Projects developed by ESDI students continue to garner recognition both within and beyond academia. In recent weeks, several projects related to ESDI’s Design Degree have been recognized at the ADG Laus Awards, the Habitàcola Awards, the Work Forward Awards 2026 by Bernadí, and the Sabadell Festa Major 2026 poster competition.
From publishing projects that explore memory, territory and identity to spaces that engage with the landscape or respond to real professional commissions, the awards showcase the diversity of perspectives, formats and disciplines from which ESDI’s emerging talent works.
Twelve projects linked to ESDI have recently been recognized for their creative quality, sensitivity, critical capacity and connection with real challenges.
Two Laus and six In Book awards at the ADG Laus Awards 2026
ESDI’s graphic design talent has been recognized at the 2026 ADG Laus Awards , one of the leading competitions in graphic design and visual communication. Of the eight ESDI projects initially selected , two received awards during the ADG Laus Night: a Silver Laus and a Bronze Laus .
Maria Rubio Garriga received a Laus de Plata award for El Pueblo , an editorial project that reconstructs family memory and territory through the author’s grandfather’s longing for his hometown, located in the depopulated Almería region.
The project constructs a portrait of the territory from three perspectives: that of the grandfather, that of the author herself, and that of the grandmother, who acts as a link between the different memories. The result is a box containing a book and various graphic elements related to what the family remembers, preserves, and passes on.
Raquel Soldado Balmisa, for her part, received a Bronze Laus award for Solemn Cults . The project analyzes how territorial origin shapes identity and the sense of belonging, based on the history of the García Asencio family from Tarifa.
Through theoretical research, interviews, family documents, and materials from the Tarifa Newspaper Archive, the proposal articulates the concept of “nostalgic devotion.” The project materializes in a published piece that combines a book, a cassette tape, a letter, and a handcrafted cover.
Both award-winning projects were supervised by Professor David Vera .
Memory, territory, and family ties become graphic material in the two ESDI projects awarded a Laus.
Six ESDI projects selected for the In Book
The other six works completed the In Book selection, a distinction that recognizes the projects selected by the jury for their quality, approach and relevance within the creative landscape of the year.
Los Rodríguez , by Sandra Rodríguez , is an editorial piece that addresses family grief, absence and memory from the everyday life of a Christmas dinner.
(Re-Cordis) , by Anna Contreras , is a tribute to her grandmother that translates into graphic language the memory, the family ties and the impact of a neurodegenerative disease.
The genuine art of filmmaking , by Raquel Soldado , is a publication focused on Pedro Almodóvar that uses typography and the color red as the main axes of its visual identity.
Eulalia. Manifesto No. 1 , by Marta Moreno , raises a reflection on gentrification, local commerce and the identity of the Sant Andreu del Palomar neighborhood.
I love you, I love you. Our paraules of love Maria Blanch ‘s work explores, both visually and philosophically, contemporary forms of love.
The redesign of the ESDI website , developed entirely in-house by the school’s Communication Department, proposes an improvement in the user experience and builds the visual universe of the “Talent Factory”.
(DES)BORDE wins the 2026 Habitàcola Award
Sara Gómez Montolio , an Interior Design student at ESDI, has won the Habitàcola 2026 Award with the project (DES)BORDE , developed under the guidance of professors Ivan Mases and Pau Gelpí .
The project proposes an active and sensitive observation space in the Ripoll River area of Sabadell. The intervention is based on a system of compacted earth modules that transforms the riverbank into a habitable pathway, capable of adapting to the natural cycles of the landscape and improving conditions for riparian wildlife.
(DES)BORDE understands the river not as a border, but as a space of connection between the city, collective memory, and the natural environment. The proposal stands out for its ability to link the territorial vision with the construction details, the use of local materials, and the evolution of the space over time.
The project had already been selected, along with Ecos del temps , among the ten finalists of the XXXVIII edition of the Habitàcola Awards .
A proposal that transforms the Ripoll river boundary into a space of connection between the city, the landscape and its natural cycles.
The IBQ Textiles showroom, awarded at the Work Forward Awards 2026
The Showroom IBQ Textiles project, developed by second-year Interior Design students Sara Gómez and Anna Pedragosa , has won a Work Forward Award 2026 by Bernadí in the Product Design category.
The proposal involves the design of a new showroom for IBQ Textiles , a company specializing in high-performance technical fabrics. The space has been conceived to convey the brand’s identity and showcase its materials, applications, and solutions in sectors such as protection, mobility, and lifestyle .
Developed as part of the Commercial Space Projects course, the project was supervised by David Pablo and Raúl Fidalgo Glück . Construction management was handled by ESDI alumna Aida Martí Bosch , while Ariadna Font Pacho , also an alumna of the school, coordinated the project from IBQ Textiles.
The result is a versatile, functional, and immersive exhibition environment that combines industrial materials with a technical and contemporary aesthetic. The project exemplifies the value of university-industry collaborations, which allow students to apply their knowledge in real-world professional contexts.
You can find out all the details in the news article about the ESDI Work Forward Award .
The project takes learning outside the classroom and demonstrates how the design of spaces can communicate a company’s value, identity, and innovation.
Abril Blanes creates the image for the Sabadell Festa Major 2026
Abril Blanes , a first-year student of the Degree in Design at ESDI, has won the competition organized by Transports Urbans de Sabadell —TUS— to choose the poster for the Festa Major de Sabadell 2026 .
The proposal, titled “Que esclati la festa” (Let the festival explode ), represents the explosion of energy, color, and movement that transforms the city during the celebration. The design will become the official graphic image of this year’s Festa Major de Sabadell.
The competition also recognized another ESDI student. Oriol Gómez , author of the poster “La tradició que ens uneix” (The tradition that unites us ), won third prize .
The news and the recognized posters can be found in the Diari de Sabadell .
ESDI’s emerging talent also leaves its mark on the city’s visual and cultural identity.
Design with impact beyond the classroom
These awards highlight a way of understanding design that combines experimentation, research, sensitivity and the ability to respond to real-world contexts.
The award-winning projects work with space, landscape, memory, visual identity, and local culture, but they share the same goal: to use design to observe, explain, and transform the world around us.
Designing is also about preserving memories, building new narratives, activating the territory, and creating spaces capable of generating connections.