Category: #wearedotbarcelona

“Barcelona has got an international reputation in the world of graphic design, which we wanted to link to our website”

Posted on by Comunicació

Minsk is a graphic design studio which started life eight years ago. The studio has evolved over time, its members have recycled their knowledge, and little by little Minsk has become specialised in audio-visual projects using video, animated graphics and digital design. With the creation of the domain minsk.barcelona the studio has been able to link its website with its values and those of its clients. We spoke to Pere Gómez Gavaldà, a member of Minsk, about design and the .barcelona domain.

What sets you aside from other graphic design and audio-visual studios?

Even though we’re a small studio (there are five of us), the thing that specifically sets us aside is that we are multi-disciplinary and flexible, meaning we can take on all types of projects with the advantages of working with a small studio, offering personalised service and dealing with clients directly.

How important is it for a company in the graphic design sector to have a website?

In our case it’s essential, as precisely one of the services we offer is the design and layout of websites, so we need a website which meets the expectations of what we offer our clients.

Of course, it also acts as a showcase where we can publish our outstanding projects and create our own discourse (you can get the idea if you read the texts on the website). That said, and as people know, when you get on with things your own website sometimes ends up at the back of the queue, and admittedly we often don’t have the site as up-to-date as we’d like to.

How do clients relate to you when they discover you through your website? What differences are there when dealing with them personally?

In our case the website tends to be a tool we direct clients towards when they want to see examples of what we do, as the site features some of our most notable projects. We’ve also got clients who contact us for the first time because they’ve found our website (the truth is that without being experts in SEO, we’ve got it well positioned), and with these clients the advantage is that they’ve actually seen what we do and they’ve actively contacted us, meaning part of the work is already done.

Even so, personal treatment for a small studio like ours gives added value, and once we get a mail from a client who contacts us via the website we try to get together or call them to be able to speak to them directly, as that’s what enables us to work in a more agile and personalised way.

Why did you choose a .barcelona domain?

One of the main reasons for changing the domain is that although the .es domain is shorter, we felt that as a brand we preferred the idea of linking our company to Barcelona, which ultimately is our city and has an international reputation we wanted to link to our company.

What differences did you notice in the everyday activity of the company after launching the website minsk.barcelona?

Most of all, the fact of linking the brand to new values which are much closer to us, our values and those of our clients. It mainly helped us to avoid misunderstandings. We opted for a change in strategy and communications, leaving behind Minsk Disseny (our commercial name up until that point) and becoming Minsk.barcelona. On the one hand, because design is now just a small part of our work, and on the other, because we wanted to link our main name (Minsk, the capital of Belorussia and the imaginary world we associated our brand with) to Barcelona (our real city, with values which we sincerely identify with much more at present).

As a graphic design company, what do you get out of linking yourselves with the city of Barcelona?

A lot. Barcelona has long been associated with design in general (not just graphic). It was important for us to be able to link these ideas. In addition, the contraposition between Minsk and Barcelona also helped us create a friendly word combination which has been useful for playing with the dissociation we usually use as a communication value in our branding.

How much clout does the name of Barcelona have in the world of graphic design and audio-visuals?

A lot. I think on an international level people continue to see Barcelona as the national leader when it comes to design. The same applies with audio-visuals, although here it’s more spread out.

Safe mobility’s got the dot!

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A safe mobility campaign has been launched with the aim of improving safety for all citizens when getting around. On the website mobilitat.barcelona you’ll find visual and easy-to-understand information on the regulations for getting about in the city on foot, by car, moped or electric scooter.

Over 90% of those sustaining serious injuries in road accidents are motorcyclists, pedestrians, cyclists and people riding electric scooters. That’s why we all need to be familiar with the regulations, so that we can get about the city safely and comfortably and reach our 2050 goal of zero road deaths and zero injuries with lifelong consequences.

Now it’s much easier for us to get around thanks to this campaign, which you can find on the website mobilitat.barcelona. The site explains everything which is permitted or prohibited when circulating in Barcelona, and includes recommendations for when you travel by car, van or lorry, by motorbike, electric scooter, bike or on foot.

You can also find other useful tools for getting around the city safely. For instance, real-time information on mobility incidents and disruptions to traffic or the search feature to find spaces for cyclists and pedestrians, where you simply indicate your location to find out about bike lanes, traffic-calmed streets and widened pavements available to you.

Another key feature is the ‘Getting there’ route planner, which calculates the best way to get from one point to another in the city. All you need to do is specify where you are and where you want to get to, and the tool displays different options on foot, by bike, by private vehicle and public transport. The website mobilitat.barcelona also keeps you up to date with all the latest news in this sphere and more information on the Urban Mobility Plan, to achieve safer, healthier and more sustainable mobility.

L’Orgullosa’s got the dot!

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L’Orgullosa gets Barcelona celebrating between now and the end of June, in an event which also conveys a message. As a pioneering city and a leader in LGBTI struggles, the programme has been put together with the intention of bringing the reality of LGBTI groups closer to everybody in Barcelona. The programme can be found on the website orgullosa.barcelona.

Various city museums such as the MACBA, the MNAC, the Picasso Museum and the Maritime Museum are offering activities to reflect on LGBTI matters through different visions of their collections, guided tours and other specific projects. Elsewhere, city libraries and community centres are organising workshops, exhibitions, book presentations, talks, theatre shows and film screenings to give visibility to the plurality of visions of this collective. A series of round tables is also planned at the Barcelona LGBTI Centre on 30 June, to rethink museums from a queer point of view.

L’Orgullosa culminates with a grand musical gala for everybody, to be held at the Olympic Ring in Montjuïc on 28 June and featuring a line-up which will have everybody dancing, travelling and defending LGBTI rights.

An explosion of colour and symbolism

The poster for L’Orgullosa was created by the illustrator Javier Navarro, better known as El Dios de los Tres, with text by Javier Alcaraz. The design is full of LGBTI motifs and references to Barcelona, such as the cat sculpture in El Raval, one of the freshest and most effervescent of the city’s queer spots.

If you would like a hard copy of the poster, get along to the Sala Ciutat, at Carrer de la Ciutat, 2, or download it in digital format from the website orgullosa.barcelona.

The .barcelona domain fosters culture

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Barcelona is a global leader in culture. Along with Madrid, the city is the national culture and science capital for the performing arts, theatre, urban culture, music and gastronomy. Culture is one of the main reasons why every year Barcelona attracts people from all over the world.

This is why cultural institutions and stakeholders in the city use the .barcelona for their websites. Being linked with the Barcelona brand in the realm of culture generates opportunities within the city and elsewhere.

Many cultural institutions use a .barcelona domain. Here are some of them:

  • La Model. The former prison which has been part of Barcelona’s contemporary history since 1904. As the name suggests, the prison had to act as a model in terms of the treatment of inmates and ended up symbolising repression in the city. The complex has now embarked on a process to become a leading space for culture in the Esquerra de l’Eixample neighbourhood. 
  • OFFF Barcelona. A meeting point for design talents from around the world, this international festival for digital creativity, art and design was held at the Disseny Hub Barcelona from 5 to 7 May 2022.
  • Urban Art Barcelona. This open platform for artists producing all types of street art puts the city at the forefront for all artistic trends revolutionising the new paradigms of urban art. The platform organises artistic events and showcases artists and their work.
  • FAD. Also based at the Disseny Hub Barcelona, Fostering Arts and Design is a non-profit organisation of professionals and companies linked to design. Cristina Gosálvez, head of communications with FAD, opts to link the brand with the city: “With both our social media and our domain we’ve chosen to link ourselves with Barcelona to set ourselves apart from other international organisations”.
  • Jazz Barcelona. And lastly, an example of how the world of culture and the Barcelona brand do wonders when they work together. This is the case with the traditional Barcelona Jazz Festival. In the words of Agustín Borlán, from The Project, the company which organises the festival: “The advantages of having a .barcelona domain are obvious, from directly linking the festival and the city to the realm of publicity. Barcelona is jazz during the festival, so nothing beats jazz.barcelona for getting the message across”.

Model Barcelona Architectures Festival’s got the dot!

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The first edition of the Model Barcelona Architectures Festival is set to turn the city into an experimental lab from 5 to 15 May, the goal being to rethink urban environments and build new perceptions to move towards the cities of the future. The recently launched website model.barcelona offers full information on the festival.

The first edition of the Model Barcelona Architectures Festival gets under way with the theme of “Regrowth”, the aim being to explore new perspectives, lines of thought and values that will help refocus the growth of the city.

The ten-day event sees the city host a global dialogue on the conflicts, challenges and opportunities that converge in urban environments, with international experts offering their vision of the cities of the future.

Over a hundred activities

Jointly organised by Barcelona City Council and the Architects’ Association of Catalonia (COAC), the festival is to offer a series of debates in iconic spaces in Barcelona, as well as a tribute to Oriol Bohigas at the Ateneu Barcelonès and over a hundred activities organised by independent bodies. These include open days, workshops for people of all ages, physical installations and augmented reality, communal meals, routes, debates, exhibitions, book fairs and even a film cycle.

Participants in the Model festival include key figures in architecture, philosophy and anthropology, along with emerging thinkers. Notable names include Rotor, Carolyn Steel, Rafael Moneo and Carme Pinós.

This first edition of the festival represents a first major event ahead of the city becoming the UIA-UNESCO Word Capital of Architecture 2026.

The .barcelona domain as a loudhailer for local gastronomy

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Barcelona is a global leader in gastronomy and has its own identity in this sphere. One of the things which attracts tourists to the city every year is its wide array of restaurants, the variety on offer and the options for all budgets and tastes, something the city’s restaurateurs are well aware of.

Making use of a .barcelona website for a restaurant in the city offers a loudhailer and a business opportunity: the value of the Barcelona brand enjoys worldwide renown.

This is why more and more gastronomy businesses are choosing the .barcelona domain to represent them on the internet. One example is the Bao Bar, where customers can enjoy these typical Asian sandwiches with a local touch: “We chose to be part of .barcelona because it’s very important for us to position ourselves geographically in our city”, affirms Irene Lopo, from the Bao Bar.

Other important gastronomy spaces in the city using the .barcelona domain include the Moka Restaurant, La Boqueria, the iconic Sol Soler in the Gràcia neighbourhood and the Pastisseria Brunells, one of the city’s oldest cake shops.

If you want to associate your business with the .barcelona brand, you can find full information here.

“boqueria.barcelona is our market’s showcase to the world”

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The founding stone of the Mercat de Sant Josep was laid on 19 March 1840, yet the history of this market, popularly known as La Boqueria, dates back to the 13th century. There are currently over 200 establishments opening daily at the market, offering local people and visitors a unique range of gastronomy and culture in the city. We spoke to Òscar Ubide i Marcet, the manager at the market, and asked him to explain its importance for the city and its identification with the .barcelona domain.

-The Mercat de la Boqueria is not just any market. How does your location in the city and the type of people who go to the market have an impact?

Its location halfway down La Rambla means lots of tourists go to the market. There’s a mix of customers, with restauranteurs, locals and people from other places too.

-The history of the market dates back centuries. How important is it for the market to maintain this legacy and to show it to the world?

It’s very important in two ways. On the one hand, in maintaining a structure, often archaic, which continues to offer customers fresh produce a thousand years on. On the other hand, in terms of visitors, to show them a space which in many cases is older than their countries. This is very powerful.

-Activities at the market also go beyond food. What values do the market’s cultural activities bring and how relevant are they for La Boqueria?

For us it’s an obligation to go beyond the action of buying and selling. We have always had strong ties with the neighbourhood, the city and the country, and this is why the market must offer culture, nutrition, technology and all the things linked to food that we can show.

-How important is it for the Mercat de la Boqueria to have a website? For instance, when it comes to informing people about the activities held there?

It’s our showcase to the world. Many people use the site to check what stalls there are and where to find them, while others check the agenda to see what activities we offer there.

-How does the market’s website help establish a closer relationship with local people in Ciutat Vella?

Well precisely that, by people identifying stalls and their contact details and checking activities.

-Boqueria and Barcelona are two very closely linked concepts. How important is it for the Mercat de la Boqueria to be identified through the .barcelona domain?

The moment the domain appeared, we thought it was the one which connected with the market better than other existing domains, and that it strengthened our identity and our image. Whenever we give the domain to others it comes as a positive surprise to them.

-The .barcelona domain represents a map of opportunities in gastronomy, culture, commerce and sports for iconic organisations and projects in Barcelona. How does this community map of Barcelona help the Mercat de la Boqueria?

We believe that as a market and an iconic city facility, we are doing our little bit to strengthen the domain and what it represents, the strength and personality of our city.

Barcelona with Ukraine

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Given the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation and the resulting social emergency, Barcelona has made preparations to provide shelter and guarantee the rights of refugees in the city. The website ciutatrefugi.barcelona offers full information for refugees and for people wishing to help out.

This .barcelona website will be regularly updated to respond to the social emergency resulting from the conflict in Ukraine.

The site includes resources for refugees arriving in the city and facilitates information for members of the public wishing to collaborate or offer support for those affected by the conflict.

The “Barcelona, Refuge City” project was set up in September 2015 to prepare the city to provide shelter, assistance and necessary services to guarantee the rights of refugees, as well as to urge states to comply with the most basic rules on human rights.

More information: ciutatrefugi.barcelona

LGBTI Centre: a pioneering space for sexual and gender diversity

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Located at Carrer del Comte Borrell, 22, the Barcelona LGBTI Centre is a leading facility in the sphere of LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersexual) and uses the .barcelona domain as part of its communication strategy.

The centre offers guidance, advice and direct support, as well as giving a voice to artistic expression and collective action. To ensure all types of assistance for its users, the centre has specialists in psychology, social work, law, healthcare, community management and more. It also has its own protocol for tackling LGBTI-phobic aggression, in conjunction with municipal services such as the Office for Non-Discrimination, the Barcelona Social Emergency and Urgent Care Centre and the Prosecution Service for Hate Crimes.

Cultural and awareness programme

The centre is also a place for artistic expression and standing up for the historical memory of the LGBTI movement. To this end, it hosts exhibitions, discussion cycles, lectures, debates, performing arts shows, screenings and reading clubs, details of which can be found at centrelgtbi.barcelona. One example is the “Corporalitats” cycle being held until the end of April, offering a series of activities to explore bodily diversity in all its joyful resilience, such as the photography exhibition “Les corps incorruptibles”, by Emilie Hallard, a declaration of feminist, queer and anti-racist love. Besides these photos, the centre is also offering mini-videos of the documentary “Famílies Trans*”, by Mar Llop, a project giving a voice to 29 families bringing up children according to their felt gender.

Over 1,200 square metres of multi-purpose space

With its 1,254 square metres of space, the LGBTI Centre offers a welcome and information area, a display area with a regular programme open to all, an auditorium with a capacity for 100 people, a healthcare area, a family area and five rooms for meetings, counselling, training and workshops.

The centre is managed by the Platform for Catalan LGBTI Organisations, the federation that brings together various LGBTI rights entities. Their volunteer work and initiatives give the centre vitality.

What do you know about the Barcelona Ring Roads LEZ?

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Vehicles which pollute the most have been unable to access the low emission zone (LEZ) delimited by the city’s ring roads (Rondes) since 2020. The area covers over 95 square kilometres and circulation restrictions apply to the most pollutant vehicles with the aim of protecting the atmosphere, people’s health and the environment.

The LEZ covers the entire municipality of Barcelona (except for Zona Franca and the neighbourhood of Vallvidrera, el Tibidabo i les Planes), the municipality of Hospitalet de Llobregat and part of the municipalities of Cornellà de Llobregat, Esplugues de Llobregat and Sant Adrià de Besòs.

Users can keep up with all the information relating to the Barcelona Ring Roads LEZ on the project’s website at zbe.barcelona, which uses the city domain to provide details and the latest news on this programme. The site includes information such as which vehicles are affected by the restrictions, details on the regulations, applying for daily authorisations for the most pollutant vehicles to circulate and information on what is being done in terms of sustainable mobility.

Reduction in journeys by vehicles that pollute the most

Since the low emission zone was announced, the most pollutant vehicles have been replaced. These are vehicles which are not suitable to be issued with an environmental rating badge from the Directorate General for Traffic (DGT). In three years, journeys made by cars and motorbikes which pollute the most have dropped, with 550,000 fewer journeys.

At the same time, between the first half of 2020 and February 2021, the volume of vehicles circulating within the LEZ without the environmental badge from the DGT fell from between 9 and 10% to between 3.5 and 4.5%.

Moratorium for vans, lorries and coaches being replaced

The circulation of vehicles without the DGT badge, namely lorries and small coaches (N2, N3 and M2) affected by the end of the moratorium on 31 December, is currently allowed as long as vehicle owners sign a declaration of their intention to acquire a new vehicle. This declaration involves a commitment to renew the vehicle by 30 June 2022. With the moratoriums now over, the hope is that the volume of vehicles circulating in the Ring Roads LEZ without the DGT environmental badge will drop to below 1%.

Vehicles with the following badges can continue to circulate in the LEZ with no restrictions from working Mondays to Fridays this year, between 7 am and 8 pm:

  • Yellow badge (B)
  • Green badge (C)
  • Eco badge (Eco)
  • 0 badge (Zero emissions)