Martín Tognola, illustrator and instructor at LABASAD, designs the visual identity for the Junceda Awards 2025
Tognola has developed a series of animated and static pieces that narrate the creative process through the symbolic figure of an elephant.
We are proud to announce that Martín Tognola, illustrator and instructor of the Online Master’s Degree in Editorial and Advertising Illustration in Spanish at LABASAD, has been entrusted with developing the visual identity for the Junceda Awards 2025, one of the most important recognitions in the illustration sector in Catalonia.
For this edition, Martín has created a series of both animated and static pieces that narrate the creative process through the symbolic figure of an elephant, an element with deep conceptual meaning that becomes the connecting thread throughout the entire visual identity.
Martín Tognola is an Argentine freelance illustrator whose career stretches from his early publications in the Buenos Aires press during his youth to his current residence in Barcelona, a city he fell in love with during a trip to Europe in the 1990s. His narrative, graphic, and illustrative style offers a fresh perspective on people, places, and objects, establishing him as an international reference in the world of illustration.
His versatility has allowed him to work in diverse fields such as press, advertising, comics, publishing, and motion graphics, collaborating with clients of the calibre of The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, La Vanguardia, Nike, Samsung, and Penguin Random House, among many others. This broad experience across various media and formats has given him a unique ability to adapt his graphic language to multiple contexts, something clearly reflected in the Junceda Awards project.
Throughout his career, Martín has been recognised with significant national and international awards. He received the Bronze Medal at the New York Festivals Bowery Awards (2020), the Premi Josep Coll from APIC for Barcelona Low Cost (2009), and twice the SND Portfolio Award from the Society of News Design (1996 and 1997). More recently, he was awarded the Junceda Award 2020 in the press and magazines category, and the Junceda Award 2024 in the animation category for his project Baúl de bulos, created for La Vanguardia. These accolades not only endorse his quality as an illustrator but also his capacity to innovate and make an impact through his work.
On this occasion, Martín returns to the Junceda Awards, but this time not as a nominee, but as the creator of the official visual identity. The central element of his proposal is the elephant, a figure traditionally a symbolic emblem of the awards, but which in this edition takes on a new meaning. According to Martín, the elephant acts as a conceptual thread, representing the creative process itself.
“The briefing was quite flexible, which was a challenge in itself. Not looking at what had been done in previous editions, but at the same time not being able to stop having it in mind, was the first challenge. I knew from the start that I would make animated pieces, but it was equally important that they worked as static illustrations,” the illustrator explains. This creative freedom, while stimulating, required a delicate balance between innovation and respect for the visual tradition of the Junceda Awards.
Martín’s proposal revolves around the expression “there’s an elephant in the room,” which refers to an obvious problem that no one wants to face. In his approach, this elephant symbolises the creative process and its different stages: from the search for an idea, through its pursuit, to its eventual taming:
“The elephant is something like the problem we have to tame, and it changes meaning throughout the pieces. I thought it was important to emphasise the attitude of the person chasing it, like someone searching for an idea.”
Beyond the symbolic value of the concept, Martín highlights the learning experience this project has provided. “It’s a format I hadn’t worked with before. The challenge was to make the pieces work individually, but so that, once finished (two are still pending), they can be read as a story when seen together,” he notes.
From his experience as a teacher in the Online Master’s Degree in Editorial and Advertising Illustration at LABASAD, Martín also identifies lessons that can be applied in the classroom:
“I think what could be inspiring for students is to see our capacity for adaptation. Even if you have a field where you feel more comfortable—in my case, editorial—it is possible to transfer your graphic language to other contexts. It’s about adjusting what we already know to the needs of the project.”
Martín Tognola’s involvement in the visual identity of the Junceda Awards 2025 not only reinforces his career as a versatile creator but also LABASAD’s commitment to excellence and its direct connection with active professionals who set the standards in the field of illustration.
From LABASAD, we congratulate Martín on this new professional milestone and thank him for sharing with us the creative process behind such a unique project. We are confident that his work will inspire the entire illustration community and future generations of students.