Emilio Gil is a Graphic Designer. He trained at the SVA School of Visual Arts in New York with Milton Glaser, James McMullan and Ed Benguiat as teachers and at Central St. Martins in London in Exhibition Curating. In 1980 he founded the Tau Diseño studio, one of Spain’s pioneering companies in design services, institutional communication and the creation and development of corporate visual identity programmes, which he directed for more than 40 years.
Emilio Gil received the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts 2015. He is an Academician of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Telmo, Malaga, Advisor to the Higher Council of Artistic Education of the Ministry of Education, President 2009-2015 of the Spanish Association of Design Professionals (AEPD), Trustee of the Manolo Prieto Foundation, President of the Plastic Arts Section of the Ateneo de Madrid, Member of the Scientific and Advisory Board of the Centre for Renaissance Studies in Úbeda.
Teaching. Emilio Gil is a collaborating lecturer at the Carlos III, Autónoma and European Universities of Madrid and the Master’s Degree in Publishing at the University of Salamanca and Santillana Formación, Director of Summer Courses and Workshops at the Complutense University of Madrid, Rey Juan Carlos and UIMP.
Curator of exhibitions. Signs of the Century. 100 years of Graphic Design in Spain. Museo Reina Sofía, Dissenyes o Diseñas? Madrid, Berlin, Sofia and 24×365. Graphic Design for Public Communication. Madrid Fine Arts Circle. 2008, Grafistas. Graphic design in Spain 1939-1975. MNAD, October 2011, Allies. Centro Centro, Madrid. 2016, Lo que cuenta Novelas y Cuentos MNAD Madrid. 2017. Curated with Juan Aguilar, La huella de Manolo Prieto” Málaga, Segovia, 2022. Granada, 2023 and 10+10 x el Ateneo. Ateneo de Madrid, 2024.
Publications. Author of the books Pioneers of Graphic Design in Spain. Experimenta, 2021. USA edition Mark Batty Publisher and Layers in Time“. Experimenta, 2023. Co-author of the book Lo bello de las cosas. Gustavo Gili. 2007. Translation and foreword of the book Palabra de Diseñador“. Gustavo Gili. 2015.
Awards received. Donside Special Award. Great Britain 1994. Editorial design. Golden Laus 1994. Editorial graphic design. Spain. Certificate of Typographic Excellence, 1995. Type Directors Club. New York. AEPD Annual Design Awards 1995, Spain. Laus Gold Award 1995 in Editorial Design. Laus Diploma 1996. Editorial graphic design. Spain. Donside Award in Great Britain and Certificate of Excellence from the Type Directors Club of New York in 1995. Donside Awards. Great Britain 1997. Gold for the best international journal and best Spanish paper overall. Certificates of Excellence in 1996, 1998 and 1999. The European Regional Design Annual, Print-Rotovision. Letra 2003. National Visual Communication and Graphic Environment Awards. AEPD Annual Award 2005 in the Packaging section. Quality Award in the National Health System for the Signage System for the disabled at the Virgen de la Nieves Hospital. Ministry of Health. 2009 edition. First Prize for the Mapfre Annual Report 2013. IV Edition Torras Papel/Arjo Wiggings Awards. First Prize for the Mapfre Annual Report 2014. V Edition Torras Papel/Arjo Wiggings Awards. Silver Award at the icma Awards, International Custom Media Award, for the Mapfre Annual Report 2016. Award of Excellence at the icma Awards, International Custom Media Award, for the magazine El Canon. Amic de la Librería Blanquerna de la Generalitat de Catalunya.