Getting Turned On at Offf Barcelona

So I just got back from an amazing experience: my first Offf conference in Barcelona. Offf’s founder and captain, Hector Ayuso Ros, has been bringing creative people together from around the world for seven years now, and the eclectic mix of audio-visual stimuli in Barcelona this year was a testament to his skills as a curator and community-builder. Speakers included people like John Maeda, Joshua Davis, Neville Brody, Graffiti Research Lab and a slew of other rockstars from all sorts of design and music-related fields.

I did a panel with Orion Tait of Buck, Carlos El Asmar of ABC News and Hector Ayuso. I was truly humbled to share the stage with all of them, and I think my presentation went pretty well. Orion totally slam-dunked his portion by showing off some of Buck’s recent work and talking about the studio’s ethos. It was my first time to meet Orion, and his presentation proved what I already assumed about Buck: they have brains and they’re not afraid to use them.

The highlight of the panel for me, though, was the unveiling of the Offf title sequence at the end of our discussion. Federico Reano and Tomás Peña worked their asses off to create a clever and compelling trip through design history, from Mucha’s elaborate compositions in the late 19th century all the way up to the 3D-dominated glossiness of the present day. (Speaking of 3D, the piece is intended to be viewed with 3D glasses, which were handed out to the audience prior to the screening.)

Oh, and Eduardo Larez nailed the audio for the piece, which I’m sure was no easy task given the stylistic diversity that Tomás and Federico’s concept called for. Full credits on the Sintevision site.

Special thanks to Carlos El Asmar.