Ramiro Cabrera, pioneer graphic designer at IRRI, passes away

Ramiro ‘Ram’ Cabrera, 75, an award-winning graphic designer at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) for more than three decades, passed away in Antipolo, Manila on 1 September.

Mr. Cabrera was among the first group of communicators hired in the early 1960s by Robert F. Chandler, IRRI’s first director general, to begin getting the message out about the new Institute’s mandate to fight hunger in the world. He retired in 1997 after 31 years of service to the Institute.

In the early days, he was responsible for developing IRRI’s visual identity, including its logo and other design elements used in the Institute’s publications and other communication materials—many still used to this day.

He led the design team that produced A farmer's Primer on Growing Rice, one of the most successful extension booklets for farmers in international agricultural publishing, resulting in around 50 editions printed in more than 40 languages and dialects for more than 20 countries.

Mr. Cabrera won a number of awards for his work from the Association for Communication Excellence (ACE) in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences. In 1996, he won ACE’s Outstanding Professional Skill Award in Graphic Design for a set of posters depicting rice activities including planting, harvesting, and marketing.

In 1997, his graphic design and layout work contributed to the team effort that produced IRRI’s 1995-96 annual report, Listening to the Farmers, which won an unprecedented set of ACE awards including Outstanding Professional Skill Award, two Gold Awards, and one Silver Award for design, photography, and the cover.

Also in 1997, he won ACE’s International Award of Excellence for his career body of work in art, graphic design, and photography.

After his time at IRRI, Mr. Cabrera also did similar creative design work for the Asian Development Bank.

Friends may send condolences to the family via cdcabrera@adb.org

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