“There have been few attempts to narrate or document Uruguayan design tradition; because of this, the country appears to lack a design history. A commitment to my profession, my discipline, and my nation led me to want to fill those gaps, so we founded an archive of Uruguayan graphic design on July 10, 2018.” — Amijai Benderski
There are more than 1,000 items in the collection, including posters, book and record covers, stamps, and logos.
I was surprised to see the Edward Johnston’s 1918 London Underground logo in the mix. Turns out he was born in Uruguay before his Scottish parents moved back across the ocean to England when he was just three.
The underground roundel is one of Amijai’s favourites. In his words, “What I idolise about the accomplishment of Edward Johnston is that it is an everlasting design that has transformed into a symbol of British culture.”
Matt Lamont interviewed Gabriel for Design Reviewed and asked if he felt Uruguayan design is under-represented in design history.
“I don’t feel that Uruguayan design is underrepresented, I know it is. In my opinion, this happens because there lacks a narration of our history where a tale is constructed.
“For example, I learned about our graphic design background when I was in my thirties. This shows that there is a problem where me and my colleagues didn’t create a report of the history where shared.
“The main objective of the archive is to enable design students to be aware of our heritage as soon as they start studying our vocation. La Patria will help to raise awareness of what was designed in our territory.”
