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Thematic archive · Design and advertising

Design and the visual languages of everyday life

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1960s

The album organizes the cards; the archive explains what is missing

Catalogued albums from Barcelona and the Basque Country, cards linked to consumer products, and current commercial collections offer a way to examine how a series is organized. They also show why identifying variants and documenting exchanges requires better evidence than nostalgia or value estimates.

Contemporary

A comic’s format shapes the way it is read

Magazines, fanzines, mini-comics, albums and graphic novels are distinct formats, not mere containers. The available evidence supports asking how editorial and preservation conditions shape access and reading, but not reconstructing changes to a particular work without examining its editions.

2000s

What Changes When Video Games Enter the Museum

Displaying video games in a museum is not just a matter of exhibiting machines: it also shapes which aspects of this culture become visible. The available sources point to a history of institutional interest and different ways of addressing design and industry, though they are not enough to reconstruct a complete chronology on their own.

1980s

Reconstructing Alicante’s toy industry through its archives

A study published in 1987 and records from museums and exhibitions offer different entry points into Alicante’s toy-making history. Read cautiously, they invite us to consider what an archive preserves and which questions remain open.

Contemporary

A museum is also designed through its labels

Signage, labels and catalogues are not neutral packaging: they are part of a museum’s communication and can become documents for studying how it presents its collections and activities.

1970s

Comics change when their format does

Magazines, fanzines, mini-comics, albums and graphic novels are more than containers: studying their formats helps us understand how comics are presented, circulated and remembered. The available evidence raises useful questions, but cannot by itself support a comprehensive history.

2000s

A Garment Does Not Speak for Itself: Fashion’s Need for Context in Museums

A preserved garment can be material evidence, but its meaning also depends on documents, accounts and exhibition choices. Drawing on the available resources about fashion collections and museums, this analysis considers what an object can tell us—and the limits that interpretation should acknowledge.

Contemporary

The Past as Design Material, Not a Destination

A cautious look at contemporary retro: between evocation, design and the commercial use of signals from the past. The available evidence points to several interpretations but does not support a universal definition.

1980s

When the comic magazine changes place

A cautious look at how the newsstand, exhibition and archive offer different frames for seeing and remembering Spanish comic magazines. The available evidence points to a shift in perspective, but does not support a comprehensive account of titles, readership or circulation.