Living Archives: A Transmedia Experience for the Historical Reconstruction of the Visual Design Program at the University of Caldas (1991–2023).

Authors

Keywords:

archive, institutional memory, transmedia, design history, University of Caldas

Abstract

The article presents a transmedia research on the historical reconstruction of the Visual Design Program at the University of Caldas (1991–2023). Using a qualitative approach, it combines documentary analysis, interviews, surveys, and multiformat narrative strategies to build an expanded, living, and participatory archive. This experience challenges the neutrality of the institutional archive and proposes a more inclusive alternative, where official and community memories are articulated. The transmedia archive is consolidated as a methodological and political device that democratizes memory, highlights marginalized voices, and enables new ways of constructing history through collaboration, affectivity, and technology.

Author Biographies

  • César Augusto Arias Peñaranda, University of Caldas

    Visual Designer, Master’s degree in Design and Interactive Creation. He currently serves as a full-time professor and director of the Master’s Program in Design and Interactive Creation, as well as the Professional Technical Program in Digital Marketing at the Universidad de Caldas (Colombia). He is currently pursuing a PhD in Design at the Universidad de Palermo in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is a member of the DICOVI and Social Aesthetics in Design Research Group and leads the Transmedia Products research line at CTransmedia. His research focuses on the intersections between memory, archives, expanded design, and digital narratives.

  • María Fernanda Ramírez Hincapié, University of Caldas

    Visual Design student at the Universidad de Caldas (Colombia). She is currently affiliated with the university’s Transmedia research seedbed, where she focuses on the exploration of transmedia products and their applications in the field of design.

  • Stefanny Buitrago Ruiz, University of Caldas

    Visual Design student at the Universidad de Caldas (Manizales, Colombia). She is currently affiliated with the university’s Transmedia research seedbed. Her work focuses on the intersections between memory, design, and the exploration of transmedia products.

  • Tania Ortiz Bueno, University of Caldas

    Visual Design student at the Universidad de Caldas, with technical training in Multimedia Design and Integration. Her interests have focused on the development of web and mobile interfaces, interactive experience design, and the creation of graphic and multimedia content for digital environments. Her work centers on the intersection of design, technology, and visual communication applied to social and educational contexts.

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Published

2026-05-27

Issue

No. 59 (2026)

Section

Dossier The Archive as Experience: Mediations, Practices, and Disputes in the Production of Historical Knowledge

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