A conversation with Inés Espinal, founder of Luz Es Lo Que Se Ve, at the Cultural Park Hacienda La Trinidad. A one–hour dialogue about industrial design, design in Ibero–America, Pratt Institute, and design in Venezuela.

The full interview is available on her YouTube channel.

In 2021, Argentine designer Mariana Salgado interviewed me for the Design and Health chapter of her Spanish–language social design podcast platform, Design and Diaspora. Mariana has been living in Helsinki for 22 years, where she works as a service designer for Finland’s Ministry of the Interior and is part of Inland Design, an innovation and design lab dedicated to crafting public policies.

Following that conversation, titled Mapping the Venezuelan Diaspora, Mariana created a digital publication that included several interviews for the Design and Health II edition, including mine, which we titled Objects That Improve Daily Life.

I had the honor of being interviewed for the Insight section of Interwoven Design Group, a design consultancy specializing in wearable technology, founded by designer Rebeccah Pailes-Friedman.

She is a colleague at Pratt Institute, and I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with her in her studio.

“First stop of New York Design Week, guided by its Industrial Design Chair, Ignacio Urbina Polo.”

A piece by Argentine journalist and design researcher Luján Cambariere for the design magazine Experimenta.

Publication of industrial design articles in the weekly Arquitectura HOY, a supplement of the newspaper Economía HOY, directed by Juan Pedro Posani and supported by an editorial committee consisting of Alberto Sato, Azier Calvo, Henrique Vera, and Enrique Fernández-Shaw.

This content is also available on the Fundación Arquitectura y Ciudad website.

News on Pratt News, a section of the Pratt Institute portal about my appointment as Chair of the Industrial Design Department at the School of Design at Pratt in New York.

The Institute was founded in 1886 in Brooklyn, and the Industrial Design Department was established in 1936.

Over 50 projects from across Pratt Institute were showcased at the virtual Pratt Research Open House (ROH) 2021, organized by the Office of Research and Strategic Partnerships in the Provost’s Office.

Among them, the project “Wing Guard: An Insect Repelling Device for Temporary Food Services”, developed by our student Ellen Z. Ren in the Biomimicry Studio of the Industrial Design Department, was honored with the Start–Up Power Award. Featured on Pratt News.

Rafael expressed great interest in our curatorial project NoMATERIA: “Since 2011, Ignacio Urbina has curated the NoMATERIA exhibition, which over four editions has showcased the work of 250 designers and reflected on it. The 2020 selection features 28 products, 14 of them designed in Venezuela.”

A conversation with Venezuelan journalist Rafael Osío Cabrices for the Cinco8 platform, focused on the Venezuelan diaspora.

“The journey begins with a simple electrical outlet and gradually introduces objects from the home environment: vessels, lamps, chairs—products that reflect different approaches to designing, manufacturing, and marketing. In the second part of the exhibition, we see artifacts that move beyond confinement and exist in public spaces. Products focused on music, exhibitions, waste management, sports, plant care, and mobility.”

A review in the architecture magazine Entre Rayas about the fourth edition of the NoMATERIA design exhibition, titled Balance.

Interviewed by Venezuelan designer and researcher Fanny Krivoy for the Project Inclusion series by Studio Analogous in New York City.

I invite you to watch the video.

An interview with Nelson Rivera explored various topics on industrial design and its impact on everyday life. Published in Papel Literario, a renowned supplement of the newspaper El Nacional, it has established itself as one of the most influential platforms in Venezuela’s cultural and literary scene.

El Papel Literario is one of the most widely read columns in the country, and this conversation provided an opportunity to reflect on design from unexplored perspectives, bringing it closer to a broader audience interested in the connections between objects, functionality, and beauty.

Interview in Prodavinci about the traveling exhibition of the Ibero–American Design Biennial bid_ve 2019 at Hacienda La Trinidad Cultural Park. The exhibition featured collaboration with Álvaro Sotillo on museography and Ariel Pintos on graphic design.

A piece by Diego Alejandro Torres Pantin.

“And in the context of the exhibition at hand, I would add a third question: Are initiatives like NoMATERIA truly cartographic projects—carrying within themselves the generous proposition of never being fully completed—where the blurred boundaries of design are challenged by new complexities?”

A piece by Venezuelan Research Professor Humberto Valdivieso about the NoMATERIA exhibition, displayed at Pratt Institute in April 2018. Published in El Nacional.

On core77 about the Design Workshop for students from five design schools across five countries, organized by WantedDesign in NYC.

An academic experience in collaboration with designer Constantin Boym.

An article in Entre Rayas, an architectural and design magazines, about the online inauguration of the exhibition NoMATERIA.

The Director of ProyectoDiseño, Iván Cortes, from Latin America’s leading architecture and design magazine based in Colombia, interviewed me in 2013. We discussed various aspects of design and its impact on the region.

The interview, titled Disidente, offered a critical perspective on the practice of design and its contemporary challenges, providing an opportunity to reflect on the role of design in Ibero and Latin America.

A text by Venezuelan industrial designer Sergio Alonso for di-conexiones discusses the opening of the exhibition NoMATERIA / Fewer Atoms, More Outreach. This showcase featured the 2011 and 2012 editions of this design outreach project.

The exhibition was held at the Carlos Cruz-Diez Museum of Print and Design, establishing itself as a pivotal platform for reflecting on industrial design in Venezuela and highlighting the work of local designers.

A conversation on Designaholic with Mexican industrial designer Jorge Diego Etienne, founder of this renowned Spanish–language design platform.

Published in IDENTIDAD Venezuela 1000 Faces, a book conceived and edited by Venezuelan journalist and audiovisual producer Gil Molina.

A comprehensive investigative work that gathers 1000 brief biographies, written as journalistic profiles, narrating the life of each of the portrayed individuals.