What makes the history of Argentina’s design industry unique and challenging?
The history of graphic design in Argentina cannot be understood without taking into account the context, the country’s history and, more recently, its social and economic policies. Argentina is a sovereign and federal state, fully cosmopolitan, and based on two founding ethnic groups — Spain and Italy- as well as minor migration movements from countries such as Poland, Germany, Peru, England, Paraguay, Bolivia, Wales, etc. A series of de facto rulers, economic breakdowns, historically rampant inflation, have made working in Argentina difficult for everyone and particularly difficult for designers, whose work depends mostly on factors associated with a nation’s prosperity and stability. Rampant inflation is putting it mildly. Until 1990, Argentina’s inflation rate reached breathtaking proportions, culminating in 1989 when inflation hit almost 5,000%. Yes, my close friend Jorge Frascara [Icograda’s Past President] says that when one refers to Argentina as a difficult environment, it is n
