October 11th. The congress was aproaching its end. The closing ceremonies refreshed our minds on what Visualogue was all about. I was left with a feeling of empowerment, ready to go out and make a difference through design.

One of the main halls of the congress dressed in red for the ocassion

This congress was more emotional and human than technical. I learned so much more this way, because charts, commands and measures are memorized, (and easily forgotten) but real human experiences are remmembered, reminesced. It was a Utopia. There were no clients to please, no briefs, no judges, just design, some of the best design.

I learned that designers around the world share similar challenges and obstacles. I finally understood that great design is not a matter of geography, it transcends frontiers. I was reminded of one question we often forget when designing, “Why?” We always ask “What?” and “How?” But why are we doing what we’re doing? What’s the purpose?

So I left the congress with much more questions than I came in with, but less doubts. Yeah, I know it sounds confusing, but the point is that in design there are no definite answers, we have to question ourselves constantly, as well as our sorroundings. And if I had ever doubted if design was for me, and if I was on the right track, that doubt disappeared. It vanished as I saw how much more there is to design than surface beauty and branding, that you can change the way people see the world through design, literally.

I left this congress wanting to do so much more than I have. I fell deeper in love with this career, and found a new love: JAPAN. So I have added two new purposes in my life now: changing the world through design and returning to the land of the rising sun. The first might take a lifetime to accomplish, the second will hopefully be very soon.

Visualogue
Date: October 8th – 13th, 2003
Place: Nagoya Congress Center
Address: 1-1 Atsutanishimachi, Atsuta-ku, Nagoya, Japan
Tel: +81 (0)52 249 3695 (Icograda 2003 Nagoya Secretariat)
https://www.visualogue.com