Design Mexico is another great event sponsored by the ADCC, held at the historic Great Hall and featured one of Anagrama’s founding partners, Sebastian Padilla. Sebastian initiated his talk by illustrating how and why he chose to be a graphic designer, how he works and collaborates with others as a result to his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which is a great advantage for him and his studio.

With beer in hand, Sebastian spoke about how his experiences within the sharp contrasts of his city of Monterrey, shape his designs. At times, to show the dramatic contrast of his city, he made comments like: “Tourist don’t visit Monterrey. Monterrey holds some of the richest population of Latin America, side by side with extremely poor communities.” Influenced by this sharp contrast, his studio uses this juxtaposition as a method to create their work. For example, mixing bright colours from traditional Mexican hot candy vendors with high-end typography and European design styles. The lecture, filled with Helvetica laced slides, went on to showcase Sebastian’s many other areas of interest, intertwined with his graphic designs, — including a chain of toccoria restaurants and a film that is currently in production.

The lecture did receive some criticism from an audience member (seemingly also from Monterrey), in the Q & A portion, around Sebastian’s perceived lack of respect for his city. The questioner went on to voice her opinion that Sebastian should be respectful, and think about being a good ambassador for his city/country when touring. Although this was unusual, Sebastian noted that this is his opinion and his experience with his city.

The exhibit featured projects from participating studios and designer such as Aldo Arillo, Elle Mexico, Futura, Monumento, Orion, Óscar Estrada and Anagrama.