The School of Art, Design, and Audiovisual Communication presents “Surfing Coastal Archetypes,” an exhibition created by students in the Graphic Design 1 course during PAO I-2026, under the guidance of Professor Mónica Robles. The exhibition features a conceptual collection of surfboards that explores the relationship between coastal cultural identity, brand archetypes, and visual rhetoric. Each piece interprets the personality of an archetype through shapes, symbols, colors, compositions, and graphic elements inspired by the regional context.
In this exercise, the surfboard transcends its everyday function to become a narrative medium capable of communicating values, emotions, and stories. The students used design as a tool to investigate and reinterpret elements characteristic of coastal culture from a contemporary perspective.
The pieces form part of a visual system that highlights different stages of research, experimentation, and conceptual development. The result fosters a dialogue between design, identity, and territory, demonstrating how an object associated with coastal culture can be transformed into a coherent and expressive graphic experience.
The exhibition reflects the academic process behind each proposal and the students’ ability to transform cultural references into visual systems with their own distinct identity.
Related SDGs
SDG 4. Quality education: develops skills in research, conceptualization, and visual communication.
SDG 11. Sustainable cities and communities: helps to highlight and showcase elements of cultural identity and local heritage.
SDG 12. Responsible production and consumption: encourages reflection on objects, their meanings, and the possibilities for extending their value through design.
© photography: Medardo Silva / Tex: José Luis Castro
