Canada, Japan, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, France, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Bolivia, Argentina and, of course, Spain work with us. Our studio culture reflects our international approach: The main language in the studio is English. We chose the name Atlas to reflect the fact that we work for clients across the globe from a little island in the middle of the Mediterranean-north, south, east and west, from London to Mexico to Patagonia to New York. What is the role of Mallorca Island –with a population of less than one million– in the design projects ordered to your studio? Are all your clients from this island? At times we occasionally work together on bigger projects. We share the same accountant, project and studio manager but we all work independently under the Atlas umbrella. Pablo, Rafa (our associate) and I have separate design teams and work on different projects. Eventually, we realized that two independent studios working on similar projects under one roof had become confusing for our clients, our designers and ourselves. Sharing a physical space meant that we started collaborating on a wide range of projects. Initially, there was a clear line between both studios. I mean, it certainly wasn’t a conscious or planned decision. Unknowingly, this marked the beginning of Atlas. For practical reasons, we started to share an office space-a large, beautiful nineteenth century house in the heart of the centric old quarter in Palma. As a married “design couple,” Pablo and I shared ideas and exchanged feedback on each other’s work, occasionally collaborating on self-initiated or commissioned side projects, but it was never our intention to work together. We started the company four years ago when we moved from Barcelona to Palma de Mallorca in the Balearic Islands. Tell us about your studio, Atlas, your collaboration with Pablo Martín, your other colleagues, and the way your studio was founded.Ītlas is the fusion of my former studio, Astrid Stavro Studio, with Grafica, which was founded in 1993 by Pablo Martín and Fernando Gutiérrez. How simple can you make it? Usually, “creativity” means showing off to your peer group, and creativity without intelligence is as dumb as it comes.’ The creative process is paring back all the time. To borrow a phrase by John McConnell: ‘By wanting to be intelligent, it usually gets simpler and simpler. ![]() I find that the best designers are often highly talented, passionate, committed, intelligent, hard working and cultured individuals. Communication in its broadest sense is at the heart of our profession. This is what I love most about graphic design: depending on how you look at it, it can be ‘just graphic design’ or ‘everything’. This occasionally surprises some clients: they are hiring a graphic designer, not someone who has actually read Paul Auster or Jorge Luis Borges. For example, if I am designing a poetry or literature collection, or a book cover, I love to speak with the editors about the authors and the stories of the books. I was lucky enough to have teachers like Elie Wiesel. I studied literature and philosophy before graphic design, which is probably one of the reasons why I approach design from a more critical perspective. I get bored easily if I focus only on ‘graphic design’: it feels like I am using just one half of my brain. Writing is a moment of silence, it allows me to stop and think in a different way about design and the world that we live in. It is also a great way to meet other people and get under their skin, understand what drives them and makes them tick. It is a great way to practice and exercise my writing skills. ![]() In the meantime (until I find proper time), I write about design. Designing and editing are inextricably linked. For instance, a designer is an editor by nature. The ‘writer, designer, educator, journalist’ are just labels that form part of a bigger whole. I do self-initiated work and am interested in social design. I give workshops and lectures and form part of several boards and committees in which I play an active role. But I also do many other things, such as curating and teaching. I am a design writer, journalist, editor and a graphic designer. You remarked elsewhere, “I design, I write, I educate, I am passionate about what I do.” How did you end up as a designer? You said you loved Paul Auster and Jorge Luis Borges. You were interested in becoming a writer and journalist.
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