Sant Jordi: The day of the book and the rose
Every 23 April, the streets of Barcelona are transformed. Sant Jordi is one of the most significant dates in Catalonia, a day where the tradition of gifting books and roses takes centre stage.
The story dates back to the legend of the knight who saved the princess from a dragon that terrorised the village of Montblanc. According to tradition, after a fierce battle, the knight managed to slay the beast, and from the blood that spilled from the dragon, a red rosebush bloomed. Sant Jordi plucked the most beautiful rose to give to the princess as a symbol of victory and respect.
It is a day for strolling, getting lost among the stalls, and celebrating culture together. While the myth is the origin, the reality today is that vibrant mix of crowds, author signings, and the scent of paper and flowers that fills every corner.
With Sant Jordi upon us, it felt like the perfect moment to launch a creative process: LABASAD Rose. The competition, open to both students and the LABASAD team, sought a graphic solution that would work within such a specific format.
Each participant had to create a rose using their preferred technique—traditional illustration, digital, vector design, photography, 3D, AI, mixed media… and the brief was entirely open: conceptual, experimental, narrative, abstract, and more.
In total, we received 40 proposals. It has been a fascinating exercise in interpretation where, under the same premise, each participant brought their own perspective and style, demonstrating the variety of creative registers that coexist within our community.
After reviewing the entries, a jury composed of the LABASAD design department, the school director, Jordi Camí, and the director of the Online Master in Graphic Design and Digital Environments, Rosana Viloca, highly commended the contemporary twist of the piece and the graphic resolution of the illustration.
The winner of this edition is Laia Bonet, a student of the Máster Online en Ilustración: Técnicas y Aplicaciones.
With her digital proposal “Un gesto dulce” (A Sweet Gesture), Laia has reinterpreted the legend of Sant Jordi through a contemporary lens, representing the tradition and the act of gifting love using modern-day codes.
As recognition, Laia receives a bundle of books published by LABASAD tutors, a small showcase of the teaching talent that leads our programmes. The books are as follows:
Mala olor – Nadia Hafid
Malas ideas – Carlota Juncosa
Nocturnos – Laura Pérez
La Tierra Yerma – Carla Berrocal
Cuentos oscuros (by Shirley Jackson) – Carmen Segovia
We have also shared a post on our Instagram profile featuring the participants’ work and their handles, in case you would like to get to know the artists.
Take a look at the video here 👈🏼
Thank you to all participants for sharing your talent with us. In the end, Sant Jordi is precisely about that: sharing stories, whether on paper, through flowers, or via illustration.
Happy Sant Jordi! 🌹📖