Design Education Talks Ep. 73 - Emanuel Barbosa

Emanuel Barbosa is a designer, educator (Adjunct Professor and International coordinator at ESAD College of Art and Design) and researcher from Porto, Portugal. From 2012 to 2016 was creative director of Casa International magazine (Beijing). Founder and President of ACLC - Portuguese-Chinese Cultural Association, later known as ACPT – Portuguese Cultural Association. Curator and promotor of design and creativity events in Porto, Matosinhos, Águeda, Lisbon, Berlin, London, Ludwigsbourg, Beijing, Macau, Zhuhai, Zagreb and Ho Chi Minh. Board Member of Porto Design Biennale 2019, Juri Member of HOMI Asia Design Award - Milan Design Week 2019, Juri member of C-IDEA Design Award 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Since 1995, his projects have been published and praised in more than 60 international design reference books. His texts have been published in Baseline (UK), Pli (PT), Lookvision (PT), Slanted (DE), DeForma (ES), Package Design (CN), Identity (RU) and Casa International (CN).

Education:

Designer graduated by ESAD College of Art and Design, Portugal
MA - Multimedia Design by Facultad de Bellas Artes - Universidad de Barcelona, Spain
PhD by UPV - Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain

Awards:
Graphis Gold Award - Poster 2022, Graphis, New York 2021
Graphis Silver Award - Design 2022, Graphis, New York 2021
Graphis Silver Award - Poster 2021, Graphis, New York 2020
Graphis Silver Award - Design 2021, Graphis, New York 2020
Graphis Silver Award - Type 4, Graphis, New York 2018
EULDA - European Logo Design Award, Milan 2006
Print Regional Design Award, Print Magazine, New York 1998

ESAD: https://esad.pt/
ACPT: https://acpt.pt/
2012 video about Emmanuel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlwL27pbJKs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPTq7vkuovg

Transcript

Lefteris Heretakis: 0:09

Hello, and welcome to design education talks podcast from a new art school. Our guest today is a manual by Bosa welcoming manual.

Emanuel Barbosa: 0:20

Hello Lefteris. Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here.

Lefteris Heretakis: 0:23

It's wonderful to be here. So tell us about you and your work.

Emanuel Barbosa: 0:28

Well, I'm, I'm a graphic designer, I graduated in ESTD, in much seams near Porto in Portugal. Then I had a master's degree in Barcelona University. And I did my PhD in Valencia universe. So, about work, I've always worked even since I, when I was a student, I already had a small studio with the colour. And we were always very, very keen and doing graphic work looking at lots of information. And so I was always connected with graphic design. Even while I was a student, I was trying to do posters and book covers and this kind of stuff. After I finished my studies, I created my own studio, I work with different companies, I work with companies in Portugal abroad. Today, I have my own studio, I am also a design teacher at the sav since 98. And I also have lots of international cooperations with design associations. And because I created my own my own Association.

Lefteris Heretakis: 1:55

Fantastic. So tell us more about you know, any aspects of that or we want to elaborate?

Emanuel Barbosa: 2:01

Yes. Well, I'll leave I got involved with associated with them. While I was a student in Portugal, we are just one graphic designer, one designers Association, that was not working very well. So together with the colleagues, we found a graphic designers Association. And from there, we started to try to help the, the young students and young designers to to promote themselves and to create new opportunities. And it didn't work. Because after sometimes, you know, associations sometimes can also create problems, because we got in clash with others professional associations. And I was very young. So I created that project. And after that, I ended up creating an international association that the main objective was to create bridges between Portugal and Asia, especially China. That was 10 years ago. And that association evolved to become the association that we have now that it's called Portuguese KCPT Portuguese cultural association. And what we do is we create exchanges between Portuguese cultural projects, mainly very focused on on design, architecture and creative industries. And we create trying to project with other countries. We have done things with China, with Vietnam. Now we are working with Thailand with Croatia. So

Lefteris Heretakis: 3:57

that's wonderful. So you're you're exchanging is on the student level?

Emanuel Barbosa: 4:02

No, no, on a professional level. Also, we also work with universities. Completely independent project. We are not contracted with any school or

Lefteris Heretakis: 4:13

it's wonderful, wonderful. So what's the story? How did you get into teaching?

Emanuel Barbosa: 4:20

Yes, well, I got invited by the school where I graduated, the sad in magazines. I finished my studies in 92. And then a few years after, I think they remember about me because I got interviewed by a magazine. And then they just invited me to, to go there. And of course, naturally, it was a very big challenge for me. I was the end designer. And I thought, Whoa, teaching in my own school, so I was very keen to do that. And since then I stay there. And I devoted 20 years of my life to design teaching.

Lefteris Heretakis: 5:06

Wonderful, wonderful. So is there any other research projects you're doing other than the cultural association? Are you involved with any other projects?

Emanuel Barbosa: 5:15

Well, I did my PhD about it's a little bit strange, because I'm a graphic designer, but I have a very big passion, which is motorcycles, vintage motorcycles, especially. And I did my PhD about Portuguese motorcycle brands that we add lots of brands in Portugal from the 1950s until 1990s. And there was no statistical work about that. So I created a very big database of with all models, brands, out pictures, and I started to dig a little bit on that subject. And then, from that I got, I was able to do a very big exhibition at Castle Design Magazine, which is a kind of small museum devoted to purchase design that is connected with the LCD. And after that I organise to other exhibitions about same theme in ag, small city, we report to us.

Lefteris Heretakis: 6:28

So your PhD is isn't what

Emanuel Barbosa: 6:31

it it's design history, something like that. I can say,

Lefteris Heretakis: 6:36

relate to the motorcycles

Emanuel Barbosa: 6:38

related to the motorcycles, which is that is a never ending story, because you can you can approach the graphics, you can approach the motorcycle design itself, can service design services. Very interesting. Yeah.

Lefteris Heretakis: 6:55

Fantastic. So what are what are the what are the education challenges you're facing in? Today? What you go? Yeah.

Emanuel Barbosa: 7:02

Well, I can tell you that I feel a very big difference between the when I started, I started in 98. And, of course, it was a long time ago. So things change. And gradually, I started to feel that students were more connected with material stuff. Today, of course, they have access to lots of information with the internet, and they have all the mobile phones and just kind of things. So they, they, they swim in a sea of information. But that doesn't mean that they take from that sea of information. Many things, you know, sometimes I feel that in the beginning, when I started teaching, it was almost a miracle, what students were able to create, for almost from from scratch from zero, they have very little information, and they had to create by themselves. Language, they needed to develop something by sitting in a very, very, very little information, okay? Today, they have huge amounts of information. And sometimes I feel that they don't take from that information, so many things as they could. But this is like 80% of the students because in that in the middle of that you also have 20% of students that are amazing. And they are, they have a very, very huge creativity, and they are very able to take out from all this sea of information, lots of stuff, and they become very creative out of that. So I think that my main challenge now is to to be able to help the 80% that are lost to sea of information to do the same as the other 20% I don't know if it makes sense.

Lefteris Heretakis: 9:23

Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. And what what do you find work what what methodology are you using to engage the 8%?

Emanuel Barbosa: 9:33

Well, what I really like to do, because ESTD is a very practical tool from the beginning school was founded in 89. I was from the first year of the I was one of the first students. The school was very, very Bauhaus inspired. It was very connected with in with local industry and with local community. And so we are very we have a very practical approach Watch, and what I tried to do in the classes and specially now, these students, I tried to involve the students with real projects, as far as possible. There can be competitions, but now I'm trying to do cooperations with small companies, most of times companies that were created by former students after school, that I have a strong connection with the school. And they like to be involved with school and further my students, it's very exciting to be able to create something that might be used for for a real project. In the end, it's almost in almost cases, it ended up in exhibitions or like a small limited edition of something I'm remembering. It's very small. And my chocolate company from a designer input, and students design it the patterns for the packaging. And it was a very funny project, because sharklet They were all very, it's a funny thing to work. And in the end, the brand was very, very excited with results. And they invited students to design a package for further for them.

Lefteris Heretakis: 11:32

So this is a kind of a link of making to employability as well. Yes.

Emanuel Barbosa: 11:37

Yes. A little bit. Yes, I think it's it's more interesting for for students to be able to, to be connected with the market, but you need to understand that, of course, now we are not so closed. But Portugal is a very small market, we have small companies, sometimes family on so the design to be a designer to be a graphic designer in Portugal, you need to be able to do things that maybe graphic designer in London or in New York doesn't need to do, because it's everything. It's very small. We have small companies, small studios, so a designer must do things that normally a designer doesn't do. And even if you are a company owner, you need to do also plots of

Lefteris Heretakis: 12:28

stuff, for example, for example.

Emanuel Barbosa: 12:31

It's not, it's not uncommon to see the graphic designer, also making the photography also going to the to the factory and help to assemble packaging in a small company. Now, it's really thought of it like that. But that's not 100% of the cases. Of course, we also work sometimes with big companies.

Lefteris Heretakis: 12:56

There's not a lot of learning in that process. Yes,

Emanuel Barbosa: 12:59

yes. And it's very, it's funny for the students, and they got very sometimes it's I like to see that some of those projects become real projects for the students. And after some time they create their own projects out of that out of the experiences. It's funny. Good.

Lefteris Heretakis: 13:20

So do you find that there are any parallels between motorcycles and design in teaching?

Emanuel Barbosa: 13:27

Yes, the motorcycles are our objects. So objects they need to be designed. So yes, I think I think we can do that parallel. Yes. I never thought about that.

Lefteris Heretakis: 13:47

Because you're moving between these areas. Yes. Yes. Yes. Do you have a collection of motorcycles?

Emanuel Barbosa: 13:52

I do. I do. I have motorcycles from 1951 to the 90s some smart

Lefteris Heretakis: 14:01

plastic, plastic. And if you if you could sort of change something like with magic what what would you do in in design education what would you change

Emanuel Barbosa: 14:22

that's a good question. That's a good question I really I really don't know I don't have a single answer for that. I think that teaching process it's it needs to change to the end. I'm not sure what's what's the solution. But

Lefteris Heretakis: 14:53

what the direction what was what direction does it need to change?

Emanuel Barbosa: 14:59

It's very difficult to do to catch the attention of the students, you know, because they have so many so many inputs they have so many they have to sometimes when I'm speaking with the student is speaking with me and at the same time is looking at the phone and is, you know, they are multitasking. And it's very difficult to catch their attention and to track them like it was before. Let me just give an example. In the 90s, if we were going to look, see a documentary about some graphic designer, it was like an event, you know, all the classes stop, and they will be very excited. And they will be there watching the documentary for one hour, and then you would be able to speak about that after watching the movie. And little by little, it started to be more difficult to keep the students to have them from looking at something for for so much time. So we go by little after some time, the most I could do was showing them some podcasts of 10 minutes about the designer, and now it doesn't work. They really don't don't care about that. Because they asked, okay, I can I can send me the link. I can see that later. But they don't because they have lots of information at the same time. And it's very difficult for them to keep a focus on on this. Okay, so I don't know, what can I I'm thinking about that. But I don't really have an answer to tell you the truth. Maybe you can help me? No,

Lefteris Heretakis: 16:53

this is your fault.

Emanuel Barbosa: 16:57

Yes, I think we need to find a way my solution, which is not the best one. But what I've been doing, as I told you before, is I tried to involve them trying to do something that they are not able to find elsewhere. So they need to they need to come to classes to be able to do these projects and to have these connections that otherwise they wouldn't. So some of them are very excited with that. And I think it works, but few of them they keep diving diving in that sea of information. It's

Lefteris Heretakis: 17:40

right. Right. So you're saying that the attention span is a greater challenge for for us educators?

Emanuel Barbosa: 17:48

Yes, that's that's one of the things

Lefteris Heretakis: 17:51

we need to find ways of managing that in some way. Yes.

Emanuel Barbosa: 17:55

Thank you. Yeah.

Lefteris Heretakis: 17:59

No worries. This was fine for the youngest is very good. So yeah. So managing the attention span of students finding finding ways of managing the students attention span.

Emanuel Barbosa: 18:11

Yes. Yes. I think that's one of the main challenges.

Lefteris Heretakis: 18:17

And what about access to things access to equipment access to? Apprenticeships, access to? How about the students access to various things that they need to to improve their learning?

Emanuel Barbosa: 18:37

Well, today about the access to information is very easy. Sure. That's one thing. Then in the twisting in the sad we always have some parallel workshops and lectures and conferences, and we have guest designers. Yeah, the school is very connected with the community. So we do lots of projects with CTOs and with organisations. So they have access to information that it's the same thing. Can I explain to you a few years ago, if we know Neville Brody or David Carson coming to the school students, they were very excited about that. And they all go to the to the conference, and they all tried to speak with them. Today, it's not exactly like that. No. Few of them still go, of course, but many of them they go just because they are in class and they need to go but if it's not during their class time, maybe they want so They have access to these to these funds, but they don't really take advantage of them today. That's That's what I feel so about equipments and about opportunities. We have workshops, we have our facilities in school, they are very few students really use them. 100% That's what I feel.

Lefteris Heretakis: 20:24

Yeah. Yeah. Fantastic. I mean, I mean, this is about sort of your you're saying that this is more about motivation? And they're motivating?

Emanuel Barbosa: 20:34

Yes, yes. Yes, I think so.

Lefteris Heretakis: 20:38

Fantastic. Is there anything else that you'd like to add? Anything, anything else you'd like to leave us with?

Emanuel Barbosa: 20:45

Well, I think that it's still is a very big challenge for me, if not more, when I started to teach in 98. Of course, I was a young designer, and I was very excited with the opportunity of teaching, and I was very involved. Now, I'm not so much involved just in school, because I have lots of other projects. But I think it's a bigger challenge now. Because the because of the attention span of students. And also because we are with, we are completely immersing on information. And it's very complicated to catch to the attention of the students and being able to guide them,

Lefteris Heretakis: 21:37

right. Now, what would what would your one message be to those students?

Emanuel Barbosa: 21:43

Well, just try to find your own way. Because your way is different from your path path, you will be different from the path of your calling, because each one of us is different. So if you are I don't know, a student from from Portugal. And from an art, if you are a student from from China, of course, your cultural roots are very important to you. And you should be able to use them to create your own way. And your expression should be a little bit different from another student with different cultural roots. And why I think that today, we have lots of if I'm a young designer, and I'm trying to do I don't know, a poster about a music band in Japan, and another one is doing the same thing in Ireland, they all go to the same sources, they will go to Pinterest, they will go to Behance, they will go to Google. And they will in the end, they will end up seeing exactly the same things. So it's very normal that a Japanese graphic designer does very similar work to a Portuguese graphic designer, I think it's worth to try to look at other things and look at your own experience. In my case, in my case, it was motorcycles, it looks a little bit stupid, but I found a lot of lots of information, that lighter I included in my own graphic design work. So I think it's important for a design student to find their own inspirations, and create his own path by by himself, not not doing the same thing that the other people do. That's the easy way. But I don't think we should go by away from that.

Lefteris Heretakis: 23:37

So they also need to go within themselves. Right, you're seeing themselves not just outside. And also, I think that's the solution. Yeah, and also possibly use books and other sources.

Emanuel Barbosa: 23:49

It can be it can be something else, it doesn't matter, you know, you can live in a small village and you'll be the designer and the shepherd at the same time and probably will find your inspiration, it will be something completely different. Not necessarily books, you know, but

Lefteris Heretakis: 24:08

I mean, he said about the internet, like the need to use other sources for I think like possible museums.

Emanuel Barbosa: 24:18

Yes, yes, the experience I think you need to use your own experience and your experience will create your your way I think your your experience can be digital one. Now we will have the challenges of metaphors in this kind of stuff. But it can also be a very analogical one, you know, and very, very traditional one. So it's it's person each individual is different. So I think it's we can start working from there as a designer and you we will find our own way. I used to show two students completely different design approaches like I don't know you have for one side is James Victor, are you have completely my own work is very it's not very expressive. It's a little modernist inspired. So I like to show that the last thing I showed to my students is my own work. I don't think it's a good thing. I think they need to create their own way. And they should not try to do what they think the teacher will like. That's the lesson I want them to do. So I don't know. I'm a little bit confused. A confused persons. So that's it.

Lefteris Heretakis: 25:41

That's very good. So how can our listeners find you if they want to get in touch?

Emanuel Barbosa: 25:46

You can just Google my name, Immanuel barbozza. You can write ESA D is the school where I teach are in LinkedIn. I have a very old website that I'm now trying to upload. So it's not worth

Lefteris Heretakis: 26:03

that. Great. Well, thank you so much. And looking forward to seeing you on the Education Forum. We're doing this May. So you can do many things.

Emanuel Barbosa: 26:15

Okay, great. Thank you for the opportunity. Thank you all the best