Flavio Russo Winner of the Competition “Design the IQD 20th Anniversary Cover”

Launched in 2025 to celebrate the magazine’s twentieth anniversary, the Design the IQD 20th Anniversary Cover competition concluded with the selection of the graphic project 20 Years of Perspectives on the World, designed by Flavio Russo. A young graphic designer from Taranto, Russo has developed his expertise through a solid academic background and several collaborations in the fields of art and exhibition design, where he has worked on communication campaigns and visual identities. His design research focuses on developing creative and functional solutions capable of responding effectively to real communication needs. Russo’s graphic language favors a visual approach that is essential, concise and elegant, free from superfluous elements that could weigh down the message. Research, creativity and method therefore converge toward a refined formal synthesis that resonates with the visual identity of the magazine. The aim of the cover design – Russo writes – was to celebrate the magazine’s twenty years of publication with sobriety and elegance, highlighting the communicative power of images without relying on redundant messages. The project was conceived for a readership imagined as passionate about architecture, travel and the discovery of new places around the world.

The graphic design maintains continuity with the magazine’s layout, while introducing a strong visual element over the issue’s evocative image: a glass panel featuring the silhouette of the number 20, symbolizing twenty years of perspectives on the world of architecture and design. The idea of glass – Russo adds – reflects the magazine’s conceptual intention to offer a transparent view of the topics it explores, almost like a lens through which to observe and interpret reality. The project stands out for its conceptual clarity and graphic coherence: a simple yet solid structure in which the elegance of the visual choices conveys a clear and direct message. The result is a cover that combines simplicity, refinement and communicative strength, marking the magazine’s anniversary with balance and restraint.