July 2026: Hola Barcelona!! Inna Efimova, Paula Vega, World Cup wins, and more design we love.


Spotlight: Barcelona

July 2026

Artwork by:
Ayang Cempaka

Hola Reader,

This month we're in Barcelona. A city still riding a bit of a Spanish World Cup buzz, and humming with its own creativity, originality and finesse. A must-visit for any creative!

So how’s the come down from the World Cup? Whether you were into the World Cup or not, it was still a joy to see how creative people celebrated the beautiful game. In this month’s edition we look back on some of our favourites.

July saw Design Kids communities come together all around the world. If you were one of the over 300 people to come along to our in-person meet ups this month, we hope you had a great time and met some new friends! This week it’s Mexico City's turn to throw a Design Kids party that is certain to raise the roof!

Our annual awards open next week on August 3. Yes it’s that time again for all emerging designers with less than 3 years experience to show us your best work - we can’t wait to put your work in front of some legendary global designers! Join the waitlist so you know when early bird submissions open!

In TDK world: TDK Director and TDK Studio host, Cass Eddy, was in Sydney this week on a panel with Frost*Collective hosted by our Sydney City Host, Loren Keir. More on that on our socials!

TDK Studio is live and helping designers of all levels grow their practice, confidence and value. Join us if you are ready to become a more valuable professional.

For now, enjoy exploring Barcelona!

The Design Kids Team 💙

Inna Efimova

Barcelona, Spain

Inna’s practice has been shaped by both commercial rigor and personal exploration.

In this interview, she reflects on embracing multidisciplinary work as a strength, the importance of personal projects as creative fuel, and how balancing structure with freedom continues to guide her work in a rapidly changing industry.

Read more

Paula Vega

Barcelona City Host

Paula Vega didn't set out to build a consultancy.

PepperSpace started as a lockdown side project during her third year at Central Saint Martins, when she and her now business partner Ana merged their freelance work almost on a whim.

Five years on, that "college hobby" has become a design consultancy she can't imagine walking away from.

Colombian by heritage and now based in Barcelona, she brings a Latin American perspective to a European creative scene that, in her view, still has room to see that talent more clearly.

Read more

World Cup Design We love: We've loved seeing the way creatives have responded to the World Cup, here are a few of our favourites.

Studio Brief: A visual identity redesign for a local small business.


Thought Bubbles: Job Titles: What feels right? & Transitioning from Student to Professional


Mentor Mondays: Open group mentoring every month. Next session: August 17.


Creative Insider: Two new interviews popping up!


Live Chat: Weekly reflections on the state of the industry, helping one another with job application paralysis.

Learn more about the TDK Studio here!

Our City Hosts bring their communities together every month for meetups, live events, panels, studio tours, presentations and laughs! Jump in and RSVP to the next meetup in your city!

Visit

Barcelona Design Week

Save the date! The Barcelona Design Week is on 14-25th October. They have just released the visual identity for it and it's so fun.

Check it out

Shop

Hey Shop

Hey - the Barcelona-based creative studio - has their own online store and you have to save it for your own inspiration. Their prints are the hit of sunshine you need and their Women At Work caps are being added to our cart asap.

Explore their range

App

Andy: Anxiety & Stress Tracker

Track your moods, add feelings and take notes. Then the patterns begin to emerge and you can begin to have a birds eye view of your own mental health.

Download here

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