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Thematic archive · Design and advertising

Design and the visual languages of everyday life

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1980s

From Lists to Reports: Documenting Restoration at the Museo del Prado

Documentation makes it possible to study restoration as work, institutional memory, and a source of knowledge. The Prado’s published history points to a significant shift: from lists to systematic reports for individual works, alongside wider communication about restoration.

1980s

From Newsstand to Format Shift: Adult Comic Magazines in Spain

During the 1970s and 1980s, adult comic magazines became a visible presence at Spanish newsstands. Their growth, their room for emerging artists and their later decline offer a way to examine changing formats and distribution channels in comics.

Before 1950

From vehicle to museum object: how the history of the automobile is told

Turin’s MAUTO and the museum dedicated to Juan Manuel Fangio offer two documented examples of how cars, engines and other objects become public narratives. A careful reading of their collections also shows what can be stated—and what remains beyond the available evidence.

1970s

Before the Feed: How the Press Turned Fashion into Public Conversation

The Museo del Traje exhibition ¡Extra, Moda! offers a way to view magazines, fashion plates, patterns and garments as parts of one system: the press circulated proposals, while industry and the seasonal calendar shaped their circulation. What the evidence supports—and what it leaves open.

2000s

Recovering a House Museum: Restoration and Documentation at the Cerralbo Museum

Between 2002 and 2009, the Cerralbo Museum undertook the recovery of several rooms on its Main Floor. The project combined historical documentation, conservation and restoration, raising a central question: how can a historic interior be made legible again without confusing recovery with free reconstruction?

Contemporary

The Past as an Interface: Why Retro Products Return

Contemporary retro design is not just about copying old forms. The sources describe products that revive recognisable references while seeking to serve present-day uses, with demand linked to both nostalgia and a desire for distinction.

1990s

Ibi’s Toy Museum: Preserving an Industry, Interpreting Material Culture

The history of Ibi’s Valencian Toy Museum shows how a toy collection can document industrial work, design, advertising and changing ways of playing. Drawing on institutional and academic sources, this article places the museum within a Spanish network devoted to preserving toy heritage.