Selected by BEDA, the Bureau of European Design Associations.
Isidro Ferrer
National Design and Illustration Prizes, Spain
Ferrer was qualified in Dramatic Arts and Scenography. He studied mime and pantomime at Jacques Lecoq's school in Paris. In 1989, he worked at the studio of the graphic designer Peret in Barcelona. After spending time in Zaragoza and Valencia, where he made story boards for an animated series, he established his own studio in Huesca in 1996. He combines his work as a graphic designer with intense work in the field of illustration, creating comics, animations for television, or publishing children's books and unclassifiable books. He has won various international awards for his work as a graphic designer and illustrator. He has published over 20 books.
His work has been the object of numerous individual exhibitions in Madrid, Gijon, Lisbon, Rouen, Rijeka, Bogota, Toulouse, Quito, Turin, Paris and Mexico D.F.
François Caspar
François Caspar, France
Communication designer since 1989, based in Paris, François Caspar creates in solo or coordinates a multi-disciplinary network of specialists such as copywriters, designers, developers, photographers. He has designed customized on- line/off-line overall visual communication for European and French local government bodies, companies, theaters and artists. He is a specialist of the theatre poster. Exhibitions &Publications François Caspar's posters have received awards and have been shown in 60 international exhibitions and belong to public and private collections as in Paris, Hamburg or New York. They have been published in specialized magazines or books such as Art and design, Etapes, Idea, Pixel Creation, Signes and New Masters of Poster Design. Commitment François Caspar is president and cofounder of the French Designers Alliance, the first multi-disciplinary professional organization of designers in France. He focuses on exchanges with European colleagues, design fee, rights and intellectual property issues. He has been consultant for institutions such as the Orsay museum or the French Ministry of Culture. Teaching He transmits his experience in visual communication and designers' rights and duties at design schools or in workshops in France and abroad, and he also has been member of juries for international design competitions.
Catelijne van Middelkoop
Strange Attractors, The Netherlands
Catelijne van Middelkoop (NL) is one of the partners of Strange Attractors Design, an international studio specializing in typography and (brand) communication for print, motion and interactive media. Since 2001 studio founders Ryan Pescatore Frisk (USA) and Van Middelkoop have collaborated with a range of cultural and commercial clients - including FontShop International, Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo Lab, City Centre Offices in Berlin and The Oratai SoundSalon in New York - to produce design solutions and products which represent distinct messages and experiences.
Their work reflects their keen interest in the intertwining of culture, media, context, and experience. While they take a highly experimental approach to each of their wide-ranging design projects, their custom designed type and typography are hallmarks. Through lectures and workshops they encourage designers and design students to see, value, and reinvent the vernacular around them.
The work of Strange Attractors has been recognized by many including the Type Directors Club NY, The Art Directors Club NY, The Dutch Design Prizes and ID Magazine who named them one of the 'ID Forty 2006'.
Catelijne van Middelkoop is on the national board of directors of the Association of Dutch Designers (BNO), and has an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art, a Degree in Graphic & Typographic Design from The Royal Academy of Art and a Propaedeuse in Art History and Archeology from The University of Amsterdam. She also teaches design.
Ilona Gurjanova
LeArt, Estonia
Ilona Gurjanova is a graphic designer from Tallinn, Estonia. As an entrepreneur she has been offering graphic design and design management services to clients for 12 years. In 2004 she became the Project Manager for the Design Information Centre-Ministery of Economy and Communication of Estonia. She has been the main curator of several projects like: 2000 "Estonian Design in Focus" Design Museum- Helsinki (2000) and Stuttargt Design Centre Face2Face (2007), Museum of Applied Art and Design- Tallin,"Light. Things"-Berlin Estonian Embassy (2004), St-Etienne International Design Biennial, France,Tallinn (2000, 2002, 2004) e.t.c.
At the moment she has her own design company ([LeArt ]Design Management Ltd), and she's the Chairman of the Association of Estonian Designers. She is also working with the Estonian Design Information Centre project and she's the Estonian representative in international design organisations ICSID, BEDA.
She has previously participated as a judge in Lithuanian Design Award "Lithuanian Seat" and Lithuanian Best Interiors, Estonian Best Design, Architecture and Interior Design for magazine RUUM, Estonian Design Award "Bruno" whilst has written Articles for local and foreign newspapers and magazines.
Aled Phillips
Departures, United Kingdom
Born in Wales in 1973, graduated 21 years later with a Graphic Design; Typography Degree from Exeter. He spent several years in London, working as a designer for companies such as The Partners, Lewis Moberly & Radley Yeldar.
In 2002, set up Departures in Cardiff, where the studio has been working with a variety of arts based and corporate clients on branding, print and digital projects.
He is also a member of the D&AD.
Barbro Ohlson Smith
Ohlsonsmith Design, Sweden
Born in Sweden in 1963, Barbro graduated with a BA honours degree in graphic design from Central Saint Martins School of Art & Design in 1989. She then joined the London-based Design Consultancy CDT, Carroll, Dempsey & Thirkell.
Since 1996 Barbro has been based in Stockholm, Sweden, where she has worked as Head of Graphic Design and Creative Director for Swedish Television's Channel TV4 and as Lecturer and Head of the Department of Art Direction at Berghs School of Communication. She has also served as President of the Art Directors Club of Europe, ADCE, during 2000-2002.
Barbro now runs the design agency Ohlsonsmith, specialising in graphic design and visual branding. She also devotes time to design through lecturing, writing, judging and as board member of The Swedish Association of Designers (Sveriges designer).
Henrique Cayatte
Henrique Cayatte Studio, Portugal
President of CPD - Portuguese Design Centre (since July 2004). Guest professor at the University of Aveiro. In 1991 founded the Henrique Cayatte Studio, where he has been working on cultural, education and scientific design, illustration and editorial production, signage and as a multi-discipline and multimedia graphic advisor.
Founder, general designer, graphic editor and illustrator of newspaper Público, until 2000. Was consultant for the general design of EXPO '98, on the detail plan. Co-author of the signs and communication system for EXPO '98 and for the Redevelopment Area.
Designed Egoísta magazine and the daily newspapers Diário de Notícias and O Jogo.
Commissioner and author of the overall design for several exhibitions, such as Cassiano Branco e o Eden - Lisbon 1991 project; Liberdade e Cidadania - Cem Anos Portugueses (Portuguese 20th century); Engenho e Obra - Engenharia Portuguesa no séc. XX; 1990-2004 - Arquitectura e Design de Portugal, at the Milan Triennial.
Author of the overall design for the Portuguese pavilions of EXPO 2000 in Hannover, Germany and EXPO 2005 Aichi, Japan.
Author of the overall design for the new Portuguese Electronic Passport and the National Identity Card.
Winner of the CPD's 1999 National Design Award.
3 APEX awards (USA) with the design of Egoísta magazine.
Co-winner of the 2003 Dibner Award (USA) for outstanding museum design and interpretation, with the exhibition Engenho e Obra.
Winner of the CPD's National Design Award 2003 - Sena da Silva Award (for career achievement).
Zuzana Ledenická
Studio Najbrt, Czech Republic
Zuzana Lednická was born in 1974 in Hradec Králové. She studied graphic design at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. In 1995 she began working with the graphic designer Aleš Najbrt and she is currently Art Director and a partner in Studio Najbrt. She specializes in corporate design and she designs the visual styles for new design hotels in Prague, working in collaboration with the hotel architects. She also works on cultural projects, such as theatre and film posters, art publications, and exhibition projects promoting contemporary Czech design abroad. She is a member of Typodesign Club.
Tim Oeyen
Oeyenenwinters, Belgium
Member of the graphic design duo 'Oeyen en Winters', Antwerp (Belgium): a couple of designers who have assignments in very different areas; magazines, furniture designers, books, signing for shops and food-concepts, art-galleries.
Winners of the prestigeous 'Henry Van The Velde Award, young talent 2004', reached out by Design Flanders. The jury described their style as ' very clear, colorfull, communicative, with typographical emphasis'.
Together they restyled several magazines. For one of them, the Belgian lifestyle magazine Weekend-Knack, Tim Oeyen still works as consultant.
Tim Oeyen teaches typography at the 'Karel de Grote Hogeschool, Sint-Lucas' Antwerp (Belgium).
Ela Skrzypek
Studio Bakalie - Branding, Poland
Born in Warsaw in 1973. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw.
In 2000 received a scholarship of the Italian Government in Turin, Italy.
2000-2002 collaborated with various branding and graphic design studios in Italy
From 2000 heads her own (with Magda Malczynska) design studio 'BAKALIE' - www.studiobakalie.pl which specializes in branding of products and services. The Studio is also known from its involvement in artistic projects which link applied arts and multimedia, as well as numerous identifications of exhibitions and festivals - e.g. the experimental visual identity of the NOVA POLSKA 70-80 project on the occasion of the Polish Season in France.
In 2004, Ela was one of the founders of the Association of Designers of Applied
Graphics (STGU.pl), at present the paramount Polish organization embracing graphic
artists and designers.
Since 2006, she has been its President and has been actively representing Polish
designers on the international stage, among others, through the participation in
the Creative Entrepreneurs Conference in Tirana or the BEDA convention in Wienna
and judging in Polish and International design competitions.
In 2005 she was representing Poland for the International Young Design Entrepreneur of Year 2005 competition, organized by British Council in cooperation with 100% Design from London.
