AMES, Iowa — Tatiana Gómez and José R. Menéndez, founders of Buena Gráfica Social Studio in Providence, Rhode Island, will speak about their community-centered design work in a Nov. 8 lecture hosted by the Iowa State University College of Design. 

These multilingual, multidisciplinary designers and educators will present “1:1 – Design as a Social Practice” at 5:30 p.m. next Wednesday in Kocimski Auditorium, room 101 Design. Their talk, part of the College of Design’s 2023–2024 Lecture Series, is free and open to the public. 

Combining a digital design studio with a traditional printmaking studio, Gómez and Menéndez work to expand the canons of graphic design by highlighting Latin American practices and designing ecological narratives in the landscape. They use experimental publishing, printmaking, branding, exhibition design, public space interventions and climate visualizations as platforms to create access, visibility, equity and justice at multiple scales. 

About the speakers 

Gómez is an assistant professor of communication design at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston. Menéndez is an assistant professor of graphic design and architecture at the College of Arts, Media and Design at Northeastern University in Boston. Together they founded Buena Gráfica Social Studio in 2023. 

Gómez has worked with graphic design studios in Boston and Bogotá, Columbia, and has collaborated with cultural institutions such as the RISD Museum at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. She received her master of fine arts in graphic design from RISD and her bachelor in design from the University of the Andes in Bogotá. Her work has been recognized by the Type Directors Club and the Society of Typographic Arts. She is a member of the Fine Arts Work Center’s Community Advisory Committee. 

Menéndez holds a bachelor of science in landscape architecture from Temple University in Philadelphia, a master of fine arts in graphic design from RISD and a master of marine affairs with a specialization in science communication from the University of Rhode Island in Kingston. He received a 2020-2022 National Endowment for the Arts Grants for Arts Projects grant. He serves on the Community Built Association board and the Fine Arts Work Center’s Community Advisory Committee. 

Contacts

Megen O’Toole, College of Design Lectures and Exhibitions Committee, motoole@iastate.edu
Saylor Upah, College of Design Events, upahsay@iastate.edu
Lauren Johnson, College of Design Strategic Communications, laujohn2@iastate.edu 

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