This week marks the beginning of a new series of blog posts exploring the writing and behind-the-scenes process of developing the Critical Publication. Bear with me as I use this space as a testing ground for ideas—this blog will serve as a home for my rough drafts and early concepts.
Reflecting on my conversations with Belén, especially in the early brainstorming stages, we looked at vintage IKEA furniture catalogs and advertisements that resonated with her (seen here in my previous post). These materials offered a glimpse into the aesthetics and communication styles that shaped her interest, which were often reflected in journals and studio materials. While initially meant to sell a product, these catalogs could serve as a fun but functional way of displaying Belen’s visual world and language. To build on this, I created a Pinterest board featuring visuals reminiscent of these catalogs, including vintage magazine advertisements and design elements from the era. Many of the ads that aligned with the IKEA aesthetic came from the 1970s and 1980s, leading me to explore what made the graphics of that period so striking. Seeing the bold color palettes, playful yet structured layouts, and striking use of contrast that defined the era. I noticed how designers of the time relied on strong typography—often thick, geometric fonts or elegant serif typefaces—to create a sense of authority and style. The layering of text and imagery, sometimes with slightly off-kilter alignments, gave a sense of dynamism and movement, making even static advertisements feel lively.
I wouldn’t call myself a graphic designer, but as a visual artist and a hands-on learner, I find it helpful to experiment with ideas in a visually compelling way. Using what I observed in the ads, as well as some of the concepts Belén and I were exploring, I decided to make my own “ads” that could serve as rough drafts or an inspiration of what the Critical Publication would look like. One of the key ideas I wanted to explore was how everyday objects—particularly the materials and found items in Belén’s studio—could become central elements in the visual language of the publication. This led me to create The Studio Object, a piece that functions as both an imagined advertisement and a conceptual statement. Using a vintage-inspired layout, textured background, and halftone-rendered images, I framed everyday studio objects as artifacts of artistic process, transforming them into icons that reflect Belén’s material-driven practice.
Similarly, in Glass Demands a Lot, But Gives a Lot, I experimented with text as a structural element, juxtaposing a layered collage of Belén’s glass works with a bold, editorial-style statement. This piece plays with the tension between control and imperfection—qualities inherent to working with glass. The lower section, designed to resemble a product description or catalog page, further echoes the visual cues of commercial print design while subtly reinterpreting them through the lens of artistic labor. Additionally, I incorporated elements from Belén’s notebooks, using scanned pages as textured backgrounds to reinforce the connection between concept development and final execution. These layered compositions blur the lines between documentation, process, and polished design, much like the Critical Publication aims to do.
Will these mockups be used in the final product? Probably not. But through this process, I am thinking about how the visual structure of a publication can mirror the creative process itself—how raw ideas, research, and artistic labor can be made visible in a way that feels both archival and immediate. These mockups are just the beginning of that exploration, helping me refine not only the aesthetics but also the conceptual framework that will shape the final publication.