Red One

Frederik, our protagonist, finds himself in his daily life, but something is different now. Like something has changed in the way he processes things; former daily rituals, normal objects, occurrences feel weird now, this feeling of rejection from the rest of his society. We see familiar settings of buildings throughout Madrid, now all of a sudden being overrun with digital overlay and artifacting. There is a dark overtone regarding the background, and our protagonist is either in the foreground or is the light of the shot. This ties into the unifying theme of this shoot: a shift in view, an expansion of consciousness. This may not be literally a matrix world where the rest of the citizens are AI or people trapped in a fake reality, but it may tie into themes of mental anguish and depression. The usual, familiar settings and things that used to be part of regular life, now they are twisted and different. A sense of dread, rejection, and deep darkness is present in the pictures. When composing these pictures and conceptualising the editing style, I questioned my own mental state, and the photos reflect that state of mind. Strategically, I looked for familiar places in my own daily life, as well as darker places to shoot in. The intentional decision to shoot these pictures at night also plays into the struggle I faced when I was left alone with my own thoughts late into the night, which caused some issues with sleeping late into the night, thus deepening my relationship with the night.

The proposed activity involved narrating an illustrated story across three spreads, based on a personal or fictional narrative. The exercise required applying the concepts and techniques studied in class, developing a technical script, preliminary sketches, and a final visual proposal that ensured both narrative and graphic coherence. The assignment also encouraged exploring different comic formats (European, American, or Japanese) and reflecting on the techniques and styles best suited to convey the story. In response to this brief, student Andrea González Díaz developed the project titled SuperChula, a comic addressing the social issue of gentrification and the loss of identity in Madrid’s traditional neighborhoods. The protagonist, María Pilar, is an Art student who by night transforms into SuperChula, a local superhero defending her community against real estate speculation. The villain, Señor Urbanix, embodies the businessman who displaces residents to convert their homes into luxury tourist apartments. Through a dynamic visual language and references to Madrid’s popular imagery—such as the Manila shawl and carnations—the student presents a critical and activist narrative that combines humor, popular aesthetics, and social engagement.

Students in the Editorial Resources course of the Graphic and Multimedia Design degree participated in a comprehensive learning experience combining creativity, graphic design, and editorial production. The main objective of this activity was the development of a collaborative magazine called Musik, covering all phases of the editorial process, from conceptualization to the final layout.